Andriod 3.0 10.x inch tablets rolling out as iPad replacements

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http://gulfnews.com/business/technology/xoom-heralds-the-entry-of-android-s-honeycomb-os-1.813682



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Xoom heralds the entry of Android's Honeycomb OS

Motorola's Xoom is the first tablet to come out featuring the Android 3.0

• By Naushad K. Cherrayil, Staff Reporter
• Published: 00:00 May 28, 2011
• 

• 2Share

• Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Dubai: Motorola's Xoom is the first tablet to come out featuring the Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb) operating system. As far as I can make out, it is the best competitor to Apple's iPad.
With a 10.1-inch screen, Xoom feels larger than the 9.7-inch iPad. The Xoom has a 0.5-inch bezel around the screen instead of the 0.75-inch on an iPad.
It makes for a meaningful difference in a number of ways. The bad news is that the slimmer bezel offers less area for your thumbs to grip the screen, making it less comfortable to hold with one hand.
First impression is the device feels heavy. In reality, at 730 grams, it is only 50 grams heavier than an iPad. All black in the front, it does not have any hardware buttons and all the actions are done on the screen. On the bottom, there are connections for a micro-USB, micro-HDMI, a socket for the included power adapter, and a pinhole microphone and docking options. On the top edge you will find a standard headphone jack in the middle and a removable door to its left that conceals the microSD expansion port which can support up to 32GB.
At the back, Motorola has chosen to place the power button next to the 5-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash. These are flanked by stereo speakers.
The camera quality is good, but not to the extent of point-and-shoot and can easily be ruined by fingerprints on the lens. The Film Studio software allows you to easily edit your creations, though by no means is it perfect. A front-facing 2-mega-pixel camera is included and geared for video chat. But Honeycomb is missing a library of apps optimised for the tablet.
There are around 150 right now, and only a small handful of those are worth downloading. And some of those, like Flixster and AccuWeather, crash a lot. You have a series of home screens which are scrollable, and can be loaded up with application shortcuts, folders, shortcuts, and widgets. The battery life comes to ten hours of video playback — same as the original iPad. During testing, it stood for around nine hours which is good.
The Xoom does not yet support Adobe Flash. Motorola promises that the Adobe Flash support is coming soon via an over-the-air-update. The music app in Honeycomb has now been replaced with a 3D interface that is actually useful. There are 2D views when you jump into albums and playlists.
Keeping in line the 3D feel of the Honeycomb interface, YouTube app is presented with a wall of videos which you can pan through. The notification area on the bottom right that shows you new tweets, IMs and e-mails amongst other things.
When you connect to your PC to add files, the device does not charge. Instead, the Xoom only charges using the power adapter, which is a bit limiting.
The Wi-Fi version of Xoom from Motorola with 32GB storage capacity is priced at Dh2,699.
Pros

• The Tegra2 DualCore processor make it very fast.
• The 10.1 HD screen.
• Can be hooked to a TV.
• Made from scratch-proof Gorilla Glass.
• 1080p video playback.

Cons

• The volume rocker is too flush.
• Speakers are not that great.
• No USB charging.
• Big and heavy for single hand use.
• Few tablet apps for Honeycomb.
• No Flash support yet.

 

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Another Andriod Toy:

http://www.techgoondu.com/2011/05/2...inment-centre-rolled-into-one/comment-page-1/

Motorola ATRIX — a smartphone, netbook and entertainment centre rolled into one

27 May 2011 By Raymond Lau One Comment

The Motorola ATRIX, one of the more innovative smartphones on the market, is coming soon to Singapore with a recommended retail price of S$988. Available on all three operators, the Android 2.2 phone will land on the 10^th of June.
The ATRIX is a futuristic device which can be docked on to two specially-designed docks. The first is called a “Lapdock”, and once you dock your phone on it, the Webtop application fires up, transforming the ATRIX into a pretend-netbook with a file manager and full-fledged Mozilla Firefox browser. A full office suite is also available, and you can even make calls and send text messages when docked.
The lapdock has an 11.6-inch screen with a full-sized keyboard, a trackpad, and stereo speakers. Motorola also squeezed a three-cell battery into the dock, which reportedly lasts up to 8 hours. All these add an additional 1.1kg to the weight of your phone, and will cost you S$1288 as a bundle with the phone.

Motorola ATRIX lapdock
The second dock is a more traditional HD Multimedia Dock, which has an HDMI port and three USB ports. Just add a keyboard, and you’ll be browsing the web on your HDTV. Or, if you prefer, connect three other 1TB drives and watch movies on your TV through your phone. If you’re not trembling with excitement at this point, you’re probably not a true techie!

Motorola ATRIX HD Multimedia dock
All that functionality comes with serious computing power. Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and a whooping 1GB of RAM, the ATRIX also features a qHD display (960 x 540) that looks pretty darn amazing after all those 800 x 480 phones in the market. 16GB of onboard storage, couple with microSD expansion of up to 32GB, ensures plenty of room for your multimedia content.
Other features include a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a front camera for video calls, and, a fingerprint reader, just in case you’re wary of forgetting your passcode or gesture locks. The phone will come with Android 2.2, with a promised upgrade to 2.3. But this is Motorola we’re talking about, so there could be a long wait in store for buyers.
The only downside I can think of is MotoBlur, which I’ve tried and disliked. In my opinion, MotoBlur is one of the worst custom Android skins out there, but this is just a personal opinion. Regardless, it’s easy to get a home screen replacement for Android phones, so this isn’t a big issue.
All in all, the ATRIX is truly a compelling device, and is likely the next step in the convergence of our mobile devices, with strong features for both work and play. The fingerprint reader could be a potential killer feature for corporate users who deal with sensitive information on their phones. Plus, the added productivity features of the Lapdock certainly sweeten the deal in this direction.
And with the Multimedia Dock, this is also a good replacement for a living room player. DLNA compatibility means streaming your favourite shows and the generous storage options means a lot of movies in your phone.
Or is the phone trying to do too much? Let us know in the comments!