Motorola Xoom : A complete buying guide for Indian consumers

Once upon a time Motorola reined the global IT market. But that was then. Now, the market has taken a 360-degree turn and Motorola stands amongst the players trying to get a piece of the tablet game.

The Motorola Xoom quickly gained popularity as being the first tablet that will be powered by the Android 3.0, Honeycomb platform. Xoom is a sleek device, providing a 10.1-inch capacitive touch screen that can give any tablet a run for its money. Presently, it is available in two variants - Wi-Fi and 3G respectively.  The Motorola Xoom is priced at Rs. 32,990 for the Wi-Fi version and Rs. 39,990 for the 3G version.

Specs: For Android users, the Xoom should act like a boon. Being Google's first Honeycomb OS tablet, it has a huge advantage over other tablets with regard to the timing of its release. Google has actually put Motorola much ahead of its other consumers. It has powerful NVIDIA TEGRA 2 dual core processor. What that means in layman's language is that it has one of the most up-to-date processors. It has a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 pixels capacitive touch screen display. It is equipped with a 2-megapixel on the front and a 5-megapixel LED Flash camera on the back and also provides 32 GB of storage along with HDMI Output and Micro USB.

Pros: The Xoom tablet scores a huge one in the looks department. It is not only sleek, but it also has a robust, lightweight body. It also has a beautiful display that works wonderfully with both videos and graphics. With 1 GB of RAM, it provides much faster browsing than any of its contemporaries.

Cons: Although it is Motorola's debut in the tablet market, the Xoom doesn't leave much room for complaining. There are just a couple of issues that are worth talking about.

Firstly, the Operating System. Even though the Honeycomb OS is touted to be the Next Gen Android OS, it might not be compatible with the available memory cards. As the Honeycomb is new, it might not be able to provide as many apps as the previous platforms either. Secondly, the variety. Unlike its rivals, the Xoom fails to provide a low-priced 16GB variant.

Verdict:  Keep your hands off this tablet only if you have concerns in the pricing department. Otherwise, we would surely recommend it as it is right now one of the best tablets in the market.

P.S. - The Xoom 2 is rumored to be in production. Watch this space for more updates.