Let me start off by saying that I am evaluating tablets that will be distributed amongst my organisations executives. The two contenders are the Xoom (which I keep referring to as Zune!) and the iPad. Been using the Xoom for a bit now and here the Xoom's pluses and minuses:
+Honeycomb widgets are awesome. Now I can just glance at the home screen when and email comes in without having to dig into the mail app thats a big plus. Side note, the gmail widget works really well, but I've run into instances where the 'email' widget for exchange would lag, sometime for 10s of minutes.
+Beautifully screen, excellent resolution.
+Some non-tablet apps are usable.
+Actually has an accessibly file system
+Better browser
-Many market apps I tested were very buggy, many, many crashes
-The Xoom is heavy, I think the iPad is heavy, and the Xoom is heavier.
-Xoom feels plasticy
-Even though it is heavier, the battery life is about 60% - 70% of the iPad's.
-UI volume is inconsistent, keyboard click feedback is a whisper, most of the time imperceptible. If you crank the volume the speaker distorts other sounds horribly.
-The touch responsiveness is pretty good, but ever so slightly less responsive than the iPad.
-Tablet apps are non existent. What you would expect as the SDK was just released.
-Power adapter is awful, its the size of a hypodermic needle and the port is flimsy
-Heavily landscape centric
-Lacking media apps, netflix, hulu, etc (Executives want to watch movies!)
In its current state I think the Xoom is a tough sell to non-techy people. I was ecstatic about running various terminals on the thing, but from Mr. Executive's point of view that is meaningless. For easy of use the iPad with all its flaws still wins.
Discussion about
Xoom vs iPad for SMB
engadgets app works well and is not tablet ready, same with some twitter apps, they work great, seemsic is nice and is not tablet ready. I also noticed things the IGN app worked, it stretches the apps to fit and if the app is well designed in the first place it just works.
I loved using it and even though there are a 100 billions apps for ipad and there are a few less on android, most people use 30 or so tops! I had... 30! Weird
I loved using it and even though there are a 100 billions apps for ipad and there are a few less on android, most people use 30 or so tops! I had... 30! Weird
Android Phone based apps are definitely more 'usable' on the Xoom compared to iPhone apps on the iPad. Google chose to just project and extend apps compared to blowing phone apps up to fit the screen. However, usable they may be for me they are in need for tablet centric design.
Wrong: you don't need permission from Apple either.
developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/
www.apple.com/iphone/business/apps/in-house/
developer.apple.com/programs/ios/enterprise/
www.apple.com/iphone/business/apps/in-house/
My Xoom feels metally, not plasticy. That's weird. I know it's not metal, but it definitely doesn't make me think "plastic" when I touch it.
What would be easier to write programs in? Android or iOS? If you need to have your own app, that would be the ONLY thing I would be concerned with if I was you. If you need it for data processing in the field, well, then I understand.
What would be easier to write programs in? Android or iOS? If you need to have your own app, that would be the ONLY thing I would be concerned with if I was you. If you need it for data processing in the field, well, then I understand.
