The reviews for Motorola’s new Xoom tablet are in. On the whole, reviews have been good – not great. Critics are impressed with the features and performance of the Xoom. On the negative side there are some complaints of bugginess, and the price (starting at $800) has been roundly criticized. In the end the Xoom might be a victim of big expectations, since it is the first tablet to run on the new Android Honeycomb OS. There is a general feeling – shall we slight feeling – of disappointment. It’s the a good product, but not the home run some were expecting or hoping for.
In the end, the Xoom is probably an afterthought in the tablet market unless it can bring down its price to better offer a reason for users to not buy an iPad.
Here’ some reviews from around the web:
The Android tablets out on the market have been weak in the face of the iPad. But after testing out Motorola’s Xoom, it’s clear the first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet has what it takes to compete head to head. Though it’s got some growing pains ahead, the young tablet is already a contender. All that’s needed before it can really gain momentum is a lineup of killer apps — and a better price. – MSNBC
The problem with the Xoom isn’t really about the core of the experience or the core of the hardware — it’s about the details. Too much in both the design (like those wonky buttons) or the software (like the feeling that this is all very much in beta) makes you wonder if this wasn’t rushed out to market in order to beat the next wave from Apple. Regardless, there isn’t much here for consumers right now. The Android Market is almost devoid of tablet applications, the OS feels buggy and unfinished, and the hardware has pain points that we find troubling. And that’s to say nothing of the pricing and carrier commitments being asked of first-time buyers. – Engadget
This is the first of many 3.x tablets to visit their reigns of glory upon us. Is it – or will it be – the best Honeycomb tablet out there? I doubt it, but Motorola has offered a strong showing out of the gate and I was very impressed at the build quality and attention to detail, at least when it came to UI and physical design. The odd ports on the bottom are a bit of a concern, but otherwise the device is quite capable. – CrunchGear
At its best, the Xoom is a fast and impressive beast, chewing through processor-intensive tasks like tabbed browsing with ease. But it’s really hard to get past the device’s $800 price tag ($600 with a two-year contract—which actually puts you on the hook for much more cash). Especially when you consider that most of the apps that will make Honeycomb really shine have yet to be written, and support for Flash—the main differentiator for the Xoom, is not yet operational. The Xoom is a promising start of something, but paying a lot of money for the start of something isn’t half as rewarding as paying a lot less for something once it’s complete. – Popular Mechanics