Motorola Xoom

Here's another iPad challenger that may tempt you to convert. Not me, thank you

After months of waiting, the Motorola Xoom is here. It comes to India in two versions: Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G. The tablet runs on Android 3.0.  The hardware includes a 1 GHz Dual Core processor, 1 GB Ram and 32 GB internal storage, which can be ramped up to 64 GB with a 32 GB SD card. Besides Wi-Fi, it has two micro USB 2.0 ports and Bluetooth 2.1. And it supports Adobe Flash.

There are two cameras: a front-facing 2 megapixel and a 5 megapixel camera on the rear. It can record movies of up to 720p and play back videos of up to 1080p. The cameras offer great results, though I will never use a device this size to click images.

So, it has a good spec list. But does the Xoom really live up to the hype?

The 10.1 inch screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800, so you can view most websites without bothering with the scroll bar too much. The bundled Chrome browser is nice too. But most websites still recognise Android 3.0 as a mobile operating system, and deliver to it a whittled-down site meant for a mobile phone. But no sweat, as you can always change to the default home page. It has built-in GPS, and you could use it for in-car navigation too, if only a mount could be found for this 10 inch device.

Yes, it looks good with its all-glass front, but that's no different from other tablets. The display is bright and sharp; it responds well to touch, so no complaints here. Android 3.0 is optimised for tablets, and works nicely. The audio is clear, but its built-in speakers are not designed for music. Motorola rates its battery at 10 hours, and mine lasted eight odd hours.

It is a nifty gadget but I still prefer an Apple iPad.