Though the original Motorola Xoom stood out as the first big tablet push with backing from Google, it didn’t turn out quite to be pinnacle of Android tablets.
It was soon surpassed by the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as a straight-up iPad 2 competitor, Still, there’s no doubt the Xoom was a good device in its own right, so Motorola’s been tweaking and trimming, and has now released the Xoom 2.
Though there have been some internal changes, it’s the outside where the difference is most notable. Despite the thickness and weight similarities between the Xoom 2 and the iPad 2, they end up feeling quite different in the hand because of their different shapes. The Xoom 2 has a 16:10 widescreen display, while the iPad is 4:3.
This means that, in portrait, the Xoom 2 actually feels slightly more comfortable to hold in one hand, because it isn’t as wide. Conversely, the iPad 2 is slightly more comfortable in landscape, because the Xoom 2 stretches further.
Technical Specifications –
- Android 3.2 Operating system.
- Thickness – 8.8mm.
- Weight- 599 grm.
- Processor – 1.2 GHz.
- Display – 1280 x 800 pixels in a 10.1-inch screen also it’s an IPS panel.
- RAM – 1GB
- Storage – 16GB
Surprisingly, this can’t be increased with a microSD card, despite there being a flap on the side of the Xoom 2 that you would think would cover a microSD card slot. Instead, it covers… some plastic.
Motorola seems to think that its included MotoCast software will cover the need for more media storage, enabling you to access the media on your computer from your device, anywhere. Well, nearly anywhere – there’s no 3G in the Xoom 2, though there is a GPS chip.
The two big software additions to Android 3.2 reinforce this idea of a handy portable screen: the Floating Notes app and MotoCast.
The Floating Notes app sits permanently in the bottom bar, where notifications come up. You can tap it at any time to bring up the options to create a new Floating Note, view your notes in a window where you can sort them by date create, title, and so on, or you can open the built-in Evernote app.
MotoCast is the other big software feature for the Xoom 2. It’s a media streaming app, essentially, but a custom one designed to make the process as easy as possible.
You install the MotoCast software on your computer, decide which folders to allow it to see, and then open the app on your Xoom to connect to those folders and stream music, videos and movies.
The reason for having a dedicated server app, and not just using DLNA streaming over a local network, is that it provides a simple way to get remote access to your media wherever you are – in another room in the house, or hundreds of miles away.
Moto is so convinced that this is the way forward, as that maybe its part of the reason why there’s no SD card slot, and only 16GB of storage. Like Windows Phone Connector, it’ll automatically convert videos if they’re in a format the Xoom 2 can’t play natively (though Motorola’s software is better than Microsoft’s, because it doesn’t insist on also converting the stuff that was fine to begin with).
One of the Xoom 2′s other party tricks, and yet more evidence of Motorola’s designs on the living room, is the built-in infrared receiver and bundled Dijit app. Essentially, the Xoom 2 can become a universal remote control for your TV setup. We had no problems getting it to work with our kit just by searching the database for the right models, though it has to be said that the on-screen remotes are a little light on features compared to the real thing.
Don’t assume that it’s all play and no work when it comes to the Xoom 2, though. There’s a Citrix app included, for you enterprisey types, and Quickoffice HD is also bundled, with cloud integration for Google Docs, Dropbox, Box, SugarSync and more.
There’s a rear-facing camera on the Xoom 2 that can take five-megapixel snaps and record video at 720p, while the front-facing camera has a 1.3-megapixel sensor. The camera on the Xoom 2 is decent enough, capturing accurate colours and crisp lines, and letting in a good amount of light even in low light. The detail can be a little soft, but overall they’re good snaps. Similarly, the 720p HD video is passable, if not spectacular. It’s not up to par with better dedicated cameras, or the best phones, but you can make out what’s happening easily, though fast motion can become quite blurred.
Everything’s easy to access on the device, with music in the Music app and photos and videos in the Gallery app. The Music is a bit slow in landscape when you’ve got a decent collection, but is faster to flick through in portrait. 1080p video plays back smoothly, except not over the HDMI port – everything mirrors smoothly when you connect to an HDTV
The Motorola Xoom 2 is an interesting change from the original Motorola Xoom. Being thinner and lighter – more like an iPad 2 – but with extra processing power and some media-focused features are all good things, but cutting back on things like a microSD card slot makes it feel like two steps forward and one step back
Pros –
- The Xoom 2 has a nice design, and we definitely like how thin and light it is. And though the screen isn’t quite as bright as we’d like, it’s got vibrant colours and excellent viewing angles.
- Performance is good on the Xoom 2, for the most part, and Android 3.2 works fairly smoothly. We were also quite happy with the battery life, even if it possible to eat up quicker than you’d think with some intensive web browsing.
- Some of the media features are great ideas – the Dijit app may have some basic controls, but it’s easy as you like to set up, and worked perfectly for us, and MotoCast could grow to be a very useful service.
Cons –
- The way the Xoom 2 rattles when the loudspeaker is high and the bit of give in the back are both unfortunate, as is the fact that screen is a horrendous fingerprint/grease magnet.
- The keyboard is a weak spot, and the slow response to changing the orientation serves to make the operating system feel as though it needs a little more polish on this device.
- And we said, the MotoCast could grow to be a useful service, but at the moment it’s fundamentally flawed. It requires your computer to be on all the time, your internet connection to have vast upload speeds if you’re using it remotely.
- And the lack of microSD card is perplexing given the flakiness of the MotoCast service, and the lack of any larger storage option. Yes, 16GB will be enough for many people, but those who need more storage capacity than that simply won’t be able to buy the Xoom 2. Still Confused?? Have a look at this great video which will let you know the device better-
Final Verdict –
Taken in isolation, the Xoom 2 isn’t a bad tablet by any means. It’s thin and light, it runs fairly smoothly and has decent battery life. But it’s really hampered by the lack of storage options, and that inflexibility is its downfall when you consider the price of nearly Rs. 33000.
It doesn’t quite match the best Android tablets or the iPad for quality, and many good Android tablets have it beaten for price. The Xoom 2 is an improvement over the original Xoom, but not over the competition.
0 comments: