Database Users

Ipad fanboys on the Xoom board.

First off, why the heck did you buy a Xoom in the first place, it's kinda like you were asking for trouble and then paying for it, kinda stupid.
You say that the lack of high def video support is your main beef (especially after certain people point out that the vaunted all high powerfull apple didn't have all that many tablet apps on its initial release), but your keep switching the bar for what the problem is. You now say that the problem is no native, "Hardware" support for high def, but apple doesn't have that either, even the vaunted Ipad 2 doesn't seem to come with a hardware decoder for high def, and you apperantly realize that a software decoder is on the way, one way or the other, for the Xoom, so your only beef is it's not here now.
You know what, I'm not normally one of those Linux geeks who likes to show how smart I am and disdains others trying to play with my software, but [email protected] you apple guys are some annoying perfectionist f√cks that I'd rather not have on my team, and not just perfectionist but blind to the faults in your own chosen gods.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

Many people like myself picked up an iPad when it was apparent that Android had nothing to compete with it. I bought mine over the summer expecting Android to release something, anything, that could compete with it during the fall, at which time I would sell the ipad and pick up the Android tablet. During that period of waiting, I picked up a Galaxy S phone, specifically the Epic4g. I later found out that Galaxy S phones were nearly identical to the iPad hardware wise. I am continually blown away by how awesome this phone is and its capabilities. I am not an iPad fanboy. I think the hardware is amazing, but iOS is annoying and far too simple. So that is where I am coming from:
The FACT that the Xoom is incapable of playing high profile [email protected] or higher is ridiculous given its specs and who the manufacturer of the SoC is. I'm sorry. The iPad running XBMC and my Galaxy S phone natively can play files that the Xoom cannot, and that is kinda pathetic, as neither of those devices are dual cores and both are running years old GPU tech. Maybe sometime in the future the Xoom will be able to software decode these videos by maxing out both cores of the CPU, but that is both not ideal and unlikely and will destroy battery life compared to hardware decoding which uses the GPU.
And yes, the iPad hardware decodes these videos using XBMC the same way that my phone hardware decodes natively. Natively they limit the capability of the ipad to pimp their iTunes garbage, but the capability was there in the hardware for ingenious people to take advantage of. The iPad had Air Video also, which mitigated much of its unjailbroken shortcomings until XBMC was ported. No such capability exists for the xoom according to the very people who brought the port of XBMC to the iPad.
As for the rest of your post where you go on about "teams" and other nonsense, what are you talking about. People can appreciate both platforms and both devices.
tl;dr: Part of the reason some of us were/are upset at this glaring shortcoming is that we have been waiting forever for an Android tablet to come swoop us off our feet and for months now Nvidia has been pimping its SoC as the bringer of all things HD and graphically sexy. Then we come to find out that oh yea, it only plays this VERY VERY specific kind of HD that no one uses and that is surpassed by last years PHONE technology. Its not the end of the world, but its personally what I use my iPad for most.

I have both so its easy to compare one to the other. With that said, looking forward to Xoom updates to bring feature parity. Hopefully something can be done with the craptastic video playback support.

No offense, but I enjoy snuggling up with my gf in front of my regular LCD TV to watch my movies. Why go through all that trouble of jailbreaking when another update will force you to revert? And why go through all that trouble to play a movie on a tablet when I can I play it back perfectly on my hdpc? I have more than a ½ TB of movies and how many movies are on my tablet....just three. Why? Just to show it off to others. In the end each is their own. But I didn't purchase my tablet to just play movies or music. I purchased it for productivity simply. Not saying ipad can't be that, but I prefer to free myself from iTunes. It's a bastard and no hack or mod will make any apple product work my way.

muyoso said:
Many people like myself picked up an iPad when it was apparent that Android had nothing to compete with it. I bought mine over the summer expecting Android to release something, anything, that could compete with it during the fall, at which time I would sell the ipad and pick up the Android tablet. During that period of waiting, I picked up a Galaxy S phone, specifically the Epic4g. I later found out that Galaxy S phones were nearly identical to the iPad hardware wise. I am continually blown away by how awesome this phone is and its capabilities. I am not an iPad fanboy. I think the hardware is amazing, but iOS is annoying and far too simple. So that is where I am coming from:
The FACT that the Xoom is incapable of playing high profile [email protected] or higher is ridiculous given its specs and who the manufacturer of the SoC is. I'm sorry. The iPad running XBMC and my Galaxy S phone natively can play files that the Xoom cannot, and that is kinda pathetic, as neither of those devices are dual cores and both are running years old GPU tech. Maybe sometime in the future the Xoom will be able to software decode these videos by maxing out both cores of the CPU, but that is both not ideal and unlikely and will destroy battery life compared to hardware decoding which uses the GPU.
And yes, the iPad hardware decodes these videos using XBMC the same way that my phone hardware decodes natively. Natively they limit the capability of the ipad to pimp their iTunes garbage, but the capability was there in the hardware for ingenious people to take advantage of. The iPad had Air Video also, which mitigated much of its unjailbroken shortcomings until XBMC was ported. No such capability exists for the xoom according to the very people who brought the port of XBMC to the iPad.
As for the rest of your post where you go on about "teams" and other nonsense, what are you talking about. People can appreciate both platforms and both devices.
tl;dr: Part of the reason some of us were/are upset at this glaring shortcoming is that we have been waiting forever for an Android tablet to come swoop us off our feet and for months now Nvidia has been pimping its SoC as the bringer of all things HD and graphically sexy. Then we come to find out that oh yea, it only plays this VERY VERY specific kind of HD that no one uses and that is surpassed by last years PHONE technology. Its not the end of the world, but its personally what I use my iPad for most.
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Thank you for being reasonable, even if I was coming off as some what of a d/ck. We actually do not fully know yet if the Xoom's hi def restrictions are totally related to hardware yet, some on the notion ink board have hinted that it is merely a problem with the OS and that the hardware can handle it, this actually makes sense when you think about it, after all nvidia is first and formost a graphics oriented company. So we could see an OS fix and have a hardware native solution.
Whatever the problem might be, the issue I generally have is that the apple fan boys are quick to dismiss the overall capability of the system in favor of a system that is fully developed, you can't compare nor compete with a system that is fully developed to it's ultimate potential with a system that is just beginning to feel itself out into what it can become. You might love the finished product of the Ipad, but at the same time understand that it has limits that the Xoom doesn't.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

If the Adam has a Tegra 2 and can play high quality videos, the XOOM is absolutely capable of it. Right?

