Motorola Xoom review

The Motorola Xoom was the first Android Honeycomb tablet to be launched worldwide and is finally available to buy in the UK.

Comparisons between the iPad 2 and the Xoom are inevitable as equivalent 32GB versions both have a starting price of £479.99.

The Xoom comes with superior specifications and a refreshed version of the much loved Android interface. During our tests we found that the Xoom performed admirably and offers business users a genuine alternative to the iPad 2.

Hardware
With a 10.1in screen, the Xoom is the biggest Android tablet on the market and comes with a 1,280 x 800 WXGA resolution. The display also packs a 16:9 ratio meaning that videos and web sites can be viewed in full, as intended.

However, the brightness is a tad disappointing and the screen is visibly duller when placed side by side with an iPad 2. Like other devices, the Xoom is also a fingerprint magnet and we were disappointed that no cleaning cloth was supplied, as it is essential.

The Xoom is also a little bulky at 730g, making it 100g heavier than the equivalent 32GB Wi-Fi iPad 2. This extra weight is noticeable, but it is not a deal breaker.

The Motorola device has dimensions of 249.1 x 167.8 x 12.9mm making it thicker than the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab, which have dimensions of 241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8mm and 190 x 120 x 12mm respectively. Apple's tablet is noticeably wider when the two tablets are directly compared.

A 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor powers the Xoom supported by 1GB of RAM. This makes the the tablet nippy when it comes to performance, and there is no lag between opening and switching applications or when swiping between homescreens.

Motorola supplies 32GB of internal memory for storage, and there is also a micro-SD card slot to increase capacity and facilitate quick transfer of files with smartphones.

However, the micro-SD card slot is currently unusable although a Honeycomb upgrade is expected imminently to fix this issue. This is disappointing and suggests that the operating system has been rushed out much like Windows Phone 7.

Additional connections include micro-USB, mini-HDMI output and a proprietary charging port that uses a very thin connector, similar to the one used to charge devices such as the Nokia 6300. USB charging is not supported, an all-too-common problem with tablets.

Connectivity wise our review unit came with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There is a SIM-card tray incorporated into all devices, but this simply acts as an access point for the micro-SD card slot on the Wi-Fi only models.

There are two cameras built into the chassis to take pictures, record video in HD and make video calls. The 5-megapixel rear camera takes good shots and comes with a dual-LED flash. Xoom-to-Xoom video calling was a bit of a mixed bag using Google Talk and the front facing 2-megapixel camera. Images appeared overly pixellated, but this could have been down to the weak Wi-Fi signal.

Software
The Xoom runs on the Honeycomb 3.0 operating system, which has been specifically designed for use on tablets, and there is a marked difference from the Gingerbread platform currently in circulation.

The interface has been revamped, and takes a little bit of getting used to even for the most ardent Android user. However, after a few minutes it is easy to navigate between apps and settings and the experience is generally very intuitive.

Google has done away with the touch sensitive buttons present on all other Android devices. Instead an Action Bar runs along the bottom of the screen and contains back, home and recent apps function keys in the bottom left hand corner.

The time, internet connectivity, battery life and music player functions can be accessed from the bottom right hand corner of the Action Bar. Touching the time brings up extended options, so users can edit connectivity, brightness and notifications settings in a couple of clicks.

There is also the option to access the full settings menu from here. Additionally, notifications appear on the Action Bar and clicking on them launches full apps, such as Gmail.

The Gmail app is one of the most impressive features and has been overhauled to resemble its desktop counterpart. When opened the full inbox is displayed in a pane on the left and individual emails take up the lion's share of the screen on the right.

There are five homescreens to play with, and the method of customisation has been changed. Widgets and app shortcuts can now be dragged and dropped into the chosen panel, and a preview of what the widget and the homescreen will look like is shown before it is executed.

All the usual email syncing options are available, but there is no Quickoffice or Documents to Go app preloaded. Thankfully, these can be downloaded from the Android Market, and Google Docs can be accessed through the browser.

Google has upped its game in relation to security, and business users will be pleased to know that data on the tablet can be encrypted. However, the implementation of security is a little bizarre as users have to manually encrypt the device. This took us one hour and 15 minutes, and the device was unusable while this process was taking place.

In contrast, the iPad 2 comes with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption out of the box. IT administrators may therefore choose the Apple device to avoid having to manually encrypt it before handing it over to staff.

On the Xoom, we were required to set up a numerical password and, once the encryption process was complete, the device would not mount a PC as a hard drive until the PIN was entered.

The Xoom can also be monitored and controlled by an IT administrator via a Google Apps business account. The feature allows admins to erase all data, set password rules, change the screen unlock password, monitor screen unlock attempts and lock the device remotely.

Another impressive feature of the Xoom is its ability to carry out a form of  multi-tasking which, although not quite on same level as the BlackBerry PlayBook, is better than app switching on the iPad 2.

Pressing the 'Recent Apps' button brings up a panel of the last five applications which have been opened. Users can preview the tab before choosing to go into the application. The current application also continues to run, meaning that flash videos continue to play, something rivals can't quite manage.

An area that we feel Google could have improved is the onscreen keyboard. Although the letters are large it is too basic, and typing with one hand while holding the device with the other is difficult for any prolonged period of time.

Those who wish to use the device for longer are advised to purchase the Bluetooth keyboard accessory, which costs £60.

Internet
Surfing the internet is one of the best features of the Xoom and the WebKit browser has been redesigned to offer a desktop-like experience.

Key additions include tabbed browsing and an ‘incognito' mode to keep your history private. The speed improvements in this new version are very clear too, web pages loading fully within seconds.

Flash 10.2 is supported out of the box, although the software has to be downloaded from the Android Market manually. This allows the Xoom to provide a much more complete web experience than Apple's device.

Battery life
Motorola claims up to 10 hours of video playback, which is on a par with the iPad 2. However, as the iPad 2 has a slightly brighter screen and is physically lighter, it can still be considered superior.

Moderate use will see around 20 hours of life out of the Xoom, and this is decent considering the size of the screen.

Overall, while the Motorola Xoom has some flaws, it is still a solid device. Honeycomb is a pleasure to use and the Xoom offers better overall functionality than the iPad 2.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb, 10.1in display with 1,280 x 800 resolution, Nvidia Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, mini-USB, mini-HDMI, Wi-Fi, 3G (optional), 32GB internal memory,