The Motorola Xoom: The Wrapup
Not too long ago, I wrote a longwinded review of the Motorola Xoom. In short, it brought to the table what I expected it to. It is a great product with a solid design and good software, but it felt incomplete. Partially because expected features were missing out of the box, and partially because the Android Market is widely devoid of tablet-specific applications.
From a web-centric interest in the device, Honeycomb's browser has its quirks. For those who are interested in the device for its prowess with Adobe Flash, take heed to my warning; mobile Flash support is still terrible. It slows down, crashes, and eats away at battery life.
In addition to its lackluster Flash performance, the browser advertises itself as an Android device, which leads to it being redirected to many mobile device friendly websites. It's a result of many inept JavaScript browser detectors thinking that the Android moniker applies solely to phones. This will change in time, but for the moment, it's highly frustrating to be presented primarily with mobile content.
My list of qualms with the device is extensive, and you can most certainly read about most of them in my full review, but I don't intend to do the same in this post. I just wanted to make clear the more web-developer-centric points for the Xoom.
All in all, it's a work in progress, but it has potential. I'll stick with the iPad as my tablet of choice, but it's good to see that the leader has to watch its back.
Permanent Link · Published on March 29th, 2011