I bought an iPad2 tonight to have both

arrtoodeetoo said:
If the Adam has a Tegra 2 and can play high quality videos, the XOOM is absolutely capable of it. Right?
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Yes, exactly, the problem seems to be OS related, so fixable.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

cwizardtx said:
I bought an iPad2 tonight to have both
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That's the best of both worlds. Enjoy!!!

muyoso said:
tl;dr: Part of the reason some of us were/are upset at this glaring shortcoming is that we have been waiting forever for an Android tablet to come swoop us off our feet and for months now Nvidia has been pimping its SoC as the bringer of all things HD and graphically sexy. Then we come to find out that oh yea, it only plays this VERY VERY specific kind of HD that no one uses and that is surpassed by last years PHONE technology. Its not the end of the world, but its personally what I use my iPad for most.
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Click to collapse
+1 on that one sir. you have no idea how long i was following the tegra 2 story last year. it is disappointing that there's a ton of codec issues on the xoom. I'm quite sure this is a software, not hardware issue.
However, Google/Motorola needs to be aware of this asap. The louder the noise, the more they will do something about it.

richardjr said:
Yes, exactly, the problem seems to be OS related, so fixable.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
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Except that the Notion Ink is similarly incapable of high profile [email protected] or higher video playback. Its a Tegra 2 issue.

cwizardtx said:
I bought an iPad2 tonight to have both
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Click to collapse
win!
i like apple's hardware just fine (my work machine is a macbook pro, which boot into xp) and i still have a 7 year old 64gb iPod and it still works somehow. what i don't like is apple OSes and walled gardens and devices that i can't do what I want with. i like to feel like i own a device. and i guess i might have to admit i'm a bit of a fanboy. i'm pretty bought in to the whole google ecosystem. I've even got a Cr-48 my xoom is sitting on top of.
but the positive side of this iOS vs Android thing is that we're getting some kickass products from the battle. without the fierce competition (in the wake of Apple changing the smartphone market with the first iPhone) we'd all still be stuck on palm/webOS, blackberry or winbloze mobile.

muyoso said:
Except that the Notion Ink is similarly incapable of high profile [email protected] or higher video playback. Its a Tegra 2 issue.
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OK, well I have asked my brother whom is a programer for Motorola what the actual hardware support is and I have posted on the nvidia developer site to explain what the capabilities are hopefully I will get a reply.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

muyoso said:
Except that the Notion Ink is similarly incapable of high profile [email protected] or higher video playback. Its a Tegra 2 issue.
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Click to collapse
Can the Ipad or Ipad 2 support [email protected] or higher video, and I mean native hardware, not software, and is the tegra 2 not capable with a software correction while the Ipad or Ipad 2 is, in other words is one device especially deficient as apposed to the other?
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

Well... I am for one have switched to the other side - and LOVING IT!
Dont get me wrong - once the Android platform is a little more mature - I will be back! Until then good luck and enjoy waiting for fixes, games, apps and the 2nd generation around the corner.
(You may ask why did I give up my Android - well it was ViewSonic with a TERRIBLE screen. I also found the applications to be very substandard (games, etc.). I am one of those Linux/Java geeks who LOVE recompiling kernels, developing fixes/apps, etc. but for now.. I just wanted something that I would be productive with.
Anyway... I write this for google and other android manufactorers to see... I will be back.. I promise but I will NOT spend $800 on a beta platform ($400 would have taken me)!
I think I chose wisely
READ:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4215/apple-ipad-2-benchmarked-dualcore-cortex-a9-powervr-sgx-543mp2

I have an ipad, pretty much since day 1. How could you not be a fan? It is a market defining device like the ipod. MS has been talking tablets for 10 years and hasn't been able to pull it off. I don't use mine for movies or music and I still like it. For my uses, the Xoom is a better fit as it has a real file system, sd memory, usb hosting, Motorola seems to have warmed to rooting, etc. but my ipad (which I won't be upgrading) is still an excellent device. Android needs a media manager, hopefully a unified Android platform, to compete with ipad for most people. Maybe that will be Google Music?
Thank you Apple for raising the bar. If it wasn't for the iphone we'd be stuck with WM5.0 or a RIM still doing text only emails. As long as Google and Apple are chasing each other devices and innovation will be better and better and we have choices.

richardjr said:
Can the Ipad or Ipad 2 support [email protected] or higher video, and I mean native hardware, not software, and is the tegra 2 not capable with a software correction while the Ipad or Ipad 2 is, in other words is one device especially deficient as apposed to the other?
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
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The iPad supports nothing out of the box for obvious reasons. Its a closed ecosystem. The hardware is willing but iOS is unwilling. Installing XBMC however allows my iPad to play up to high profile [email protected] 720p videos before it begins to show signs of stuttering. Everything I have read including a direct quote from the dev behind the XBMC release for iOS who bought a Tegra 2 developer kit to begin the porting to the Tegra 2 platform is that Nvidia's Soc is incapable at a hardware level of high profile video @ L4.1 or higher. That is, with perfect drivers and codecs, that is the maximum it can achieve. The iPad2 will be able to do a lot more than the original iPad most likely. I wouldn't be surprised if it was capable of 1080p high profile @L5.1.

stanglx said:
Well... I am for one have switched to the other side - and LOVING IT!
Dont get me wrong - once the Android platform is a little more mature - I will be back! Until then good luck and enjoy waiting for fixes, games, apps and the 2nd generation around the corner.
(You may ask why did I give up my Android - well it was ViewSonic with a TERRIBLE screen. I also found the applications to be very substandard (games, etc.). I am one of those Linux/Java geeks who LOVE recompiling kernels, developing fixes/apps, etc. but for now.. I just wanted something that I would be productive with.
Anyway... I write this for google and other android manufactorers to see... I will be back.. I promise but I will NOT spend $800 on a beta platform ($400 would have taken me)!
I think I chose wisely
READ:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4215/apple-ipad-2-benchmarked-dualcore-cortex-a9-powervr-sgx-543mp2
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Click to collapse
SERIOUSLY! I returned my Xoom to Costco on thursday and got my ipad 2 yesterday and I'm extremely glad i did ($400 bucks in my pocket :]). I dont care how "closed" it is, the iPad handles media beautifully. The xoom couldn't even handle the large pdfs i threw at it, zooming and page turning was a stuttering mess (i know its a software issue but still!) while the iPad zips through the pages with such ease. This goes for movies as well, xoom=stutter or forceclose while ipad = smooth. And the apps, wow, they are amazing. Garageband on a tablet is so ridiculously awesome. And now there is a flash player for ipad! The iswifter app for ios played every damn flash video and game i through at it.
While the cameras on the xoom are better, the ipads cameras are plenty sufficient for what most people are going to use them for. Video chat and photbooth lol. For all other stuff i have my Epic 4g which takes beautiful pictures Speaking of epic 4g, i can finally use wireless tether now because the ipad supports BOTH infrastructure and adhoc. I know the Wireless tether 3.0 supports infrastructure but it caused my phone to reboot way too much.
For all you people saying the ipad 2 sucks and what not, please do read the anandtech review of it.
I still do hope xoom does well though. If it doesn't, developers won't move their apps from the appstore to the market place. Hopefully by the time the Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes out, honeycomb will be a little more mature. I Can't wait to see whats in store for android at google io this year (got my student ticket )

Congrats. Go post it on an apple board where someone cares. This is xoom board. it's a xoom dev board even.

