Xoom vs. iPad 2 - my completely unscientific comparison

pbrauer

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Sep 24, 2010
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Ok, it is getting down to time to send the Xoom back to Verizon (unless they decide I can keep it….;-)) and I thought I would do a quick comparison based solely on my personal observations between the Xoom and the iPad2, having spent a weekend in a “measuring” contest with a friend’s iPad.

First off, Maps and Navigation: Hands down to Motorola Xoom, there just is not even a place where the iPad2 came close. Google Maps and Nav are free, the closest we came on the iPad was Google Maps with Verizon Navigator. Now, if you don’t mind the monthly subscription fee for VZW-Navigator it is actually a pretty darn nice service (VERY up-to-date maps, had some road construction Google Nav didn’t), but for free you just cannot touch the Google Navigation services. Also, imagine our surprise when we figured out that my friends WiFi version doesn’t actually have GPS, it uses Networks for location. Edge = Xoom

Second, Multimedia: Now I will be the first to admit, I am not a big gamer, nor do I do a ton with multimedia but while I was really impressed at how Apple has addressed not having Flash support by providing other technologies and apps, it still comes down to Apple doesn’t have flash. Edge = Xoom

Third, Screen: Ok ok, BOTH screens are much better than my beloved Viewsonic g-Tablet, but the Apple Screen is better. Looks better, better viewing angles, better color saturation. It is a little smaller than the Xoom, but that is negligible in my opinion. Edge = Apple

Forth, connectivity: The Xoom seems to connect faster, again there is no scientific evidence I can provide of this, but it just seemed to connect faster and find a signal better. AND it seemed to be able to do more with less signal than the iPad/. Edge = Xoom

Fifth and finally, battery life: We used the tablets next to each other from a full charge until it died, and the Xoom went 2:15 longer than the iPad2. Course the full recharge took a heck of a lot longer too for the Xoom, but that I can deal with as long as I have good life away from the outlet. Edge = Xoom

So there you have it. On my personal list of things that matter to me, the Xoom clearly is better than the iPad. There was also the fun of being able to rub it in my friends face, although that was tempered with that classic Apple user’s slightly condescending attitude of “yes, I know yours is better, but mine is made by Apple” attitude.
Cheers,
Peter
 
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