Written by Lesa Seibert | 15 August 2011
Posted in Data & Telecom Trends

by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media

If you are looking for a tablet to use for your business and an Android option to the Apple iPad, then the Motorola Xoom from Verizon is worth a look. Powered by Android™ 3.0 (Honeycomb) with a 10.1–inch HD widescreen display, front and rear cameras and the power of a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of PC grade RAM, it can handle most anything you throw at it. It also boasts 32GB of storage with a micro-SD slot that will support another 32GB, to give you 64GB of storage. It is a little heavier than the iPad II, but it would not be a deterrent. I also liked the fact that the unit sports Gorilla Glass, so there is no need for a screen protector, which can be cumbersome to apply and effect sensitivity.

The intuitive interface is easy to get around and has lots of great options out of the box. The voice recognition performs well and is great when you are mapping a location. Just tell it where you want to go and Google Maps does the rest. With both 3G (in the model I tested and upgradeable to 4G for free, but the downside is you have to send it in to upgrade) and Wi-Fi, I was never without a connection, although there were a couple of times that it was slow to switch from 3G to Wi-Fi (the new version of the Xoom comes with 4G). The dual connectivity proved very important when using the device for meeting presentations, as I could always connect to the Internet to show samples of work. The on-screen keyboard was a nice size and the keys were spaced well to allow for easy typing. I also found the "Home" and "Back" buttons very useful.

The Android marketplace offered a great variety of apps, some of which I used from the beginning. Apps were easy to install and use. The email setup was also intuitive and worked like a charm. The processor never seemed to have a problem, even with multiple applications running and email open. For those of us who are multi-taskers, this is a big plus.

On the gaming side, the Xoom's HD display, made gaming fun. The unit performed flawlessly on all games and provided a functional user interface. So if you like taking your gaming with you, you won't be disappointed.

As far as accessories, you can get a Bluetooth keyboard for around $35 or take it a step further and get a Leather case that features a Bluetooth keyboard for added functionality and protection for about $75. For the price of $499 with a 2-year contract through Verizon, the Motorola Xoom is well worth the money.

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