Its Showtime for the tablet competitors Apple, Motorola and Samsung and for tablet lovers, it can’t get better than this. Gone are the days of Apple monopoly in the market. Now, the customer is the king and we have for the first time real competitors to consider when thinking about the latest in electronics market – tab. The release of iPad 2 (read the features and highlights here) had Samsung do some serious re-thinking about its price and features before launching it in the market. Also there were reviews on Motorola Xoom which showed that there were some areas of improvement when compared to the iPad2. However, with Android making its presence felt among users of wide ranges of age group and profession, it is customer oriented market yet again and here is how I compare the tabs (Read a detailed comparison of Android vs iPhone here). Again, in this case too, I am not going to say if one tab beats the other or if Apple wins over Android or Android gets better than apple – just trying to bring out an unbiased review.
Comparison Chart:
| Motorola Xoom | Samsung Galaxy tab 2 | Apple iPad 2 | Advantage | |
| OS | Honeycomb | Honeycomb (android 3.0) | Apple iOS 4.3 | Purely for the brand power and also because Honeycomb is still raw and yet to be experienced – Apple |
| Display | 10.1” | 10.1” | 9.7” | Though Apple’s display is slightly smaller than the other two, it looks cuter than the other two to me – Apple |
| Resolution | 1280 x 800 | 1280 x 800 | 1024 x 768 | Definitely Motorola |
| RAM | 1 GB | Not Available | 512 MB | Motorola |
| Processor | 1 GHz Terga 2 dual-core | 1 GHz Terga 2 dual-core | A5 1GHz dual-core | Again for the tested and extremely satisfying performance – Apple |
| Camera | 5 MegaPix rear camera with LED Flash / 2 MegaPix front camera | 8 MegaPix rear camera with Flash and 2 MegaPix front camera | Rear camera pix rating unspecified, front camera VGA | Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 – Apple disappointed everybody big time here |
| Memory | 32 GB – Expandable memory up to 32 GB in microSD | 16 or 32 GB – Nothing specified yet about external memory | 16, 32, 64 GB but no external expandable memory | Motorola – MicroSD slot was one of the most expected feature in the new version of Tabs |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n along with Personal Hotspot | 802.11 b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n | Tied – similar specs |
| Network | 3G (upgradable to 4G – if you don’t mind shipping it back and forth to Verizon to get this done) | 4G HSPA / EDGE / GPRS | 3G HSDPA / GSM / EDGE / CMDA | Samsung Galaxy Tab for the 4G |
| Externals | 9.8 x 6.6 x 0.5 / 12.7 mm / 1.61 lbs | 9.67 x 6.7 x 0.43 / 10.9 mm thick / 1.32 lbs | 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.34 / 8.8 mm thick / 1.33 lbs | Apple – truly lives up to its marketing slogan – thinner, lighter and smarter |
| Ports | HDMI, USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | HDMI (with adapter) | Motorola Xoom |
Apple’s exciting features like Facetime, excellent multitasking still scores overs minor hitches in Motorola (like problems with microSD, confusing buttons in different applications and heftier finish than iPad2). However Motorola Xoom is a serious competitor to Apple in the tablet race and we are in for some exciting market analysis in near future!!
What do you think about the latest tabs in market? Do share your views and reviews on your tab experience
