Apple iPad Vs. Motorolla Xoom

Just under one year ago, Apple shocked the computing world with a 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet that few truly expected.

 Some called the original Apple iPad a large-format iPhone. Others berated the name and made jokes that were not remotely funny.

The early reviews were marginal at best – we handed the device a solid four stars. Technical folks decried the lack of Adobe Flash and the missing cameras.

Now, 60,000 apps later (according to Apple, who counts every conceivable option) and just a few weeks after the first real Android 3.0 tablet contender hit the streets (Motorola Xoom), the iPad 2 has sauntered onto the playing field.

Some expected pure gold: a tablet that runs as fast as a laptop and weighs less than a newspaper

Yet, the reality with the iPad 2 is that Apple has taken an iterative approach. In many ways, the iPad 2 is a crowd pleaser because it does not rock the boat.

At 241mm tall, 186mm wide, and 8.6mm thick, the iPad 2 is just a hair smaller than the original iPad and it's thinner than the iPhone 4. It has a curved edge that makes it look a bit more 'space age' and, surprisingly, easier to grasp because you can curve your fingers more easily around the bezel.

The most dramatic change is the weight. At 680 grams, the iPad 2 is 80g lighter than the first iPad. That is about the same weight as a juicy red apple (curious, eh?). Yet, in using the device, it feels strangely lighter than it really is.

Apple has made a second-gen iPad that feels lighter and more nimble, and its newfound mobility means it has lost the annoying heft of the original model.

Meanwhile, the Motorola Xoom, at 730 grams, now feels like the tank that it is. (More about that later, because we do prefer the speedy processor on the Xoom that handles 3D maps and games.)

One other observation about the design: compared to the iPhone 4, the iPad 2 feels a bit more like a plastic plate (the back is actually metal) as though it really needs a protective case. Part of the reason for this 'cheap plastic' impression is that the device is one-third thinner than the original and 15 per cent lighter.

Overall, the design is a stunner – it's brilliant. The aesthetics are much improved, although not everything about the iPad 2 is so equally impressive.

The Motorola Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet to hit the market. That makes it the first Android tablet to ship with an OS that's designed especially for big screens, and that's why it's so exciting.

Every tech gadget must be judged solely on what it provides, its purpose in life, and whether it will help you accomplish tasks and enjoy your media.

 With the Motorola Xoom, it's too easy to make constant iPad (and iPad 2) comparisons. Can you purchase movies as easily? Does the screen get as grimy? Does it cost more?

Yet, the Xoom is the first Android 3.0 tablet, the first really powerful tablet with a dual-core processor, and a sleek, 10.1-inch slate that is easy on the eyes

There's no question the Xoom is a brilliant tablet, one that is incredibly flexible in terms of media you can put on the device.

With a 5-megapixel front camera and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, 32GB of local storage (plus a potential for more SD storage after the next software update), 1GB of RAM, 4G support once the LTE roll-out starts and after a software upgrade, and 10-hours of battery life, the Xoom has the hardware specifications to make you sit up and take notice.

Plus, the new Android 3.0 tablet interface lives and breathes in the open source world.

 Frankly, the Motorola Xoom blows the Samsung Galaxy Tab out of the water, and that is saying something.

We'll keep our iPad comparisons to a minimum (hey, if you wanted one of those you would have bought one by now, right?) and ratchet down our comparisons to the iPad 2 which ships in the UK on 25 March.

The Xoom is the best Android tablet around and a device that is well worth serious consideration.

Android 3.0 is a brilliant interface for tablets – much more flexible than iOS in that you can drop widgets all over your homescreens, and more responsive and even better suited for reading books and playing games.

 The Xoom even touts this fact in the Google Books app: there's a cool page flipping animation.

 The Xoom has a decidedly PC-like UI in that you can press a button to see all open apps (unfortunately, you can't selectively close them from here but you can close apps through a memory manager under the settings screen), click the clock to see notifications and access settings, and move objects around the screen easier.

Behold the new fistfight. While we have had many a competition between tablets of Android and the iPad original, this is 2011′s real brawl. We’re talking the official Google approved Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet vs Apple’s hero product, the second generation in what’s quickly become a game-changing device in the whole world of consumer electronics. Who will emerge victorious

 Other Tablets that you can find on the market: