Greeting gizmo grabbers!
The Consumer and Electronics show is over and I am sure that there will be a glut of information about the newest and hottest devices coming through the cloud very soon. (As I wasn't there I will be reading the posts as well!) Among those stories will be news about the new tablets that we will see in 2012.
As I had reported earlier, 2011 was dubbed the "year of the tablet", and manufacturers did indeed put a lot of effort into producing devices that could take some market share away from Apple and it's iPad series (iPad 3 is scheduled for release this year, as well as many competitor brands)
Some of these devices have been successful while others, not so much.
I recently got my hands on a Motorola Xoom tablet, one of Verizon and Motorola's joint developments, and did a comparison against the venerable iPad2.
I found that the Xoom held its own extremely well in terms of data transfer, clocking out at speeds comparible to that of a DSL line while being connected to Verizon's 3g network.
The interface, I found to be more intuitive than that of the iPad2, more closely resembling the feel of a Kindle or Nook, with easy one button operations that are similar to Windows in their functionality, and multiple easy swipe desktops that allow you to keep all of your apps and files organized.
The OS is Android 3.1, affectionately known as "Honeycomb" which comes with an HTML based browser that works well with 3G/4G and WiFi connections.
With it's ten inch wide display, dual core processors with 1GB ram, it plays movies and videos smoothly and beautifully and the game mode graphics are awesome!
And if you want apps, well their are PLENTY of them at the Android market, a large number of which are free. Granted, there are not quite as many Android based apps out there as there are for iOS. At last count Apple boasted more than 130,000 but I don't think anyone knows for sure! But how many apps will a person use in one lifetime? Moreover, who has the time to look up 130,000 apps? All we really need is "a few good apps", and the Android market has those in abundance. Apps for productivity and apps for flat out fun! (I absolutely love the Google sky map!)
I wont waste bits by posting specs. You can find all of the technical data here.
I will say that the Motorola Xoom, with 3G (upgrade-able to 4G), and wifi is an awesome tool and toy that will keep you working/playing for a long time!
Check out the video for more........
If you're interested in purchasing a tablet or just checking one out you can go to your local Verizon store and give both the Xoom and the iPad2 a whirl, and decide for yourself which one is best for you.
Verizon also carries Samsung tablets, and smartphones from LG, Blackberry, Sony, Casio and more, all of which I will be reviewing when available so stay tuned!
btw......Is it winter yet?
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