Did anyone read the anandtech review of the PowerVR SGX543MP2 that they just posted? Holy testicles, it demolishes the Tegra 2 GPU.

[Q] Please help me decide which one to keep...Ipad2 or Xoom

I bought an Ipad 2 on Friday and a Xoom on Saturday...The Ipad2 grew on me because its slick and pretty efficient. The Xoom wasnt even on my radar until I went back to Best Buy to ask a question about the Ipad 2. Long story short, I have 2 weeks to decide. Initially, I wasnt crazy about the Xoom, but its started to grow on me, seems to have more depth. I am a Droid/Inc guy, I root , the whole nine, so I like Android's platform, but I am scared about whether or not the apps and support will matchup with the potential of the Xooms hardware. The Ipad2 is like a lexus, rock solid, uber reliable, intuitive and slick - but also somewhat numb to the feel (experience).The Xoom seems more like a Bimmer...more fun to drive, but also more tempermental.
Xoom fans, please shed light on what you think are the biggest pro's to the Xoom from a hands-on perspective. Thanks!

honestly? Neither.
I really prefer honeycomb over ios. And honeycomb will be available on many different hardware.
Personally I'm waiting on the samsung galaxy 10.1. Its only 10 grams heavier than ipad2 and has better display and 8mp back camera.

For me the iPad isn't an option. Being tethered to their store is just not something I will do.
The apps will catch up. I can't the the iPad as being able to do anything the Xoom can't, but I can see the Xoom being able to do a many things the iPad cannot.

aohus said:
honestly? Neither.
I really prefer honeycomb over ios. And honeycomb will be available on many different hardware.
Personally I'm waiting on the samsung galaxy 10.1. Its only 10 grams heavier than ipad2 and has better display and 8mp back camera.
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It also does not have a standard port of any kind. No micro USB, no micro HDMI. Have fun buying adapters..also the oh so frequent updates Samsung is known for... wait..
-Bauxite
Sent from my Evo 4G

Bauxite said:
It also does not have a standard port of any kind. No micro USB, no micro HDMI. Have fun buying adapters..also the oh so frequent updates Samsung is known for... wait..
-Bauxite
Sent from my Evo 4G
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Click to collapse
I own a Xoom, and I see this getting thrown around a lot -- Samsung's update problem.
They're miserable with their touchwiz devices (I own a Vibrant), but given that Google is using the Galaxy line of phones (Nexus S) to showcase Gingerbread, I would hazard it's safe to say if it's running as a Google experience device, the updates can and will come in a timely manner.
That said, we don't have a release date for the Galaxy 10.1 tablet, so in regards to the 'waiting game', I'd say that's it.

Android always wins over iOS for me. The hardware is almost secondary . Lots of 10" tablets on the horizon so personally wouldn't plunge right into the Xoom at the moment, but it's certainly the least worst large format tablet out there right now...
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Bauxite said:
It also does not have a standard port of any kind. No micro USB, no micro HDMI. Have fun buying adapters..also the oh so frequent updates Samsung is known for... wait..
-Bauxite
Sent from my Evo 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its a google experience device. theres no touchwiz, with virtually the same hardware (Tegra 2).
there won't be a problem updating this device (given that it will be unlockable/rootable, which most likely will be, but will confirm before purchasing).
as for the ports, i have no need for HDMI. theres rarely a time i need to connect a tablet to a monitor/TV. Again, this is my personal preference. No HDMI is not a dealbreaker for me. I never use the HDMI port on my droidx, i doubt ill need an HDMI port on my tablet.
there is no usb port, but USB is supported via charging port. in essence, a PC can recognize the tablet by using the charging port. i'm thinking this will most likely be a proprietary cable.

Of the two, I'd take the Xoom. I've owned an iPad when they first came out and sold it after three months. My biggest complaint with Apple is the file management system and lack of access to it. With Apple, if it doesn't sync through iTunes it's a pain in the butt. I love the fact that with my Xoom and my Incredible, I can browse it like a hard drive when hooked up to my PC, I can move folders/files around and have no issues. I love the fact I can change themes, my ROM, Kernel, etc. It provides the "end user" experience that I think any personal electronic device should. Moto Xoom all the way.

Xoom has a better web experience with the chrome stype browser and flash support. It also has much better versions of google apps such as maps, gmail, etc. The mutitasking is better and widgets are useful too. The Ipad2 is faster, more vibrant screen, better gaming device, sleeker, more app selection, etc. It depends on what's important to you. I'm on the fence myself and that's with the 25% discount. I don't pledge allegance to any device. The ipad2 is a very polished, well thought out machine. The price can't be beat from a hardware perspective. 30% thinner with better battery life and better performance than Xoom while costing less. Hardware wise there is no comparison. It flat out kicks butt on the Xoom. Software wise is another story. I much prefer Honeycomb. The only downside is that it will never be as smooth, fast, and efficient as IOS. We run bytecode due to Dalvik VM while they run native machine code. That gives them 20 to 30% more performance right off the bat even with everything else being equal. That's the price you pay for an open system that supports various hardware from different vendors versus writing an OS for specific hardware.
Anyway, sorry for posting the obvious. Just rambling.

bear1906 said:
The Ipad2 is like a lexus, rock solid, uber reliable, intuitive and slick - but also somewhat numb to the feel (experience).The Xoom seems more like a Bimmer...more fun to drive, but also more tempermental.
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if you're making analogies, i prefer this one. Apple iOS is like Windows95, same old OS running for the past 10 years, while honeycomb is like Windows7.
there are many things to love about honeycomb/Xoom....
1. customizable display and widgets - e.g. Thumb Keyboard (MUST!! 5 star recommended)
2. folder management
3. No need for syncing with desktop or itunes (never had to connect to pc)
4. Widescreen (perfect for video playback)
5. Stereo speakers
6. awesome camera (even better than iphone4) - i'm a photographer lover
7. 4G LTE Speed
8. MicroSD card
9. 2x RAM
10. barometer
11. Free Google Services! gmail, maps, places, navigation, youtube, etc
12. free mobile hotspot
13. Encryption
14. better Notification system!
not in any particular order and there's probably more. and i dont find any problems reading outdoors at full brightness. I know i have difficulties using ipad outdoors even with full brightness.

Awesome feedback...I may try to sell this iPad while I can get more than retail for it.

This is just another stupid thread that should be locked.
You have both at the moment. Try them both and see which one you would like to keep. The end.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

bear1906 said:
Awesome feedback...I may try to sell this iPad while I can get more than retail for it.
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Its funny you ask this on a Xoom/Android dedicated place, go to an iPad hang out forum and you'll get the exact opposite response and answers.

One last follow-up...
What cool things would I get out of rooting the Xoom?

I was fortunate enough to get 25% coupon price and I can't believe it will get old any time soon. On the other hand I also am fortunate to be able to get the black 16gb Ipad 2. (Ordered). I understand that there's not much customization but I do look forward to the straight forward functioning of the I pad. While waiting, I've downloaded about 25 apps to iTunes and will sync when it arrives.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

aohus said:
honestly? Neither.
I really prefer honeycomb over ios. And honeycomb will be available on many different hardware.
Personally I'm waiting on the samsung galaxy 10.1. Its only 10 grams heavier than ipad2 and has better display and 8mp back camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but it doesn't have expandable memory, wont be uogradeable to 4G (biggest difference), both have the same processor and most of all it is built by samsung. I will never buy a samsung product for the rest of my life. To each his own. My hierarchy goes HTC then motorola and nothing else right now but that's just my opinion.

Bielinsk said:
For me the iPad isn't an option. Being tethered to their store is just not something I will do.
The apps will catch up. I can't the the iPad as being able to do anything the Xoom can't, but I can see the Xoom being able to do a many things the iPad cannot.
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Click to collapse
Um, the original iPad is capable of doing multiple things the Xoom can't.
What do you mean tethered to their store?

muyoso said:
Um, the original iPad is capable of doing multiple things the Xoom can't
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Click to collapse
Aside from a handful of apps that don't yet have a corresponding type of program on android, what capabilities are you referring to?
"Capabilities" are one of the areas that idevices will ALWAYS get buried in the big picture... whether or not someone wants an I pad for other reasons is another question... but it won't be capabilities
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

inspiron41 said:
if you're making analogies, i prefer this one. Apple iOS is like Windows95, same old OS running for the past 10 years, while honeycomb is like Windows7.
there are many things to love about honeycomb/Xoom....
1. customizable display and widgets - e.g. Thumb Keyboard (MUST!! 5 star recommended)
2. folder management
3. No need for syncing with desktop or itunes (never had to connect to pc)
4. Widescreen (perfect for video playback)
5. Stereo speakers
6. awesome camera (even better than iphone4) - i'm a photographer lover
7. 4G LTE Speed
8. MicroSD card
9. 2x RAM
10. barometer
11. Free Google Services! gmail, maps, places, navigation, youtube, etc
12. free mobile hotspot
13. Encryption
14. better Notification system!
not in any particular order and there's probably more. and i dont find any problems reading outdoors at full brightness. I know i have difficulties using ipad outdoors even with full brightness.
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Click to collapse
I agree with all of those except camera... we need camera mods to make it nice... I don't use it much so I don't mind but it is blurry as hell... iphone produces decent "hdr" photos. Then again my n1 camera only became usable with cm camera mods. One more thing that you forgot to mention is the market... yeah I said it... I prefer android market to ios any day... why? Its not closed... and you don't have to type your password in every time you download something. The fact that you need to enter your password every download is ridiculous... it reminds me of a needy clingy girlfriend. Every time I play with my iPod I thank jebus that it isn't my handset.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

muyoso said:
Um, the original iPad is capable of doing multiple things the Xoom can't.
What do you mean tethered to their store?
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Click to collapse
Yeah like viewing any site you'd like and not the ones steve jobs lets you view.... or the fact that the first thing you need to do is plug it into your PC. Or playstation... or n64.. or video chat over 3g... or widgets... or non intrusive notifications... I think that's enough examples
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

[Review] Xoom vs Galaxy Tab 7"

After having a bit of time to play with my Xoom, I'd thought I'd tell everyone how I felt about the Xoom and whether you should be think of upgrading from your Galaxy Tab.
Build quality
The Xoom is very will built, all the components are solidly put together - there are no rattles or any bendy bits. That said the extra weight of the tablet is definitely noticeable compared to the Tab, and certainly makes reading while holding the tablet in one hand less comfortable - plus you don't really need the larger screen for this use.
The screen does not go quite as bright as the Tab, and is not so readable in sunlight. Also it attracts fingerprints like moths to a light, after an hour of using it it looked worse than an iPad does after a whole day, though you can't really see the fingerprints while the screen is on.
Software
This is the main part I was excited about - there has been quite a bit of hype surrounding Honeycomb. Sadly, IMHO, quite a bit of it is just hype -- the main changes are in the home screen and the task/notifications bar. Both of these work really well, the 3D carousel effect when turning pages of the Home screen is really smooth, and the new notification system works really well giving you a system which works quite like a desktop. Sadly you can't pinch the screen to show all of your desktops at once.
The rest of it though, it is pretty buggy. The settings app and gmail apps have force-closed on me a number of times - these are pretty important parts of the OS and so it's seriously disappointing to see them not quite finished. The Facebook app seems to work for a few mins then crashes and won't work until I restart the device.
The browser is very nice, with proper tabs (and incognito tabs!), but if you dare to switch on Flash 10.2 all the time then the whole thing is no faster than the Tabs browser with Flash enabled -- in fact it's quite possibly worse than my Tab with an OC kernel and the latest leaked ROM.
But main problem is - where is the software? Google made much issue about Android 2.x not being fit for tablets but the truth is all they've mostly done is what Samsung did - the email app now has one pane with a list of your emails in and another showing the content of your email. It's the same with the other apps, nowhere is there an incredibly large difference in functionality between the modified Samsung apps and the new Honeycomb ones.
Sure you get a film editor app, but that was pretty much put in to grab a bit of press after Apple put iMovie on the iPad - I'm sure most people, me included, would prefer a decent photo editing/retouching app more than a pretty basic video editing one.
No free, Xoom optimized apps with the device or a store for them like you get with Samsung.
And then we get to media playback, or rather, the almost complete lack of it. So you've just bought a nice new tablet that will play "HD". Like to play your MKV on it? Nope. AVI? Nope. Xvid? Nope. DivX? Nope. WMV? Nope. MP4 and MP4 only (to the point where you have to rename M4V files to MP4 to make them work even though they are the same thing but with a different extension). Yes I know I can use RockPlayer etc but this simply isn't as good as native support. If Archos could afford it the Moto sure can.
That might not be so bad if there was a store like the Samsung Movies Store or iTunes where I could buy or rent a movie in a compatible format. Except this being a "Google Experience" device there are no apps apart from the few that Google put on there (and aside from film studio that's just upgraded standard Android apps). So you have a tablet that doesn't support that vast majority of media formats used by the largest desktop OS; I feel justified in saying that is a slight fail -- is Youtube supposed to be my entire source of entertainment? It's not like you can call the quality of most Flash videos on the web HD.
The one upside is the tegra 2, and all the nice games it will let you play. Except there are only a couple at the moment, and if the Tegra Zone app is to be believed, most of them won't be out for another couple of months. That said the few that are available are very nice, and run perfectly smooth.
Overall
Overall I'd give the Xoom 7/10. It's good, and the first Honeycomb tablet, but I think it will probably not be in the top 5 come the end of the year.
I can understand some people might buy it over others on the promise of slightly quicker updates, but I'm seriously considering taking mine back and waiting for the Tab 8.9, I have a few more days to play around with it before I decide. Sure it will have customized interface so it might not get updates as quickly, but actually it will do much more out of the box than the Xoom does, and it will still probably do more than the Xoom will even after the Xoom has received an update.
I used to be someone who bought plain Android devices on the basis that they quicker updates (have an NS, had an N1, etc), but a lot of the time it makes little difference. Google doesn't actually release updates often enough anymore for that to be much of an issue, and in some cases these days manufacturers have actually made things better than Google did (e.g. the standard browser in the Galaxy S on 2.2 is far better than the stock browser on a Nexus S on 2.3).
Sadly in this case the bad experience reflects badly on Motorola even though it isn't really their fault - they've had nothing to do at all with the software. At the same time that is their fault - it's their tablet and if I was head of a Motorola I'd want to make sure the software I was putting my name on did everything I wanted and worked properly - Android manufacturers should stop getting so desperate to compete with Apple and actually focus on the quality of their own products.
So my advice would be wait. And possibly in this case don't let the factor of whether it's a pure Google device affect your decision so much -- Honeycomb is still an infant and it really needs some features added on for a full tablet experience.
* I was completely aware the Xoom would come with no added extras like the Tab did when I bought it. I just thought Google would have put more work into making Honeycomb for great for tablets.

