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iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

Summary: The two hottest devices in the busy tablet space are the iPad 2 and the Motorola XOOM. The best way to compare these two tablets is visually, so this photo gallery is presented to show them head-to-head.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

The two hottest devices in the busy tablet space are undoubtedly the iPad 2 from Apple and the Motorola XOOM. The two tablets are similar in size but that's the extent of the similarities due to the different operating systems. The best way to compare these two tablets is visually, so this photo gallery is presented to show the XOOM and the iPad head-to-head.

Check out the iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

Image Gallery: Check out the iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos. Image Gallery: XOOM Image Gallery: XOOM
The iPad 2 is a 9.7-inch tablet displaying at a 1024x768 resolution while the Motorola XOOM is 10.1-inch displaying at 1280x800 resolution. In spite of the higher resolution screen, the iPad display is brighter and presents a more vivid image than the XOOM. Text is easier to read on the iPad as a result of the lower resolution (text is bigger).

The photo gallery compares the size and the thickness of the two tablets, along with how they fit in the hand. Tasks commonly performed on tablets are demonstrated in a side-by-side manner, including web browsing, Google Maps and YouTube. Both the iPad 2 and the XOOM have cameras, so the camera apps for each are shown demonstrating viewfinder clarity and ease of use.

These tablets appeal to different audiences, and those favoring ease of use will be drawn to the iPad. The Motorola XOOM with Android should appeal to those who enjoy tweaking gadgets. They are both capable tablets, although the Honeycomb version of Android used on the XOOM is still a work in progress.

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Topics: Hardware, iPad, Laptops, Mobility, Tablets

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33 comments
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  • XOOM has crappy TN screen.. vs high quality IPS screen on iPad..

    resolution is only one component.. <br><br>in the images you can clearly see the crappy viewing angles and lower contrast and vibrancy of the XOOM's screen.. look at the color shift on the XOOM when viewed at even a slight angle.. that's the difference between a high quality IPS screen and a crappy, junk off the shelf TN..
    doctorSpoc
    Reply Vote

    • Exactly, Apple figured out how to make it with cheaper components, but with

      a better user experience, in order to offer and unbeatable price.
      DonnieBoy
      Reply Vote

      • Yep. It is called design.

        @DonnieBoy

        And like it or not, Apple is expert at making the right trade offs. I would love a tablet with a 9-10" screen, 300+ppi, 4GB memory RAM and 128GB NVM, quad core 2GHz processor with a 543MP8 that is the same weight and size as the iPad. With 10-15 hours battery and screaming fast WiFi/GPS. Don't want 3G/4G/LTE.
        Bruizer
        Reply Vote

    • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

      @doctorSpoc Okay and you often view your personal media device at such odd angles? I view mine straight on because it is designed for individual use.

      Regardless, there are so many failings for the iPad 2 that one area does not make up for the others.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • Actually yes.

        @Peter Perry

        The screen on the Xoom, while being a reflecting demon, has a very very narrow viewing angle. I find I use the iPad and a variety of viewing angles and seldom from straight on.
        Bruizer
        Reply Vote

      • plus/minus 10-15 degrees? ...YES.. most of the time if not worse angle.

        @Peter Perry ..this is the angle that you would look at a tablet at while sitting on a sofa with tablet in your lap.. <br><br>do you now anyone that sits in a chair, holding a tablet up level with their head at 90 degrees to their face?? lol.. no one does that.. iPad is light but not that light to be doing that sort of thing for very long..<br><br>most of the time that is the exact sort of angle you will be viewing a tablet..
        doctorSpoc
        Reply Vote

      • no...

        @doctor spoc

        it's not about "holding the tablet up level to their head to where it's 90 degrees with their face"...

        The tablet remains in the lap, but is tilted, as is the head of someone of viewing to form an angle [i]close[/i] to 90 degrees.

        similarly, regardless of where you're using a laptop: table, lap, standing up over it... you tilt the screen on it's hinges until it reaches close to perpendicular to your face. (i would say within 10 degrees of 90)
        UrNotPayingAttention
        Reply Vote

      • That isn't the point

        @chmod 77
        The point is that because the screen layers aren't glued together in the Xoom, it is really easy to hold it wrong.

