Motorola Xoom Review

Motorola Xoom specs:

• Android Honeycomb (3.0)
• 10.1-inch diagonal  capacitive touchscreen (1280 x 800, 16:10)
• NVIDIA T20, dual core
• 1GB LP DDR2
• 32GB internal memory, MicroSD expandable
• Front-facing 2.0 megapixel webcam, rear 5.0 megapixel camera with flash
• Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz & 5GHz 802.11 b/g/n, 3G (CDMA EV-DO Rev A), 4G Upgradable (LTE)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID
• USB port, HDMI input, 3.5mm input
• 9.80 x 6.61 x 0.51 inches
• 1.61 pounds
• Price at Launch: $799.99 w/o contract, $599.99 with two-year agreement

Build & Design

There is very little tablet makers can do to distinguish their devices from the rest of the heap, but Motorola does its best to stick out, with slight design tweaks that work both for and against it.

The Xoom is an all-black tablet with rounded edges and a slightly textured and rubberized back that splits about a quarter of the way down from the top. The upper portion is slightly smoother and more ?rubbery? than the bottom portion. We found the Xoom back preferable to the all-plastic back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab base model (not the Verizon Tab, which had small rubber bullets) and Apple iPad. Compared to the available competition, the Xoom is just easier to hold, and the back shrugs off fingerprints well.

As with other tablets, all the ports are found around the edges. The mini-USB and mini-HDMI ports are on the bottom next to a docking input and charger port, and the 3.5MM headphone jack is on the top next to a notch hiding the MicroSD slot and SIM card slot.

There are two volume buttons on the left side, while the right side has nothing.i

The power/lock button is on the back of the device, sitting to the right of the two on-board speakers. The rear camera lens and camera flash sit between them.

In contrast with many Android handsets, there are no buttons on the front of the Xoom. There is just the 10.1-inch display and front-facing camera. I expected this to be an issue, but I quickly adjusted, and the lack of buttons gives the Xoom a much more modern feel than rival tablets.

Due to its size, the Xoom is very much a two-handed tablet. It's too large and heavy for prolonged one-handed use, unlike the 7-inch Galaxy Tab. But it also feels more sturdy than Samsung's Android tablet, and even the first-generation iPad.
If there is a design flaw, it's in the rear camera lens placement, and its unfortunately not uncommon with tablets. The lens is only slightly recessed from the body, leaving it vulnerable to fingerprints and scratches. Users that value on-board cameras will want to invest in a folio or be especially careful when laying the tablet down on a surface.