As we take a trip back down to memory lane with the Motorola XOOM, the very first device to feature Google’s pure tablet-optimized platform, we realize that things didn’t necessarily go as planned for the tablet. Besides the late incorporation of a 4G LTE radio, it was quickly overcome by other Honeycomb tablets that snatched the spotlight – like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Coming back for round two, the Motorola DROID XYBOARD 8.2 is looking to uphold its founding father and reclaim the prestige now that it’s part of the beloved DROID line.
This is a review of the CDMA/LTE tablet offered by Verizon Wireless. The XOOM 2 Media Edition is identical but has a global GSM/HSDPA radio instead.
The package contains: microUSB cableWall ChargerQuick Start GuideProduct Safety and Warranty GuideDesign:
If you’ve checked out some of Motorola’s recent smartphones, namely the PHOTON 4G and DROID RAZR, you’ll instantly recognize the design of the DROID XYBOARD 8.2. It’s probably one of the more solidly constructed tablets we’ve had the pleasure to hold of late – thanks to its premium choice of materials and sturdy feel. Literally built like a tank, its metallic back plating provides plenty of strength, while its soft touch sides and miniature bolts perfectly accent its tough exterior. Looking beyond its aggressive appearance, it’s remarkably lightweight (13.62 oz) and svelte (0.35” thick) to keep it in good light with the usual company.
Complementing its sturdy build quality, is its brilliant looking 8.2” IPS-enhanced HD display, which boasts a reasonable 1280 x 800 resolution. Naturally, it’s more than detailed enough to discern fine text within the web browser, while its high contrast, neutral color reproduction, strong brightness output, and decent viewing angles make it a wonder to look at with our eyes. Simply, it perfectly complements the tablet’s overall radiance. Easily worth noting, the Motorola DROID XYBOARD 8.2 is deemed as a multimedia-centric tablet because it features 2.1 virtual surround sound with the aid of the speakers built into its sides. Furthermore, it also packs the usefulness of an infrared blaster, which is something that’s becoming more prominent amongst tablets. In fact, it works in tandem with the preloaded Dijit app to turn the DROID XYBOARD 8.2 into a universal home theater remote control. Besides those two items, everything else is fairly straightforward seeing it packs a microUSB port, microHDMI port, 3.5mm headset jack, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 5-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with flash, power button, and volume control. With the latter two, they’re flat and rather difficult to feel out with our fingers – though, we find their placement fitting to reduce accidental presses when holding the tablet.
Maybe a tad too small for my taste, and I thought the Kindle Fire would start making tablets cheaper. you also have to compare it to other tablets with the same price, the HTC Jetstream got a 7 and it was more expensive.
All the Android tablet makers need to take a page from the Amazon playbook. I know they're not willing to sell at a loss like the Fire does, but look at how that model is selling. If Google wants to make a serious (ie >15% US market share) dent in the tablet market, the major manufacturers need to be willing to sell at smaller margins. Being as good or better than the iPad isn't enough to match it on price, especially on contract. They need to make a credible argument that an Android tablet offers something an iPad doesn't. Since they can't really do that yet, they need to fight with dollars. $300 for WiFi-only would significantly undercut Apple, yet make it easy to argue more functionality than the Kindle for not much more money.
The xyboard is a day late, a dollar short, and has the worst name in the biz.Seriously though, I'm sure it's a fine tablet, but given the price, it's just not worth it. On the market right now it's not even the top tablet and in a week or so the Transformer will come out and crush the Xyboard in performance and since the Xoom2 (better ring to it) isn't available on WiFi it's severely limiting it's market since it is more expensive than the WiFi tablets like the iPad, Transformer, Galaxy, Sony Tabs, Toshiba tabs, etc.
Motorola right now looks like they're slowly correcting launch errors of old. First by offering a smaller cheaper option, second by having a 32 gig and 16 gig model. Now they need to work on launching a WiFi model at launch and lower the pricing point about 50 bucks
Did Motorola learn nothing from the launch of the Xoom?
They learned that they should make their tablets uglier...
I wonder what the score would be if price wasn't an issue? an 8 maybe?
i LOVE what Motorola did with the Interface! every OEM should pay attention here because this is what they need to do. Stock w/ customized Icons, Fonts, Widgets & Function Keys. the Droid Xyboard would be an ideal Tablet for me. i have a pretty ballin' Laptop so i can't really justify a big Tablet that's not portable enough to just grab on a whim and i don't want something so small that it just seems senseless to use over my smartphone for much so between this and the Galaxy Tab 7.7 they just nail it with me. price is in serious need of adjusting though.
I was playing with one at a Verizon store and they want $600 without a contract or $420 with a 2-year contract.Motorola is doing EXACTLY the same thing wrong when they introduced the first gen Xoom -- it's overpriced and a poor value given other tablets in the marketplace.
i saw one yesterday too and i definitely came out wanting one. great Tablet for me.
conversely? i'm pretty sure that choppy = live wallpaper and smooth = static.. im really not usually a grammar nazi (i promise!) but that's pretty much the opposite i think of what should have gone there.. who writes these? do they get grammar check?Motorola DROID XYBOARD 8.2 ReviewAll content (phone reviews, news, specs, info), design and layouts are Copyright 2001-2011 phoneArena.com. All rights reserved.
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