That's a pretty accurate description. I went through 2 XOOM's which I bought once they released the WIFI only model, and my experience was the same if not worse. Lots of potential, but they really missed the mark with that one. The second XOOM had a hardware failure and refused to charge, and since I was pretty let down overall, and that needle thin power adaptor is just waiting to snap off, I got rid of it entirely. I bought my first Galaxy Tab WIFI model Monday from Tigerdirect, got it Wed and have used it since and I absolutely love it.

That's an interesting review.
It surprised me that honeycomb still isnt working perfectly. I thought that they would update it regularly.
The Xoom seemed to me, to be a liitle bit too fast released device.
I also agree that it probably wont be the best in the flow of the year - off course.
I think HTC looks quite promising, if they release a bigger version of their Flyer.
Let's see if the Companies learn from the others - if a company releases later, it always has a lower risk of failing, because it can learn out of the mistakes of the others...

And then we get to media playback, or rather, the almost complete lack of it. So you've just bought a nice new tablet that will play "HD". Like to play your MKV on it? Nope. AVI? Nope. Xvid? Nope. DivX? Nope. WMV? Nope. MP4 and MP4 only (to the point where you have to rename M4V files to MP4 to make them work even though they are the same thing but with a different extension). Yes I know I can use RockPlayer etc but this simply isn't as good as native support. If Archos could afford it the Moto sure can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, x1,000. I own an original iPad, and picked up a T-Mo Galaxy Tab for $100 on Craigslist. Once the wifi Xoom came out, I went to Staples to pick one up.
Disappointment doesn't begin to capture it. Such a lovely screen...why, why, why wouldn't you include a Movies app with the tablet? Videos that played flawlessly on the Tab would stutter and whimper on the Xoom. That's just inexcusable.
I also co-sign everything you said about Facebook; I had the same experience with Seesmic.
I bought it on Friday evening. I returned it on Sunday afternoon. I can handle rough edges with software, but this goes beyond that. And selling it for $600? Yeah...not so much.
That said, I'm keeping an eye on the Asus Transformer; $399 is a sweet price point.

