While the Xoom makes much of its two cameras, they are less useful than they appear to be. The camera on the front of the device is really only useful for video conferencing, and even there the image is grainy and its fixed-focus lens appears blurry. The camera on the back is reported to be a 5 megapixel device, and the images are reasonably clear. This is better than the cameras on the iPad 2, which are low-resolution and very grainy regardless of which camera you're using. Neither of these devices will do much for your photography, but at least with the Xoom you have a fighting chance with the camera on the back.
The Xoom's rear camera gives you control over zoom, exposure, focus control, and it has a flash. It'll work fine for snapshots.
Using the Xoom
If you're familiar with Android devices, it won't take you long to learn the Xoom. Some functions, such as the home screen tab that expands the page of installed apps are different. In this case you have an "Apps" label on the top right corner of the home screen. You can choose to change the home display to one that includes more options, and you can slide the home display to one of four other home pages, two of which are empty when you get the device.
As is the case with the iPads, using the Xoom is mostly intuitive. You open the apps page to see all of the apps, including the ones you've downloaded from the Android Market. You can move commonly used apps to one of the home screens. You launch an app by pressing it briefly with your finger. One interesting effect of using Android - you have to have a Gmail account to sign on with the machine, but because Android backs up its current state to Google once you do that, you'll find apps you installed on previous devices returning to your Xoom. One such interesting example was a "My T-Mobile" app appearing on the Verizon version of the Xoom. It had been installed during a previous review of a T-Mobile G2 Android phone.
Performance
Other than the lag in screen rotation, there was little difference in performance between the Xoom and the iPad 2. In both cases the primary performance issue was the speed of the network to which they were attached. Because both of these were Verizon 3G devices, and because both worked with Wi-Fi, the operational performance differences were insignificant. However, the Xoom can be upgraded at some future point to Verizon's 4G service, something that the iPad 2 can't offer. IPad 2 devices are also available for AT&T's 3G network, but the performance on that network wasn't tested.
Both the iPad 2 and the Xoom are state of the art tablet devices. Of the dozens of similar tablets shown at the 2011 CeBIT show, all seemed to feature dual cameras, dual core processors, 32GB of memory and Wi-Fi capability. The iPad 2 and the Xoom also add 3G, although you can buy a Wi-Fi only version of the iPad. The Xoom offers a Wi-Fi version in Europe, but that version is a ways off in the U.S.
If you need to use 3G, then the choice ultimately comes down to which 3G service is available to you. If you don't want 3G, then your choice is the iPad 2 for now. Beyond that, the iPad is lighter, the screen isn't as wide. The Xoom has a few more features, some of which remain to be implemented. You'll get a $200 discount off the Xoom if you sign up for a two year data plan, but both devices offer pay-as-you-go data plans at retail.
While this won't satisfy the partisans of either iPads or Android devices, this is really a matter of personal preference. Buy the one that you like best and that meets your specific needs. They're both fine choices, but while they look similar in their specs, the experience is quite different.
Both the iPad 2 and the Xoom are state of the art tablet devices. Of the dozens of similar tablets shown at the 2011 CeBIT show, all seemed to feature dual cameras, dual core processors, 32GB of memory and Wi-Fi capability. The iPad 2 and the Xoom also add 3G, although you can buy a Wi-Fi only version of the iPad. The Xoom offers a Wi-Fi version in Europe, but that version is a ways off in the U.S.
If you need to use 3G, then the choice ultimately comes down to which 3G service is available to you. If you don't want 3G, then your choice is the iPad 2 for now. Beyond that, the iPad is lighter, the screen isn't as wide. The Xoom has a few more features, some of which remain to be implemented. You'll get a $200 discount off the Xoom if you sign up for a two year data plan, but both devices offer pay-as-you-go data plans at retail.
While this won't satisfy the partisans of either iPads or Android devices, this is really a matter of personal preference. Buy the one that you like best and that meets your specific needs. They're both fine choices, but while they look similar in their specs, the experience is quite different.