        [i](i would say within 10 degrees of 90)[/i]

        And if you hold it 11 degrees off 90 then you can't see the screen any more. That's holding it wrong. That's because Motorola didn't glue the screen layers together. That's because Apple has purchased 100% of the world's supply of high quality screens. Tough luck Motorola and really tough luck on anyone who was foolish enough to buy a Xoom.

        There is not one thing that the Xoom does better than the iPad.

        There is not one way that the Xoom is better than the iPad.

        Motorola, give me a call when you start gluing your screen layers together. Until then, I won't buy a tablet that is so easy to hold wrong.
        edtimes
        Reply Vote

      • in normal use your viewing angle can be plus or minus 10-15 degrees..

        @chmod 777 ..do you not get that?? that's the normal variation that might happen in terms of viewing angle that someone using a tablet might observe.. and Xoom cannot handle that NORMAL variation without color shift.. that's the point.

        it's also normal is to share with someone else something that you are viewing on the tablet.. with two people viewing the tablet at the same time at least one if not both with will have a non-ideal viewing angle and see color shift on the xoom, but on the iPad they will be fine..

        the bottom line is that you can hold the iPad any old way you want and it looks great.. with the xoom, in the course of normal use you get suboptimal picture or are force into unnatural positions to compensate for it's cheap screen..


        edtimes - yes the gluing affects viewing angles to some extent, but even more important is that the iPad uses an IPS (in-plane-switching) LCD where all the liquid crystal material is always oriented in the plane of the screen vs regular TN LCDs where the molecules can be at various angles meaning that at different angles you get light scattering to different degrees for different colors and intensity of colors and you get the tell tail color shift of those cheap screen.. this is completely evident from the photos..
        doctorSpoc
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @edtimes Dude, you are high! <br><br> What about the browsing tests or the camera tests the XOOM won? <br><br> What about the fact that the Graphics Benchmarks were not optimized for the 8 Core GPU in the XOOM?<br><br>What about the fact that it has Flash? Having it = better than not having it.<br><br>What about the fact that I don't need a computer to start using it?<br><br>What about the fact that the XOOM is getting 4G?<br><br>What about the fact that the screens contrast ratio is actually higher on the XOOM?<br><br>What about the increase in resolution? Viewing angles are only a small part of a personal media device.<br><br>What about the the Notification System and the Multitasking?<br><br>What about the fact that I can buy music, books or what have you from any place I choose and download them right to my Tablet?<br><br>What about the fact that it can be charged in 1.5 hours? For every 5 hours of charging I get 30 hours of use, the iPad 2 gets 10!<br><br>I guess I could go on but you're right there isn't one place the XOOM is better, there's several!
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @Bruizer Do you have a XOOM? Talk to me about it when you get one! I am typing this from my XOOM and the angles aren't an issue at all!
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @doctorSpoc That is bullshit... The XOOM is capable of variation without color shift and I have more than 240 hours on the device so you can say what you want but this tablet is a very good tablet and the screen is underrated by people nit picking.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

    • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

      If there is anyone out there on the fence about the motorola xoom or the ipad 2, I suggest you go to a store and demo the tablets yourself and make your own decision based on your own observations. From all of the crap that I have read on these blog sites you would think that the xoom was a cheap flimsy plastic device with a laughable pricetag of 799.00 3G/4G version. And you would also think the software is buggy and crashes everytime you turn it on making the device clearly unuseable. So I decided to go down to Best Buy and see for myself and I am glad I did. When I picked up the device and examined it, I noticed right away that great care has been taken in its manufacturing. Very solid, almost military spec build quality. I remembered thinking to myself that Motorola might have actually over designed it and that maybe if they had not built it like it was going to be used by the military, it could have been a little cheaper. The screen is absolutely gorgeous-- clear, with a HD viewing quality. (the pictures on this site don't look anything like the picture quality of the xoom that I saw first hand.) At that point just based on the physical build quality, I felt that Motorola was right on the mark with an 800.00 price tag. In fact, I'm actually surprised that the Wifi only version is only 599.00. After turning the unit on, again I expected to see a buggy unuseable OS with crashing and faults all around. Instead, I witnessed an incredible operating system in the making that although was not as smooth as the ipad, it certainly did not detract from my experience with it, nor did it make me not want to consider buying it. A visit to the app store yeilded exactly 16 apps. But I believe at last check recently, we are up to over a thousand? People talk about the limited apps available right now like it is static and will never change. I made my decision right then and there that I would definately purchase this device as soon as the wifi version became available. There are just too many knuckleheads in these comment sections making fanboyish statements when they have never even touched or seen the device in person. I did not experience any of these viewing angle problems or any of the garbage that is spewed out about this tablet every day. I have no reason to lie about my experience. I am objective. If a product is a piece of crap I am going to say it. I don't own stock in Motorola, and I certainly do not care to make comments for the sole purpose of getting anyone elses approval. So my advice for any one considering the xoom, is to go and demo one for yourself, and not take my, nor any one elses advice on what you should buy. And unless there is a huge conspiracy and Motorola gave Best Buy a perfect device that is nothing like the one people are buying, I would have no problem recommending that any prospective buyer at least go and demo the xoom for yourself, which I am sure most of us that are actually intelligent will do anyway.
      bluemillion
      Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @bluemillion <br>You are so right!!!!<br><br>I spent a half hour in a Best Buy comparing the iPad2 and the Xoom side by side.<br><br>Sorry to say the iPad felt and you wanted to use it like an entertainment device.... games, movies (ws sucks on it) etc...<br>The Xoom is a very nice device and I felt like I could do anything on it.......<br><br><img border="0" src="http://www.cnet.com/i/mb/emoticons/happy.gif" alt="happy">

        Only had one thing....
        The photos, quality and viewing (includes video) was far superior on the Xoom when I toook them inside the Best Buy store.....
        rhonin
        Reply Vote

  • Camera Angle?

    James, not to nitpick, but it looked like a majority of those pictures were taken at ~45 degree angle? Won't that affect the appearance of the display?
    UrNotPayingAttention
    Reply Vote

    • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

      @chmod 777 it is a skewed test to play to the iPads advantages... The xoom viewing software has issues that are remedied by 3rd party apps like Quick Pics and Rockplayer but this site only focuses on what enforces their advertisers point of view...

      There are plenty of reviews around the web that highlight the XOOM's obvious advantages but this is not one of the sites where you will find them.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • Like the micro SD car...? Opps.

        @Peter Perry

        Then the 4G connecti..... Opps.

        The problem with the Xoom is it was rushed to market and it really shows. Even with a fast CPU, it hits fits and stutters (but that is more an issue with Android). There is a reason Honeycomb code is not being opened up for the near future. There is a reason almost every review of the Xoom was... "It shows great promise but...." Had it been released in June and been finished, the reviews would have been very positive.

        Yes there are several super-fandroid fan sites that will help people justify their purchase.
        Bruizer
        Reply Vote

      • how would a tablet look in your lap as you sit in a chair..

        @Peter Perry answer: exactly like that.. that is exactly how you will view a tablet about 80% of the time..

        you want to seriously tell me you hold a tablet up to your head at 90 degrees to your face? lol.. c'mon man.. no one holds a tablet like that for more that 30 seconds..
        doctorSpoc
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @Bruizer wait a second... <br><br>To date there are issues with light leaking around the LCD...<br><br>To date there are issues with wifi connectivity...<br><br>The cameras included in the iPad 2 seem more like spare parts left over from the iPod Touch (further proving it is a big iPod touch)...<br><br>The Single biggest Wireless Revolution the county has seen in 10 years or more will be available to 40% of the country by July and yet it is strangely absent from the new iPad 2 (at least Motorola is going to give an upgrade path)...<br><br>And you want to talk to me about rushed to market? Have you seen conan's Commercial, it seems pretty damn accurate to me. <br><br>Oh and there are articles on Forbes and such that point to the XOOM being the better device for several situations so don't give me the Crap about Fandroid Sites.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • RE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola XOOM in photos

        @doctorSpoc you need to remove that Doctor from your handle because you are embarrassing yourself...

        I have owned a first generation iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and a XOOM to date, I assure you this is no worse than the other two under normal use and deviation of viewing angles.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote
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