No flash on Xoom, it keeps getting better

[DaveSt]

Overall I am still not convinced that I need to upgrade away from my iPad although I really like the looks of the Honeycomb UI compared to iOS. What I found most interesting about the review is that it really seems to confirm what some of us have been saying about the iPad and web browsing: it is really slow at rendering web pages.

I mean, that isn't even in the same ballpark. If you do a lot of web browsing on a tablet this is a very compelling reason to think about an upgrade. I am very interested to see if this is addressed with the iPad 2.

 

[freebirdforever]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

 

[accordlayingkit]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.[/QUOTE

so how much is the monthly fee for the 2 year contract andnhow much would it be to upgrade it to 4 g when available?

 

[DaveSt]

J

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

Agreed. What it comes down to for me is purely app availability. On its' own I honestly don't think the iPad is really anything special. It has a fantastic screen, but the rest of the hardware is average at best. What makes the iPad "magical" (to use a Jobs term) is the apps available to it. Once I see developers really focusing on Android I might change my mind, but for now I am just going to wait and see.

 

[Superbike81]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.[/QUOTE

so how much is the monthly fee for the 2 year contract andnhow much would it be to upgrade it to 4 g when available?

The 4G upgrade is free.

You don't have to get a data contract. If you want one they range from $20 a month to $60 (I think).
2-year contract price is $599.

 

[freebirdforever]

600 for the xoom, 20 a month for 1 gb data, 4g upgrade in....90ish days

 

[Superbike81]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

Where was there lag?

This is the first I've read of anyone finding it laggy. Most have said screen transitions and web page scrolling are just as smooth (or smoother) than the iPad.

Force closes, unfortunately, are a part of the "Android experience" much like crashes in Windows. Even the most stable Android Froyo OS still experiences the occasional force close.

 

[accordlayingkit]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.[/QUOTE

so how much is the monthly fee for the 2 year contract andnhow much would it be to upgrade it to 4 g when available?

The 4G upgrade is free.

You don't have to get a data contract. If you want one they range from $20 a month to $60 (I think).
2-year contract price is $599.

So to get one without a contract you must wait for wifi only model?

 

[Superbike81]

No.

You can buy it right now, no contract for $799. Or on contract for $599.


I was gonna wait for the Wi-Fi only, but I'm impatient. Called my dad back in the US to get him to go pick one up for me and mail it to me.

 

[accordlayingkit]

No.

You can buy it right now, no contract for $799. Or on contract for $599.


I was gonna wait for the Wi-Fi only, but I'm impatient. Called my dad back in the US to get him to go pick one up for me and mail it to me.

Ok thanks

 

[Superbike81]

No.

You can buy it right now, no contract for $799. Or on contract for $599.


I was gonna wait for the Wi-Fi only, but I'm impatient. Called my dad back in the US to get him to go pick one up for me and mail it to me.

Ok thanks

If you are going to buy one, or even just check one out today, if they try to tell you that you have to buy one month of 3G service with it, you tell them to jump off a bridge. Ask them to call their Verizon customer service rep and talk to them about. The policy just changed today, so some might still not know about it.

 

[accordlayingkit]

No.

You can buy it right now, no contract for $799. Or on contract for $599.


I was gonna wait for the Wi-Fi only, but I'm impatient. Called my dad back in the US to get him to go pick one up for me and mail it to me.

Ok thanks

If you are going to buy one, or even just check one out today, if they try to tell you that you have to buy one month of 3G service with it, you tell them to jump off a bridge. Ask them to call their Verizon customer service rep and talk to them about. The policy just changed today, so some might still not know
about it.

Lol ok

 

[zorah]

Just walked out of my verizon store after playing with the xoom and tbh.....I wasn't all that impressed. There was a lot of lag on this one, and it force closed quite a few apps that were installed on it. Browsing the web was nice, but its nothing I can't do with an alternate browser on ipad. Overall, I felt bored and was wanting more than what I got.

Yes, the UI looks great, but its functionality is lacking imo. There's just nothing really to do with the device that I haven't already done on my android phone. I know in time more apps will develop, but right now its not worth the purchase...or the price.

Wow. And you had really kind of been looking forward to getting this. Well, who knows. And it's not the only one coming out either, and it may smooth out. I definitely don't have any force app close problems on iPad. I don't have any web browsing issues on mine either, but we all really use our devices on an individual level, so it's hard to say. But still, you are saying you don't see initial huge differences from the current what I assume is your Froyo phone?

 

[Seadog]

With all the time they took to get here, I would have hoped for a better product, but I would not begrudge anyone that prefers a Xoom over an iPad. I still think that the plusses of an android based tablet do not make up for the negatives. I would expect that the experience would be much better within a year. As for battery life, different devices will have different power management methods. It could very well be that given a slightly different test method, totally different results could happen. for example, screen brightness can make a big difference. If the iPad was on maximum and the Xoom restricts brightness to save power, you might have to reduce the brightness on the iPad to get a comparible test.

 

[Diane B]

Agreed. What it comes down to for me is purely app availability. On its' own I honestly don't think the iPad is really anything special. It has a fantastic screen, but the rest of the hardware is average at best. What makes the iPad "magical" (to use a Jobs term) is the apps available to it. Once I see developers really focusing on Android I might change my mind, but for now I am just going to wait and see.

I totally agree. It is the apps that make it "magical". Also for some, its the very ease of use too, but for me its the apps. Until all of the ones I use are available I won't even consider moving to another mfg. I'm rather expecting Apple to keep up with the competition so don't think I'll need to move. Since I, like most others, have quite a number of apps that work really well, I really don't want to start over, neither from a money stand point or just setting it up. I don't plan on upgrading to Ipad 2 but may consider upgrading to 3 with one of our Ipads. There would have to be a considerable difference to make me change to mfgs and that does not include Flash which isn't very important to me. Not being able to have content I want could make me reconsider however.

Diane