Motorola’s Android tablet Xoom was announced as one of the toughest competitors to the iPad. By chance, I currently have the opportunity to test a 3G model of the Xoom extensively.
The excellent 10.1-inch display with 1280 × 800 pixels immediately stood out positively and remains very readable even in sunlight. I also really like Android Honeycomb 3.1. Together with the 1 GHz dual-core processor, the tablet even supports Flash. The voice input surprised me as well: text can be dictated in virtually any application with a high recognition rate.
The rear 5-megapixel camera has a flash and autofocus and takes quite decent photos. There is also a camera for video chats, although Skype video was not yet supported on the Xoom. The built-in UMTS/3G module supports HSDPA and HSUPA. GPS and Bluetooth are naturally included as well.
However, you can also tell that the Xoom is one of the first true Android tablets. Somehow it still feels not quite mature – more like a prototype that already works reasonably well. I think the power button on the back is poorly positioned, as are the speakers. The frequently advertised SD-card reader is not even supported by the current software version. At 730 grams, the Xoom is also not exactly one of the lighter tablets.
If you want to see the Xoom in action, simply watch the following video. I test the functions mentioned above and also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the Xoom.
