Motorola XOOM (Verizon) Android 3.0 tablet review - buggy, but fun

Score

3.9 stars
"Good"

(How we score)

Solid hardware build, wide-screen form factor, cool new UI, dual cameras and HD video recording

Stability problems, few tablet apps, some user interface quirks, poor speakers

Summary

The Motorola XOOM, as the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet to hit the market, has all eyes on it. People want to know if this device, and others like it that will follow, will truly be able to pose a threat to the Apple and its popular iPad tablet - the device that created the market that the Motorola XOOM is now trying to compete in.

The short answer is yes, it can compete. But it does things in a very different way and will likely appeal to a very different type of consumer. Just as Android smartphones appeal to a different type of user than Apple's iPhone, so do Android tablets appeal to different people than might be drawn to the iPad.

That's fine, of course. But for now, at least, Android 3.0 Honeycomb is not quite ready for prime time. While Motorola's XOOM hardware is very nice, the OS that powers it is not particularly intuitive, and has so far proven itself to be not particularly stable, either.

But with that said, I really like the device and will continue to use it. In fact, I typed the Motorola XOOM review that you are reading on a Motorola XOOM. How meta.

But for the mass market, Android Honeycomb just isn't ready. There are too few apps that take advantage of it properly, and too many apps in general just don't run well on it. The UI inconsistencies and such also will prove to be a large hurdle for Android powered tablets for the time being.