rnoboa said:
That said, I'm keeping an eye on the Asus Transformer; $399 is a sweet price point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're interested, here's my short review of the Transformer, originally posted in the Transformer XDA forum. I do compare it to my Galaxy Tab, so I don't think it's unreasonable to post here!
Regards,
Dave
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I've had my Transformer for 4 full days now, and I've a few comments to make for prospective purchasers.
First of all, a little background - I've had Android phones since the original G1 was released in the US (I was there when it was released), and since then have owned the HTC Hero, the HTC Desire, and now the Desire HD (and a Pulse Mini as a backup device).
I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7", which I've been using since October last year and I still think is a fantastic device, so most of my observations on the Transformer (henceforth called the TF) will be in comparison to Galaxy Tab (henceforth called the GT). As an aside, I also have a Toshiba AC100 Android netbook, so I think I have some feel for how the TF will be once the keyboard dock arrives.
Build quality
The TF feels like a really high quality device. I know some people have reported issues with back light bleed etc, but I've had no such issues. The aluminium case is really nice to the touch, as is the back of the device which is a plastic made to look a bit like carbon fibre.
Design - the design is generally really nice, though if I had one criticism it is the size of the bezel is rather large. Additionally, it does feel a little odd holding the device in portrait mode as it comes over as very tall and thin, especially when compared to the GT.
The IPS display is lovely and crisp, though it does seem a little less bright than the display on the GT.
OS and software
This is both simultaneously the best and worst feature that the TF has over the GT. In general browsing use, the TF is much more like a laptop/desktop experience than the GT, and you can see Honeycomb has great potential. However, it does feel very much like an unfinished product.
When the GT first came out, the stock browser was notoriously laggy (fixed in later iterations), and the TF suffers from the same issue - in fact it is worse because whilst the GTs browser was basically just laggy, the TFs browser is laggy and buggy.
Specifically, clicking on links in other applications often causes the browser to pop up, but it doesn't load the new page - this can be fixed by "killing" the browser and restarting it, but it shouldn't be this way. Whilst I much prefer the native browser when it works correctly, I'm now using Opera Mobile for day to day use.
Honeycomb Gmail on the TF is a revelation - it is a far superior client than the client on the GT.
Other minor Honeycomb/TF complaints are:
1. There doesn't seem to be a way to clear all notifications easily.
2. Just getting to the Settings menu is overcomplicated.
3. The keyboards do seem overly large in my opinion, and there don't seem to be enough long press options to get to alternate characters, though I'm aware these are easily replaceable.
4. Overall the TF performance is good, but I don't feel that Honeycomb is taking advantage of the dual core Tegra 2, and thus in general use it doesn't really feel any faster than my single core GT.
Media Playback
This is an easy one - the GT is a better media player than the TF, simply because it natively supports more formats (e.g. DivX).
I'm not unused to transcoding video to H264, as I had to do this often on my earlier Android devices, but with the advent of Cortex A8 class devices with Neon, I found software players like RockPlayer more than acceptable. This does not seem to be the case for the TF, since Tegra 2 doesn't support Neon instructions. However, the AC100 is a Tegra 2 device, and the built-in media player is much better than the stock TF one too, so really I think that Asus should have done more here.
With the TF, I'm back to having to transcode media, and to be honest for the most part that means I'll just my GT instead.
Overall Usage
Here's where it gets interesting!
The TF provides a very different experience to the GT and for the most part it is very enjoyable- when I bought the device, I knew it be mostly be a "coffee table" device, and that the size, weight, and built-in 3G of the GT was going to a distinct advantage over the TF when it comes to travelling.
What I didn't expect is that the GT still holds some advantages at home too.
Put simply, the TF is still too big and heavy sometimes - when I get up in the morning, I usually take my GT off charge and slip it into the pocket of my dressing gown, and this means it goes with me when I go to make a coffee, visit the "office" in the bathroom etc.
Also, late at night, if I want to watch something whilst lying in bed, the GT is simply much more comfortable to hold for any period of time, and coupled with better media support is always going to be the preferred option.
The Future
I don't think it is really fair to judge the TF until the keyboard dock becomes available, because I honestly think this will significant change the nature of the device.
When I first got my AC100, it was running Eclair and to be honest it was pretty rubbish, but it got so much better when Froyo landed.
I can see the TF similarly getting a completely new lease of life once the dock arrives.
Also, Honeycomb does feel like a work in progress, and I'm hoping for regularly updates to this device, which again should improve the experience, along with more Honeycomb specific apps on the market.
Conclusion
I think the TF is a fantastic product and the price is extremely good for what it is. I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off buying one if they have a genuine interest this form factor. In the UK at least, I think the Xoom has priced itself out of the market massively, which currently leaves the TF as the 10.1" tablet of choice.
The biggest issue for me is that 10.1" tablets are generally too big and heavy, and whilst newer tablets may be lighter, they will still be similarly sized unless they can dramatically reduce the size of the bezel.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9" may well be a better compromise, and I will be looking closely at this once it arrives. However, it won't fit in a jacket pocket, so would still likely just be a coffee table tablet for me.
Ultimately, I think my ideal tablet device would be a 7" form factor device like the GT, similar internal hardware to the TF (dual core, IPS, memory etc), and built-in 3G. Until something like this ships, I think my GT will still be my primary media consumption/browsing device.
Steve Jobs may think that there is no market in 7" tablets, but in my case he's wrong!

Thank you soooo much for the Tab vs Xoom reiew. I was looking at the Xoom a couple weeks ago, but when I saw Sprint marked the Tab down to $199, I bought it instead. Although the Xoom is a gorgeous device, I am becoming quite sold on the 7" size. After using my Tab for a week, I love it! Now if the Xoom was only, say $100 more than the Tab, I may change my mind, but as it is now, it's way too expensive for what it offers out of the box. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Xoom have a price drop soon.

How bad is Honeycomb? The reviews of the G-Slate, Xoom, and even Eeepad Transformer suggest that Honeycomb itself is... not ready and quite laggy. How does it compare to plain old Froyo on a 7'' Tab?

so if understand correctly, android market does not install the tablet version of gmail or any other app on the galaxy tab?

You will have special section of apps created for the Honeycomb and for 2.2 or 2.3.
Apps that are not suppose to work will not be shown on the Market.
Some apps created for phones freeze or fail to work but overall you can find apps that suit your needs. I would agree that at this point software has rough edges but this is always an issue for the early adopters. The 1st iphone had no software choices at all and it took more than half a year to get something else.
Screen size and resolutiin make Xoom almost a laptop.
I like Xoom but prefer Galaxy Tab because of size and weight.

T-mobile galaxy tab vs. 64 GB Playbook

I have the T-mobile Galaxy Tab and I just bought the Playbook 64 GB version on 4/19/11 and here is my opinion.
Since I got the Playbook, I have not touch my SGT. Maybe because I am still in my honeymoon period with the playbook but nevertheless, it is a great device.
1. It is thinner than the tab but a bit wider. However, I can easily put it in my leather jacket pocket the same way that I did with my SGT. It feels about the same.
2. I feel that the Playbook has sharper and brighter image than the SGT. I enjoyed watching the hi-def movies more on the Playbook.
3. The sound quality is better than the tab because the stereo speakers are directed toward you as oppose to the tab, which directs the sound to only one side when you hold it in landscape. The tab also directs the sound sideway instead of toward you.
5. I find that the Playbook is faster and smoother than the SGT. My SGT has Overcome 1.4.5 installed and I thought it was smooth and fast but I find the dual core processor of the Playbook make swiping just a bit smoother.
6. Mutifunction on the Playbook is better than the SGT. I can access background and running programs much faster.
7. The playbook can transfer and copy files larger than 4 GB. The SGT is limited to less than 4 GB, both with internal and external SD card memory. I used to have to split my hi-def movie into two files because of this limitation so the movies would be interrupted. On the Playbook, I can watch a big movie without any interruption.
8. The Playbook uses micro USB cable to transfer files to and from the PC. The SGT uses its own proprietary Samsung cable with is annoying because it is harder and more expensive to buy the Samsung cable for the tab. The micro USB is more versatile.
9. Since owning the Playbook, I have done 2 over-the-air updates to the OS system. RIM is pretty good at updating whereas we won't be getting any update from Samsung for a long time (if ever).
10. Looks good. Subjectively, the Playbook looks sexier than the SGT. Although it has a bigger bezel size, the bezel is actually functional. You can swipe at the bezel to perform certain functions. The SGT only has one side of bezel that is functional.
These are my top 10 reasons why I like the Playbook more. Since I don't own a blackerry phone, I cannot do any fun things with "bridging".
Nevertheless, it still has some drawbacks compare to the SGT. The main thing is less apps. I don't care much about the ability ot make phone calls since I don't even do it with the the SGT.
So for those who love 7" tab, the Playbook is a pretty good device. Give it a chance. More apps for it will soon follow...especially if the rumor that it can run Androids apps in the future is true.

