Apple iPad 2 vs Motorola XOOM

Introduction:

Although the Motorola XOOM managed to get a slight head start in making some headlines so far this year in the tablet market, we’re already seeing the Apple iPad 2 demonstrating its might as it flexes its muscles in hopes of retaining its crown amongst the newest generation of tablets out there. On one hand, we have the Motorola XOOM that’s backed with the overhauled Android 3.0 Honeycomb experience, and bevy of next-generation hardware to keep it up with the times for a while. And of course, there is the iPad 2, which uniquely modified our perception with its intricate razor thin profile – while still making some moderate improvements over its predecessor. Precisely on schedule, these two juggernauts in the tablet arena will undoubtedly capture the attention of the world right now, but which one will keep you interested in the long run?

Design:

Unsurprisingly, the iPad 2 obliterates all prior notions of what tablet design should follow since it literally blew off the front cover with its amazingly thin razor profile. Even though we might think that the Motorola XOOM’s 0.50” thickness is respectable, the 0.34” thickness of the iPad 2 makes for an instant jaw dropping realization – especially when Apple touts that its battery life is unchanged. Even more for the iPad 2, we prefer its brushed aluminum casing seeing that it’s better equipped at repelling scratches, debris, and fingerprints. Unfortunately for the XOOM, its metallic rear casing is awfully prone to retaining dirt and is rather difficult to clean as well. Give any individual a choice between the two, the attention grabber easily goes to the iPad 2 nine out of ten times.



Barely considered a major difference, the Motorola XOOM sports the larger of the two screens with its sizeable 10.1” LCD display versus the 9.7” IPS display of the iPad 2. Even though the XOOM boasts a higher resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, it doesn’t drastically offer any better clarity or detail over the iPad 2’s resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. However, it’s obvious that the iPad 2 produces richer looking colors since darker colors, like black, appear to look smokey in tone on the XOOM. Moreover, the viewing angles on the iPad 2 are superb which make it supremely better to view in outdoor settings. Lastly, the oleophobic coating on the iPad 2’s display makes it very easy to clean versus the XOOM.


In our experience, there are rare instances when we would accidentally press the virtual buttons of the Motorola XOOM. Still, the springy home button of the iPad 2 soundly eliminates any hint of potentially pressing it by accident.

Placed in a familiar location, the dedicated power button of the iPad 2 still retains that prominence which is equally complemented by its solid tactile feel.  Uncharacteristically, the XOOM’s recessed power button is located in the back of the tablet, however, it perfectly lines up with our index finger as we hold it in landscape.

Without a doubt, the volume rocker of the iPad 2 is exponentially better than the tiny and rather stiff felling volume buttons with the XOOM. In addition to that, we find the silence switch of the iPad 2 to come in handy for quickly turning off its speaker.

Since the iPad 2 carries over the same single speaker, it’s nice to see that the XOOM employs two speakers, left and right, which enables it to deliver stereo sound. However, the speaker grill with the iPad 2 is placed more at an angle which aids it in better dispersing audio.

And if you want to easily share content, you’ll probably adore the list of traditional ports on the Motorola XOOM – like its microUSB and microHDMI ports. Specifically, you can output the XOOM’s display to your high-definition television by simply connecting it with an HDMI cable. But if you want to do the same thing with the iPad 2, you’ll need to purchase its optional digital HDMI adapter that snaps into the proprietary 30-pin port.


When it comes down to cameras, the XOOM manhandles the iPad 2 in this category since it features a front-facing 2.0-megapixel camera and a rear 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash. Comparing it to the iPad 2’s paltry 0.3-megapixel front facing camera and less than 0.7-megapixel rear camera, it’s already giving away a good indication as to which one will provide the better quality.


Despite not having easy access to their batteries, it’s nice to see that you can increase the storage capacity of the XOOM thanks to its microSD card slot. At the same time, it enables you to quickly share content – whereas on the iPad 2, you’ll need to connect its USB cable to get things transferred.


Finally, the XOOM still has one ace up its sleeve that has yet to show itself that will give it faster data speeds than the iPad 2. Down the road, the XOOM will be retrofitted with a 4G LTE modem that will provide next-generation data speeds – which will outperform the 3G speeds found with the iPad 2.

Interface and Functionality:

Flaunting the most cutting edge hardware technology out there, it’s uplifting to find both tablets being powered by dual-core processors. With the XOOM, it’s relying on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset to power its platform, which manages to effortlessly execute most functions, but there is still a little hint of choppiness every now and then with its operation. Oppositely, the iPad 2 is mainly driven by its dual-core Apple A5 processor that screams at alarming rate and shows its peppy responsiveness in all aspects of the platform. Obviously, the iPad 2 exhibits the more fluid tendencies, but then again, iOS isn’t as much of a graphically taxing platform as Android.

