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Topic: Mobility

Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

Summary: The courier deposited a brand new Motorola XOOM on my desk this afternoon and I have been getting familiar with the new tablet running the Honeycomb version of Android. Take a look at the video and see what you think.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

The courier deposited a brand new Motorola XOOM on my desk this afternoon and I have been getting familiar with the new tablet running the Honeycomb version of Android. I had the opportunity to play with the XOOM a few weeks back so it isn't the first time I've had one in my hands, but it's the first in-depth evaluation for me.

I am liking the XOOM more than I thought I would, but it definitely takes some time to get used to the new Honeycomb interface. I will be testing the XOOM in depth for a while, and here's a quick video tour of the tablet to show you what all the buzz is about.

Topics: Mobility, Hardware, Laptops, Tablets

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  • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

    I didn't notice MotoBlur crap on it, which is a good sign. But the UX is not at the level of iPad though. I expected more from HoneyComb, but there are certain places it still needs consistency. The UI sits in between iPad and Windows 7 Taskbar Live Previews of opened apps with one exception, they all are different apps in the case of HoneyComb and they stack up vertically. Also the scrolling the screen from left to right to left is more or less as copied from WebOS. One good thing I noticed is the touch response has been definitely improved from FroYo based Tablets, and partly I think it is due to the fact that it runs on dual core processor and Google might have definitely improved on that in Honeycomb.

    My experience with Xoom is only 2 hours of play. But definitely I really want to learn more about this. I am happy with Galaxy Tab, but definitely willing to go for a Honeycomb for development purposes if it brings something really new to the table. I am also waiting for G-Slate, and Flyer and WiFi version of Xoom. I don't want to pay for another Data Plan anytime.
    Ram U
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

      @Rama.NET well, I have this Xoom because not one but two verizon galaxy tablets broke on me inside of a month (I am talking randomly rebooting itself) and it is really unfortunate because I loved everything about the Galaxy except for these stupid flaws.

      Let me say, while I like the Xoom, the experience isn't as good to me as the Galaxy was and that's a real shame.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

        @Peter Perry
        Ouch. Today I saw mine was totally dead not because it was not charging at all. I was thinking of taking it back to Sprint store and just before leaving for Sprint store, I noticed it started charging, i.e. after two hours I spent on it to plug it to various outlets and trying with various cables. Anyway it is going back to Sprint, and they have to replace it. The thing is I am with Sprint, I cant really spend another dime on another data plan. I would love to get a Wifi version of Xoom, but at the same time I need something concrete to develop something for it.
        Ram U
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

      @Rama.NET man, I would love to see samsung fix the tablet and I would buy another but as of this moment I am not convinced this is an isolated incident.

      Overall, like I said the Galaxy tab was a pleasure to use when it worked.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

    How come it needs multiple taps so often - it kinda ignores the first tap (in the video). Do you miss Flash? (After all it's not present)

    The speakers on the back is absolutely brain damaged.

    What will be interesting is how much Flash (when it comes) impacts on battery life, and speed. Can you do a follow up video of that? Ta :-)
    jeremychappell
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

      @jeremychappell <br>One more thing, the power button sits next to camera on the back. You wont find it in your first attempt unless you read the instructions. I was expecting it on one of the four sides not on the rear.
      Ram U
      Reply Vote

  • Looks VERY slick and very fast. A combination of light-weight OS and

    very good hardware. From the video it looks like it far out performs the iPads (version 1) that I have played with in terms of responsiveness. Though, iPad 2 is right around the corner. I would love an 11.6 inch screen honeycomb tablet.
    DonnieBoy
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

      @DonnieBoy <br>Well 11.6 inch is your personal choice and I would go with anything less than 9" because that is optimum size for me to carry thats why I love my Galaxy Tab and iPad. And I don't see anything that is really lacking in iPad 1. Well you can bring cameras, sd interface, blah blah, but you are comparing an year old with the latest. Like I said before except for the improved touch response and changes to GUi that is more inline with consumer quality (thanks to the cues from iPad, Web OS and Windows 7) there is nothing really special about it except for the browser. Well I know we don't have apps there, but I would doubt the first time tablet apps might not take full advantage of its potential, so I would say you won't see good quality apps anytime soon on HoneyComb. I haven't tested FroYo or below apps on it because I had played with it in BestBuy store, so I really couldn't get a chance to test that. I hope they wont look good, if they can run on that. Like I said before, unless there is a need for HoneyComb app development from my clients, I won't spend a dime on it, and I will be happy with my Galaxy Tab and iPad. Of course I am also waiting for G-Slate, Flyer and iPad 2 at the same time to validate those against whatever I have right now.
      Ram U
      Reply Vote

      • Well, hopefully there will be size for all. With Apple, so far, we only get

        one size. For now, you can just write regular Android apps for Honeycomb if that suffices.

        iPad 2 might just blow away Xoom before they even get started.
        DonnieBoy
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

        @DonnieBoy<br>Agreed, yes I could write regular Android Apps, don't have to really get into NDK unless I need something really compelling from the platform. One thing for sure, I really loved the web browsing experience on Xoom and I am happy they didn't include buggy and privacy invading MotoBlur on it.
        Ram U
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

        @Rama.NET have you tried Dolphin on the Galaxy? Every bit as good as the xoom browser if you ask me.

        @donnieboy Apple never blows the competition away, they follow their own drum and throw Hype to the masses.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Video: First impressions of the Motorola XOOM tablet with Honeycomb

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