Motorola Xoom review

The first Android 3.0 tablet arrives to challenge the iPad 2

Motorola Xoom review main image
The Motorola Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the market

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motorola xoom review

The Xoom includes the Android Market app, and Android 3.0 apps are separated from the pack.

There are only about 20 of them, including Fruit Ninja HD, Google Sky Map, and a game called Dungeon Defense that is short but engaging.

Some of the apps are just average. The CNN app is just a portal to its web page, and the Pulse reader, which shows RSS feeds, is overly textual (even though it has a legion of fans).

motorola xoom review

On 'the big screen' these smartphone apps need to do more than just adjust the location of data entry fields and provide a more tablet-like experience. For example, something with better tablet-size nav buttons.

The best use of the screen real estate is the Movie Studio app, which lets you edit imported videos quickly through a scrub interface. Oddly, this is the only app that would pause occasionally, thinking about the video clips.

motorola xoom review

Also, it is nowhere near as powerful as the multi-track, effects laden iMovie app for iPad 2.

That said, it is easy to envision a day when there are thousands and thousands of good, functional Android 3.0 apps. After all. there are more Android phones in use in the world than iPhones.

John Brandon
Contributor

John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He's nothing if not prolific. Before starting his writing career, he led an Information Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the US. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the weather, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.