And that’s ultimately where the lines are crossed with the never-ending debate over iOS versus Android. Profoundly making its impact, Android 3.0 Honeycomb is a welcoming experience since it’s choked full of eye candy and personalization to keep you engaged. Furthermore, its long listing of widgets quickly enables you to access some functions with the tablet, like checking email, without having the need to launch a dedicated app. Sadly, we’re still presented with the same old look and feel of iOS on the iPad 2. By now, its grid-like interface with its numerous finger friendly sized icons are beginning to show its ages since the entire platform is desperately in need of a major facelift. Granted that it’s simplistic in nature, which caters to some people, Honeycomb’s wealth of customization and usefulness blindly overshadows anything remotely seen with iOS 4.3 on the iPad 2.

Typing is one aspect of the experience that both tablets excel in because they offer a rapid response in typing with literally no instances of any slowdown in keeping up with our rate. In terms of size and space, the on-screen keyboards of both tablets are relatively identical, but it’s the extra set of punctuations with the Android keyboard that doesn’t slow our pace down. Additionally, you can press the microphone button on the Android keyboard to activate its voice recognition service to translate spoken words into text – which is nice for certain situations.

Even though the core experience and layout is almost the same when it comes down to email, the Gmail app on the XOOM just provides most of the casual features you’d expect to see using on your desktop – like labeling and threaded conversations. We’re not saying that the email app on the iPad 2 isn’t good, but we just notice experiencing more productivity with the XOOM.


When it comes to the various organizer apps, like the calendar and address book, they’re closely similar in presentation since they full take advantage of their confines. For example, you have a two panel interface with their respective address books as one side acts as your scrollable list, while the other displays all relevant information associated to the selected contact. Again, we see similar elements in place with their calendar apps.

Love it or hate it, we’re still presented with the same old obtrusive notifications system with iOS. In contrast, Honeycomb has transcended to a whole new level by discretely displaying notifications at first, and then lining them up in the System Bar for you to view at a later time. Needless to say that Apple needs some catching up to do in this category.

Internet and Connectivity:

Continuing to see that constant theme of fluid responsiveness, web browsing with Safari on the iPad 2 is pretty darn good since it offers smoother actions with kinetic scrolling and pinch zooming. Additionally, it’s able to load content faster than the XOOM when both tablets are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. However, don’t let those things sway you from the Android browser since it’s still more than satisfactory in meeting our web browsing needs. Moreover, it’ll have a leg up on the competition once it receives its support for Adobe Flash Player 10.2.

Right now, the playing field is even since we’re presented with 3G connectivity with both tablets. And of course, in the even that cellular connection isn’t available; you can always fall back on using their 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. However, things will change once the Motorola XOOM receives its upgrade to work with Verizon’s lightning quick 4G LTE network.

Camera and Multimedia:

Before even taking the first snapshot, it’s quite evident that there is already a huge gap between the XOOM’s 5-megapixel camera versus the iPad 2’s miniscule less than 0.7-megapixel shooter. But after checking out the results, it’s blatantly obvious that the XOOM has the upper hand in shooting photos thanks to its sharper looking details. Granted that we like the richer looking color production with the iPad 2, it unfortunately is rendered almost useless for low lighting situations. Thankfully you still get some discernible details with the XOOM’s low lighting shots, but with the iPad 2, it’s plastered with an abundance of noise to make it look extremely grainy. Undoubtedly, the XOOM has the tactical advantage of illuminating the scenery with its dual-LED flash.

Surprisingly enough, the 720p video captures of both tablets are rather identical to one another in quality. Specifically, they produce the same amount of light details and shoot at the same consistent rate of 29 frames per second. Similarly, the audio recording is spot on with both tablets as it records some clear and distinctive voices. Although they might not be the best things to carry around for shooting videos, we’re nevertheless still satisfied with their equal output.

Apple iPad 2 Sample Video:



Motorola XOOM Sample Video:



Sadly, there isn’t any headway with the music player on the iPad 2 seeing that it carries over the same one that we saw with its predecessor. Naturally, it’s more than functional in playing some tunes, but it’s obviously lacking that polarizing presentation that’s found with Cover Flow on the iPhone. However, the music player on the XOOM is tastefully full of eye catching visuals – especially with its 3D like carousel interface. Packing on left and right speakers, the XOOM’s output is naturally glaring, but there’s just too much distortion and crackling evident at the loudest setting. Luckily for the iPad 2, its powerful audio is still tolerable at the highest volume setting.



