Motorola XOOM 2
Friday, January 6th, 2012
This time last year there were not that many tablet computers on the market, especially if you were looking for one with a bigger screen. Today, you would struggle to believe that only a year has passed with the number of tablet PCs available in stores.
Motorola recently announced the release of the XOOM 2 which it is hoping will be a device that is going to challenge the Apple iPad, and hopefully take its lead in the market. The device is aesthetically pleasing and has rubbery sides which make it easy to grip onto, which already give it an edge over the iPad 2 before you even switch it on.
The corners are angled and this means you can easily tell it apart from the original model that Motorola previously released. The long sides of the device are straight at the top and bottom have a slight curve which are reminiscent of the smart phones that Motorola released previously .
Unusually, the power button of the devices is located on the back which means that you can sometimes accidentally press it when you are holding the device with your fingers, it is also similarly easy to accidentally change the volume when you are holding the device.
There is also a long lag after you have pressed the power button and before the screen will switch on and this means you can be pressing the button continuously before you realise you’ve got a response. This device could learn a lot from Apple when you consider the placement of the volume and power buttons and how quickly they respond to touch.
This new device is lighter than its predecessor by a significant 130 grams. It is also lighter than the iPad 2 but is around the same thickness. As for an operating system, it uses Android version 3.2 but Motorola has added its own touch to the operating system. The device is also advertised as being splashproof as it did well in testing against this.
The streaming service that comes with the device has been greatly improved and it is possible to stream video, photos and music by using the MotoCast. You can even easily connect the device to your computer so that you can share files between the two. Intelligently, the software required for the computer is included in the tablet device so you can plug it into your laptop in order to install the sharing program.
The screen is 10.1 inches and is excellent for viewing media, especially media that is being streamed from MotoCast. Pictures don’t need to buffer most of the time and video only requires a short amount of time to start working. File sharing security is also excellent because your files are not uploaded to another server, they are directly accessed from your PC on your tablet.
The disadvantage of this is that your computer has to be on in order for you to access the documents. This system also has the advantage that you will not just be able to access the files from the tablet but at any computer that has an internet connection.
The processor in this new device is fast and it runs the new operating system very well. The only disadvantage that could be seen with the device is the placement of the power button but other than that it is a good contender to the iPad.