How well does it work as an ereader? Does it have an app from major ebook vendors like Nook or Kindle? And is the web browser any good?
It's nice hardware, but I think it's incomplete in it's current state because of the limited number of apps and no stand-alone email app.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Well, for one you are comparing a, "previous generation" device to a, "current generation" one, so of course the performance is better.
I also considered getting a Playbook since I have been using BlackBerries for the pass 2 years, and I love my BBs, but I didn't opt for the PlayBook yet since I still love my Tab (and I just like the customization of Android more).

Earthbrain said:
More apps for it will soon follow...especially if the rumor that it can run Androids apps in the future is true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't really keep my hopes up for the Android compatibility. If it's true, it most likely not run all apps, and also it won't do that at the right speed. Compatibility is always an huge compromise... for example I had a test of sorts with Apple's compatibility offerings. On an old G3 iMac with both os9 and osx I ran Marathon: barely playable on osx using the compatibility layer, bat out of hell fast on os9.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

Playbook
Well hopefully sometime down the lines the Devs may be able to port Honecomb to this tablet. I believe this is a great possibility. Then we would not have to worry about compatibility with the Android apps at all. However, i have never tested the playbood native OS so i wont dont know. Maybe the RIM OS is worth it enough to not need any android apps afterall.

Here is some nice reading on the potential of the Playbook.
The Playbook is be a lot better by end of the year in terms of applications.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/05/tat-astic-native-playbook-development-discussed-and-demoed-on-vi/

Funny...
I actually bought a playbook and returned it after a week and after the blackberry world in FL didn't really deliver any ground breaking news to the device. IMO the playbook was released FAR before there was a substantial basis created for owning one. It is well built, attractive, and if there were more apps and more functions to the device, I would have kept it. I mean they market it as "the first professional tablet" but it is show cased with need for speed and youtube. I couldn't find a single thing to do with the playbook that I couldn't already do on my droid, minus the HD video. The funny part is I returned it and bought a used G-tab on craigslist and have $250 to spare. I have had more uses and enjoyment with the galaxy tab in one day than I did in a week of owning the playbook. It also replaced my gps, btw.

Asus TF worth buying if sticking to stock FW?

Ok,
I am in the market for a tablet, and hate apple with a pashion. That being said, it leaves me with the options of many good android alternatives.
I am torn between this and the Motorola XOOM tablet. IMO the Acer has a piss poor build quality (though I know alot like it...).
Which is best straight out of the box? I can flash custom roms ofc, but would prefer to stick to stock software for the first 6 months anyway.
I am also considering getting it without the dock as I dont think it would be something I would use much....mabye I am wrong...lol.
Anyhow, whats the TF like running stock software?
Thanks,
Danny

Sorry, should have said, I want a tablet to showcase my amature photography, watch movies and to surf the web
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Asus appears to be better than Moto at tying software to hardware. Their support for software has also stomps all over Moto.

The stock firmware on the TF is perfect for every day usage. Paired with the keyboard dock, I have no problems using it like a regular laptop. It's a powerful piece of hardware that plays nicely with all of my existing storage devices, and even a few of my game controllers. I did end up rooting it anyway, though, just so that I could block ads and disable tap to click on the touchpad.
Photo viewing works flawlessly, provided you can store your photos on a SD card or external hard drive, which you would then plug into the TF. At this point the support for plugging in an actual camera is a bit spotty, no telling whether or not it will work until you try it. Movie support is sort of a mixed bag, as it all depends on which video playing app you use. Personally I like to rip all of my Blu ray movies so that I can watch them from my hard drive, so I use Handbrake to re-encode them all so they can be played natively in the stock Google video player. If instead you have a lot of videos in unrecognized formats like xvid, you'll need to test them with a third party video player.

earlyberd said:
The stock firmware on the TF is perfect for every day usage. Paired with the keyboard dock, I have no problems using it like a regular laptop. It's a powerful piece of hardware that plays nicely with all of my existing storage devices, and even a few of my game controllers. I did end up rooting it anyway, though, just so that I could block ads and disable tap to click on the touchpad.
Photo viewing works flawlessly, provided you can store your photos on a SD card or external hard drive, which you would then plug into the TF. At this point the support for plugging in an actual camera is a bit spotty, no telling whether or not it will work until you try it. Movie support is sort of a mixed bag, as it all depends on which video playing app you use. Personally I like to rip all of my Blu ray movies so that I can watch them from my hard drive, so I use Handbrake to re-encode them all so they can be played natively in the stock Google video player. If instead you have a lot of videos in unrecognized formats like xvid, you'll need to test them with a third party video player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all my xvid and divx flawlessly in rockplayer and even stream from a NAS using upnplayer

what will you use app wise to show of your amateur photography? The stock gallery? Are there better apps out there?

wilbur-force said:
all my xvid and divx flawlessly in rockplayer and even stream from a NAS using upnplayer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKVs doesnt play audio, decodes video though.

I bought a Xoom first, then an Ipad 2 and have now settled with the Transformer. In my opinion (discounting the Ipad 2 as it's far too limited so I passed that onto the wife ) the Xoom and TF'er are pretty much the same......
the differences which set them apart as the spec are virtually identical are:
- thickness of the tablet
The TF obviously wins this and whilst it may not be the worlds biggest issue, you can definitely 'feel' the difference when you are holding it in your hands and the additional weight of the Xoom can make your arms ache after a while...basically, it's not the most comfortable tablet to hold.
- SD card support
The 3.1 update for the Xoom didn't include the SD card fix so as long as the tablet is stock it is still unsupported (Google still working on the update as far as I'm aware). I know there are fixes and work arounds available but this would depend on what your intentions are regarding modding/rooting etc. The TF'er has it working out of the box so you could drop up to a 32Gb Micro SD card in on day 1. Definitely a bonus and as the OP mentioned a vanilla tablet for the first 6 months in their current state this could be a big issue for the Xoom especially for a photographer who needs storage space.
- Price
Definitely the biggest thing for me...not because I'm on a shoe-string but because of the fact that the tablets have the same O/S, the same spec, the same features and the same software......why would anyone take the Xoom over a TF?, especially with a considerable hike in price and the TF has a much nicer screen which is a major feature of the tablet in itself.
Basically you can't go far wrong with either, but if you're gonna drop £380 or $399 on a tablet then get the one which is $100 cheaper than the current competition.
......and that leads me on to arguably the biggest feature of the TF. The dock. Whilst it may not be a requirement to a lot of people, or something that adds a lot of interest....the flexibility is there to have the TF'er as a notebook replacement - and it also means additional storage space is available via the SD card slot, USB ports which in my opinion will also offer future flexibility as device/accessories/peripherals can be added in the near future with the relevant support.
All in all, a 16GB TF at £380/$399 can have a 32Gb micro SD, and 64GB SD (or another 32GB Micro SD with adaptor) and offers twice the flexibility of the Xoom whilst offering a virtually identical base-feature set. After owning them all, it would be a no-brainer for me. I've not become a fanboy or anything daft like that and wouldn't 'slag' the Xoom off but in a direct comparison with the TF it's virtually identical, so I'd go with 'bang for buck' and flexibility. The TF gets both points by quite a large margin.

What did you find limiting about the iPad 2? Genuine question. I have a tf and ipad2 and I feel they both have limitations.

h00ligan said:
What did you find limiting about the iPad 2? Genuine question. I have a tf and ipad2 and I feel they both have limitations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In comparison to the TF (or large majority of Android devices)
Connectivity - no USB/storage devices meaning there is no option but to get apps/data/movies transferred to the tablet etc via a wireless connection or 3rd party application.
Requirement of additional peripherals for HDMI/cameras etc whereas the TF can take a direct connection or plug in the micro sd card directly for transfer.
The dependency on iTunes for some functionality. ie I'd be reluctant to take my Ipad2 anywhere for an extended period of time without a laptop for backup and updates etc. Another example that infringes on this is if you want to copy friends data/music then it's much more difficult to do this with an Apple IOS than it is with Android due to the bluetooth and connectivity issue.
Customisation - speaks for itself.
Don't get me wrong, I agree that every device has its limitations including the TF'er. The Ipad is a lovely bit of hardware, definitely has the better app store, more polished apps and better UI overall but the issues I listed above are restrictive to me personally and if I had to make a choice (which I don't) and could only take one of them, I'd select the TF in a heartbeat because of these points.

ASUS is hands down better than the xoom under every circumstance.
HOWEVER, if you're not interested in the dock (and the functionality it offers) for the TF or having a micro-sd card on the tablet itself, then you should probably go for the galaxy tab 10.1.
It's a $100 more than the TF but it supposedly has a better screen, is lighter and some people are saying that it has better build quality than the TF also.
Just don't get any android tablet other than the TF or Galaxy tab 10.1, especially if you're trying to show off your photography.

starplaya93 said:
ASUS is hands down better than the xoom under every circumstance.
HOWEVER, if you're not interested in the dock (and the functionality it offers) for the TF or having a micro-sd card on the tablet itself, then you should probably go for the galaxy tab 10.1.
It's a $100 more than the TF but it supposedly has a better screen, is lighter and some people are saying that it has better build quality than the TF also.
Just don't get any android tablet other than the TF or Galaxy tab 10.1, especially if you're trying to show off your photography.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the TF has a much better screen. Look at any video reviews. I remember in a comparison I saw, both the TF and Xoom had the same wallpaper. The TF showed every color, while the Xoom washed out and showed a blend of white...
Since you're going to use it to show off photography, the SD reader in the keyboard dock would come in handy. I found my TF to be very snappy and responsive. I cannot stream pictures and movies correctly, but that's because I don't know how

SwiftLegend said:
Actually, the TF has a much better screen. Look at any video reviews. I remember in a comparison I saw, both the TF and Xoom had the same wallpaper. The TF showed every color, while the Xoom washed out and showed a blend of white...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But he didn't even mention the Xoom... he did however compare the TF with the Samsung Galaxy tab 10"
And here i offer a little insight: seems that Samsung loves to have over saturated screens. That could actually be an issue, if the tab has to be used to show photographs... I know that if I set brightness at maximum on my 7" galaxy tab, skintones ends up in the douchebag tan kind of orange. On the other hand, low brightness makes for nice and vivid colours.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

I'd say the TF is the all-round winner for your photography needs:
- It has a much better screen than the Xoom, so that's out.
- It's cheaper than the Samsung
- It has a working AND existent microSD card on it (should be invaluable for transferring pics if your camera also uses microSD. Also if you DID want to to root and flash a new ROM, the Samsung's out again (is this their "No Root" ploy?)
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Thanks paradaz

AlexTheStampede said:
But he didn't even mention the Xoom... he did however compare the TF with the Samsung Galaxy tab 10"
And here i offer a little insight: seems that Samsung loves to have over saturated screens. That could actually be an issue, if the tab has to be used to show photographs... I know that if I set brightness at maximum on my 7" galaxy tab, skintones ends up in the douchebag tan kind of orange. On the other hand, low brightness makes for nice and vivid colours.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This over saturated screen on the 10.1 will drive me nuts not only viewing photographs but also watching movies. Its sound like that vivid mode u see on lcd. Some people prefer that look on their tv maybe that why led lcd sell so great. I prefer that natural look you see on plasma tv.

Wow, thanks for the replies guys!
The Galaxy tab was never going to be an option for me with the lack of being able to use removable storage.
Looks like the transformer will be my weapon of choice! Although you are now making me reconsider getting the dock as well....
My reasons for not getting the dock where;
1. It would be another item to cart around. I will be generally only using the tablet so will probably get a leather cover for it. If I where going away I would need to also bring the keyboard as well, perhaps in a separate case?
2. Low stock in the UK at present...i can drive 2 miles and pick up the tablet only package.
Although I didn't know it had an SD card reader! That coupled with the additional battery capacity is rather appealing!
To answer an earlier question, I have no specific app in mind to show off my photos... Can anyone else advise if there is better options than the stock gallery? I use lightroom on my PC, but would imagine nothing similar is available on android.
Also is it possible to convert mkv's to play on these tablets? 95% off all my digital media is in mkv format.....
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

djglenn1337 said:
Also is it possible to convert mkv's to play on these tablets? 95% off all my digital media is in mkv format.....
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mkv is only the container so many third players like moboplayer are able to open mkv files..
what's really matters is the codec used inside the container, as of now, the TF on 3.1 is able to hard-decode H264 720p High profile and 1080p base profile..
you can use handbreak to encode media files if necessary:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1060825

djglenn1337 said:
Also is it possible to convert mkv's to play on these tablets? 95% off all my digital media is in mkv format.....
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I do know some people seems to be experiencing problems with mkv's. Unsure what codecs (video/audio) their mkv's might have, because I played about 30 different mkv's made by different people with and without soft-subs and I've not experienced any hitches or glitches to either sound or video.
All I use is moboplayer and start them - plays flawlessly.