Without a doubt, both tablets excel when it comes down to playing high-definition videos since their processors effortlessly work in producing smooth playback. And since they have the ideal screen size for watching videos, they present a conducive experience for those long trips on the road. However, some will find the XOOM’s widescreen display as the preferred choice since it’s suited perfectly for movies.



Again, there is nothing new present with the photo gallery on the iPad 2 and it pales in comparison to the glitzy presentation and sharing prowess of the Motorola XOOM. In fact, the 3D stacked look of the gallery app on the XOOM emulates a field of depth as you tilt the tablet accordingly. Besides the bedazzling look of the gallery, there’s just a ton of sharing options that allows you to send photos to places like Facebook and Twitter with the XOOM. Oppositely, the only sharing function that you can execute with the iPad 2 is sending photos via email – that’s all!



By now, it’s well known that the iPad 2 is available in three different capacities – 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB flavors. As for the XOOM, some people might find its sole 32GB capacity to be sufficient, but for those who require more, you’ll be glad to know you can supplement its tow with a microSD card once it’s supported by the platform – not to mention that it will be hot-swappable as well.

As we already mentioned, the XOOM’s inclusion of a microHDMI port is very well appreciated since you don’t have to purchase a separate adapter to output video – which is exactly what you’ll need with the iPad 2. Nonetheless, it’s still nice being able to use either tablets and have their displays mirrored to a high definition television.

Software:

On the surface, the YouTube apps on both tablets might have the same layout with their presentation, but we slightly lean towards the XOOM on this one since there is more control given to the user. Specifically, you can run video in high quality if you’re on a 3G connection with the XOOM – which is only enabled on the iPad 2 if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Furthermore, the YouTube app on the XOOM packages in the usual variety of sharing functions that we come to expect out of Android.



Being a Google powered platform and all, there’s no denying that the Google Maps experience with the Motorola XOOM is going to be drastically better than the iPad 2. First and foremost, you get free voice guided turn-by-turn directions with Google Maps Navigation on the XOOM. Secondly, it provides integration with some of Google’s other services – like Google Talk, Latitude, and Buzz. And finally, 3D map view with select cities just about rounds out the depth of features found with the XOOM. As for the iPad 2, it only delivers the most basic functions with Google Maps – such as getting directions, enabling satellite view, and getting street view.



Primarily because it had a head start, there are more tablet optimized third party apps found with iOS 4.3 on the Apple iPad 2 versus the Honeycomb powered XOOM. Regardless of that, it should be only a matter of time before we see more developers on board in making apps that are precisely set to work with the tablet optimized platform. But as of right now, the iPad 2 has way more apps that should appease users in the short term. In addition, It can flawlessly run almost all of the hundreds of thousands iPhone apps, which supply it with lots of additional funcitonality.

Performance:

In our experience using both tablets, it seems that the iPad 2 delivers slightly better battery life over the Motorola XOOM. Disabling their 3G cellular connections and strictly relying on Wi-Fi, we managed to get 2 days out of the iPad 2 and 1 ½ days with the XOOM on normal usage. Though, it might not be too much of an issue for some people, it’s still nevertheless great to know that you’ll be able to get a solid day without charging with both tablets.

Conclusion:

In the end, pricing will always factor into the decision making process of what consumers will end up choosing. Using the same capacities, the 32GB Motorola XOOM will set you back $799 – which is $70 more than the similarly equipped $730 32GB iPad 2 3G. Sure it’s more expensive, but the XOOM’s price is justified when you take into consideration its high count cameras, upcoming support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network, and built-in HDMI port. But come to think of it more, the first thing to capture our attention is the streamlined look of the iPad 2 – which is overly acceptable for a tablet that costs $500 for its base model. We also shouldn't forget that you can actually own the iPad 2 at such a low price (be it equipped with 16GB and no 3G), whereas with the XOOM you just don't get that option. The W-Fi-only Motorola XOOM will be available on March 27 for $599.

Once you overlook their hardware and design, the biggest thing that will test their longevity is their platform experience. With that, Android 3.0 Honeycomb is already positioning itself as a remarkable leap forward in the tablet space since it heavily improves on the various aspects of Android’s foundation. In comparison, there isn’t anything particularly evolutionary seen with iOS 4.3 on the iPad 2, but then again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Ultimately, there’s no arguing the fact that these two are the most highly regarded tablets right now on the market. And even when newer ones decide to come around to test their legacy, you can still sit back knowing that these two will still stand prominently over the course of the next year. These aren’t devices that only meet the criteria of being a good tablet; in fact, they push forward in setting the bar for everything else moving forward.

Apple iPad 2 vs Motorola XOOM: