Motorola Xoom vs The iPad vs iPad 2. Which is the Best?
By Will Apse
The iPad opened up a huge market. Now the Xoom has arrived with superior hardware and some big backers. Is the iPad 2 good enough to keep Apple on top?
Over the last year, developers have switched huge resources into what is now the hottest area of computing. Mobile devices are set to outsell desktops for the first time and at the biggest electronics show on earth- CES in Las Vegas, this January- there were no fewer than 100 new tablets presented.
Most of those devices will go nowhere but there is certainly at least one worthy rival to the iPad- the Motorola Honeycomb Xoom.
Operating Systems and Apps
The Xoom uses the Android 3.0 operating system- sometimes called Honeycomb- that has been specially produced by Google for tablet PCs. All the indications are that it as smooth as Apple's latest iOS. Where Android is still behind the curve is the number of apps available. The Apple Store is coming up to 350,000 apps. Android is a way behind with about 130,000. Most of these are aimed at smartphones whereas software developers have been rushing out apps for the iPad for many months.
Even so, Android 3.0 has some great features as standard including Google Maps 5.0 offering 3-D interaction, access to more than 3 million eBooks via Google's new eBook webstore plus Google Talk with video chat. The trickle of Honeycomb apps will soon become a flood: xoom apps
New iPad v old iPad
Steve Jobs, in his recent launch of the iPad 2, said it will perform standard calculations twice as fast as the original iPad and offer a nine-fold boost in graphics performance. It remains to be seen if the new iPad can match NVIDIA know how in graphics for gaming.
Hardware
Processor
Where the Xoom is well ahead of the original iPad is in hardware and it still has a small lead over the iPad 2 to give it some leverage.
The Xoom uses the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual core processor. Each core delivers 1GHz. One core will keep the operating system humming and the other 1GHz is availble for running applications.
The iPad has a single core 1 GHz processor. The lack of power has made some critics dismiss it as 'a shiny toy'.
The iPad 2 has the dual core A5 processor and this is certainly a match for the Xoom, except, perhaps, for applications needing a lot of RAM. The Xoom has 1GB of RAM. Apple are being coy about the iPad 2's RAM but it seems a weak point with only 265 MB.
Cameras
The Xoom has two cameras. One is a front-facing 2.0 megapixel camera for video chat. The 5.0-megapixel camera on the back is for photos and will take 720p HD video. The iPad 2 includes similar cameras with similar specifications. The original iPad has no camera of any kind.
Some people might wonder just how easy it is to use a ten inch tablet as a camcorder, of course...
Connectivity
The Xoom will launch as a 3G and Wi-Fi device towards the end of March and upgrade to 4G a few months later. By June 2011, it is expected to be sold as 4G and WiFi as standard. Right now the iPad is 3G and/or WiFi as is the iPad 2.
Xoom and iPad as Phone
The iPad will work as a phone with Skype but this is not a convenient way to keep in touch. The Zoom will function fully as a (pretty big!) phone with video chat. The iPad 2 offers a front facing camera that can be used for video chat via Facetime software. This will allow connection to other iPad 2's, Macs and iPod Touch's- but only through WiFi. Don't expect video calls in your car.
Screen
The Xoom screen has a resolution of 1280 by 800 pixels. The iPad and iPad 2 offer lower resolutions at 1024 by 768. Why no update for the iPad 2? Here is a theory: pcmag.com/article2.
All three devices have 10.1 inch screens. The Xoom can look smaller because it has a thinner bezel (that frame around the screen).
Video Viewing and HDMI
The Xoom will play full HD 1080 video without any scaling (unlike the iPad) and it has an HDMI slot so you can send video straight to video players and TVs. It will also play Adobe Flash, so web videos are viewable. The iPad won't play Flash and it has limited connectivity outside of WiFi, lacking even USB without a clumsy adapter.
Neither iPad has a HDMI out port but you can buy an adapter for the iPad 2 for $40. Movie output is capped at 720p.
Xoom Widgets
One of the strongest features of the Xoom is the range of widgets that are available to scatter around the home screen (or not). This makes for convenient access to all the built-in apps Google have included like the e-mail client, browser, contacts database, calculator, scheduler, and maps.
It also helps you customize the tablet and make it feel your own.
The iPad has no widgets.
The Xoom looking very Desirable at CES 2011
Portabilty
The Xoom and iPad are very similar. as far as dimensions are concerned. The Xoom is a fraction thinner but weighs almost the same as the 3G iPad. The new iPad 2 is noticeably lighter than the older version or Xoom at 1.3 pounds (compared to 1.5 pounds). This will help it compete with the KIndle as a book reader. Of course, what we really need is an anti-gravity app!
Storage
The iPad and iPad 2 come with 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of memory. The Xoom will ship with 32 GB but has a slot for a full size SD card so can be expanded hugely.
Battery Life- Xoom and iPad
The iPad, iPad2 and Xoom all manage up to ten hours on a full charge depending on your usage.
So who will be the Winnner?
After the launch of the iPad 2 most people are saying Apple has ticked all the right boxes and will continue to dominate the tablet market. This is no surprise- Apple made the market and everyone else is playing catch up.
Where Apple Wins
- They have a huge lead in apps with around 50,000 apps for the iPad whilst Honeycomb Apps are thin on the ground.
- Apple have better pricing. If the Xoom stays at the launch price it will be around $70 per unit more expensive than a comparable iPad 2. The cheapest 16 GB. WiFi-only version of the iPad 2 is $499. The cheapest Xoom- WiFi and 32 GB- is around $600,
- Apple has the name. This is not about fanboys (though there are a few who deserve that name!)- it is about products that have consistently delivered.
Where the Xoom Wins
- NVIDIA graphics technology is acknowledged as superior by many in the gaming world and game apps for the Xoom look great with many more on-screen antagonistics than either the iPad or iPad 2 offer.
- The Motorola screen is bigger which means no scaling of HD video. The uncapped HDMI out means you can play 1080p Video on a TV or monitor direct. The iPad 2 offers only 720p through an adapter.
- The iPad 2 offers 256 MB of RAM (we think) but the Xoom's is massive at 1 GB.
- The Xoom is intended to be 4G capable by the middle of this year. There is no indication the iPad 2 will include a 4G option.
- We all hate adapters. If you buy that $40 HDMI adapter it also cuts back the iPad 2 price advantage considerably.
The Force is Still with Apple
That vast array of apps is what will continue to give Apple the edge for a time to come. Apple have also used their sheer size in the market place to buy in quality components at rock bottom costs. This means the Xoom cannot undercut the iPad 2 on price.
Analysts reckon the iPad will take around 90% of the tablet market this year.
So is the Xoom Doomed?
Hardly. The iPad has many advantages right now but then the iPhone once had all the advantages over Android phones. In the last quarter of 2010, Android phones outsold the iPhone by 2 to 1, worldwide.
What the experts are suggesting is that the iPad and Android tablet will be hogging 70 per cent of the tablet market in a few years time with everyone else as also rans.
Remember, though, this is not Apple versus Motorola, it is Apple versus Motorola and Google. With Steve Jobs taking sick leave, Apple dominance in mobile electronics looks less secure than it has for many years.
Overall, this looks like another great year for Apple and the iPad. Next year, who knows? The Xoom is a big, bad and powerful beast.
Official Xoom Video
Service Providers
Xoom is set to go with Verizon. The 3G iPad has disappointed some users on AT&T and Apple are planning a change in the near future.
Best Non-Photo of the Xoom
Links
Finding the best accessories for the Xoom is still tougher than you might expect. This site has a good selection of cases, keyboards, headphones and so on: Best Xoom Accessories,
Find out what Motorola have to say about their new tablet here: motorola XOOM.
Apple offering the iPad 2: http://www.apple.com/ipad/
Check out CES 2011 here for a mass of new products with reports and further links:http://www.cesweb.org/
Comments
Thanks for pointing that out AlphaRayz. I recently published an article that I called the 'The Twenty Best Best Blu-ray Movies, 2010-2011'. It took me a week to notice the typo! I think I need an editor!
hey man, nice review. One detail; your number of android market apps is a bit behind; here you can track the number of apps on the android market:
The iPad 2 offers 256 MHz of RAM (we think) but the Xoom's is massive at 1 GHz.
Wow.. Thats really... Fast :)
Okay, I'm pretty sure RAM is measured in megabytes and gigabytes, not megahertz and gigahertz... I mean RAM does have a frequency as well, but I think this article means bytes....
You gentlemen are both right, of course. What kind of idiot writes Hz for bytes? Me, apparently.
Corrected, belatedly.
Nice hub with good comparisons!
Sometimes, the specifications don't really matter. The most important thing is how all the parts work together, and how well they work together. I may have a corei7 beast but still run slower than core2duo due to the slow hard disk or RAM that I have. It is reported that iPad2 has 512MB RAM.
I have seen a youtube video review on ipad2 vs Asus Transformer. No doubt that Transformer is impressive and the spec is about the same as Xoom. However, in practical, i could see that Transformer still lags a bit during processing.
Widgets are really fun to use. I am using an Android phone, HTC Desire and I love being able to customise my screen. However, the more flexible it is, the more power it uses and it affects the stability of the whole unit. My wife uses and iPhone 4 and both have 1GHz processor except that iPhone 4 has more internal memory than HTC Desire. iPhone 4 hardly lags but the lag in HTC Desire is very obvious though I still love my HTC Desire. My HTC Desire is a good phone but it just not good enough to play games with which one thing that I would like it to be able to do.
You make some great points! You are certainly right about speed depending on the various parts of the device working well together.
As to the HTC Desire lag have you heard about a bug that affects the init process? Someone offers a fix for it here:
Hmmm... that's solution was for HTC Desire HD. Mine is without the HD. Well, I will try that anyway though I have connected my phone to the PC several times before.
Thanks for your help!
I have thought about getting an Ipad 2, but not ready. Waiting for all the competition to come forward.
You are certainly right about the speed
AlphaRayz 16 months ago
iPad does not have a micro SD slot. That is the micro SIM slot on the device.