Content area
Full Text
Note: The Android Honeycomb-based tablet brings the mobile computing fight to Apple's doorstep. While the Xoom may not topple the iPad, it is a solid first step for Google's tablet platform.
(click image for larger view)
Slideshow: Motorola Xoom Teardown: Inside The New Android Tablet
Honeycomb presents five home screens, which can be accessed by swiping to the left or right. All the themes and fonts have been adjusted, giving the interface a wholly new look and feel to it. The home screens can be populated with whatever applications, shortcuts, or widgets you like, just as you can on Android smartphones. Widgets are clearly Honeycomb's main attraction. With the added screen real estate, developers have a lot more breathing room and can expand the size -- and functionality -- of their widgets. Google, for example, has crafted Gmail and YouTube widgets for the home screen. The Gmail widget allows users to preview their inbox without opening the full application. The YouTube widget similarly allows users to sift through the top videos of the day without opening the full YouTube application. Developers can do a lot with their widgets.
If you want to do more than interact with the apps, shortcuts, and widgets on the home screen, all the finer controls have been pushed to the outer edges of the display. In the top left corner, Google has placed dedicated search tools (including voice search). Applications on the device are accessed via tools in the upper right corner. Controls here also allow users to fine-tune the appearance of the home screens and widgets. The bottom right corner hosts all the settings for various functions such as the wireless radios, the display settings, privacy, accounts, and so on. Notifications pop-up in this spot, too. Last, the bottom left corner controls on-screen navigation for jumping back a screen, to the home screen, or calling up the multitasking bar.
It takes only a few minutes to get used to how these all function. The flexibility offered by Honeycomb should not be underestimated. Though it isn't as seamless or intuitive as other platforms, it offers a lot and will only improve over time.
Performance
The Xoom did well in most performance tests I put it through. The Xoom has...