Xoom vs. iPad2: Part 1

Since I am a huge Android fan, I decided to purchase the Motorola Xoom Tablet from Verizon. My business partner purchased the iPad2 at the exact same time, so it was a great way to compare the devices.

My first impressions of the Motorola Xoom were extremely positive. It's a great looking device with all the bells and whistles from a hardware standpoint. However, comparing it to the iPad2, I could instantly tell that the iPad2 had a nicer screen. The iPad definitely has a cleaner, sharper and clearer image.

I was nervous I had made the wrong decision already.....

The greatest advantage of the Xoom over the iPad2 is the ability to install widgets on your home screen. When I turn on the device, I have all my shortcuts as with the iPad, however, but I also have an email widget, a weather widget, a tasks widget, etc. It's basically a quick snapshot of my day, and I can quickly and easily get information. You do not have the ability to add widgets to your home screen on the iPad2. Sad to say, but this is perhaps the ONLY advantage the Motorola Xoom has over the iPad.

For the Xoom, the app store seems very immature when it comes to apps ready for Honeycomb. Most of the apps (to be clear I am only referring to the apps I use) are all configured for the smart phone screen resolution, not for the larger honeycomb screen resolution. There are some that were great, but most are not ready for prime-time on the Xoom, yet. I am sure this will improve with time, but I am currently disappointed.

The web browsing experience on the Xoom is supposed to be fantastic.  I saw in many reviews that this was one of the better qualities of the Xoom with the tabbed browsing. When I first got going with the browser this was indeed the case. But now I find the browser force quitting on almost a daily basis. I am sure this is a software glitch that can be fixed with time, but annoying nonetheless.

The standard case that comes with the Xoom is very cool. Only one problem, when the case is closed on the Xoom, it blocks the charging port. The only way to charge the Xoom is to have the case fully open so the charging port is exposed. Not a deal breaker, but definitely annoying especially if you are at a hotel with a small night stand.

Additionally, every Android device in the world is using the Micro USB to charge. I have one at the office, next to the bed, next to the couch etc., etc. For some stupid reason Motorola decided to use a new charger format with this little thing that sticks into the Xoom, and tends to fall out if you are using it while charging. Very annoying...... and I will have to buy more. I hate when companies change their charging adapters for no good reason.

Motorola has some learning to do for it's second generation tablet, which I am sure will be kick ass. Honeycomb definitely needs some work, and the App store needs time to mature as well. I look forward to the awesome Android devices that are released in the next 6-12 months, because that's what I think Motorola, Google, and the application developers need to catch up. I plan on returning the Xoom this week, not sure if I will buy my first Apple device since 2002 (I bought the first iPod ever in 2002), or wait another 6-12 months for an Android tablet that is truly ready for prime-time.

If you need a tablet now and simply can't wait, go for the iPad2.

My addiction to the latest and greatest mobile devices

It all started my sophomore year of college.

It was the year 2000. It was at that time when I was inundated with those stupid PrimeCo commercials, with those cute little aliens telling me about 500 minutes for $50/month. At 10 cents a minute, (at the time that was pretty cheap), I couldn't resist.

Over the next 12 years I spent my time going on the most ridiculous shopping sprees for the newest, latest and greatest cellphones.

At my last count, I have owned almost 30 different mobile phones over a 12 year period.

I had 2 devices on the PrimeCo network. In 2001 I switched to Verizon.

I purchased my first Blackberry in 2003, back in the day when I was going out and trying to pick up girls I thought it wouldn't be cool to pull out my blackberry to get a girl's phone number. For this reason, I switched to AT&T since they had the Sim card (Verizon did not). I was able to use my blackberry during the week, then on Friday nights before I went out on the town I would take my Sim card and place it in my black Razor that I bought on EBAY from China. This was before the black razor was even avaiable in the US.

Damn I was cool. My razor phone and I picked up tons girls. And by tons, I mean few.

Once everyone had a Blackberry, I switched back to Verizon in 2004, I'll never switch to AT&T again.

The phones I have owned include the phone shown in the PrimeCo commercial above, a couple Nokia devices, a ton of Motorola devices, a few LG devices, many Blackberrys and 5 different Android devices over the past year (Droid, HTC Incredible, Droid X, Droid Pro, another Droid X). This doesn't include the 5 different palm pilot devices that I never found a good use for since carrying 2 devices that didn't sync was always a pain in the ass for me.

I am not going to comment on the older phones I once owned because those opinions are worthless. However, I do consider myself an Android Guru. HTC Incredible was pretty bad. I hate the wrapper HTC puts on top of Android, the battery life was weak too. The Droid was solid, however the keyboard was very cumbersome so it became worthless. The Droid Pro had the worst battery life of all time. Sometimes when I would type I would accidentally hit the touch screen which would take me somewhere else - drove me nuts.

By far, the Droid X, with it's huge screen and awesome battery life is the best Droid phone I have owned. Motorola makes great hardware, and they don't put a goofy wrapper on top of Android like HTC does.

I just bought the Motorola Xoom tablet last week, so far so good, stay tuned for my updates. My first opinion is since it has a big screen, I sometimes have trouble deciding whether to use the web to pull information, or go to the app. For example if I want to see whats on CNN or Facebook, should I view the app or just go to the website? More on that in my next post.....

P.S. I have nothing against Apple, just very happy with the many options for Android based devices.

More Flaxseed, More Fun

When I was a kid, (and still to this day), I had a classic case of ADHD. I was always too hyper to sit still in class from grade school all the way up through college. Not only did I find myself fascinated with cool things like electricity and Super Mario, I was always making jokes and acting out in class. Fortunately, my parents never decided to medicate me so I was never a zombie kid addicted to adderall.

Today while surfing the internet, I came across the article below which states "that in 64 percent of children with ADHD, the symptoms were caused by food."

The cure? Flaxseed oil.

Flaxseed oil is the cure to growing a healthy brain and calming us crazy kids down.

If only my parents had known this, I'm sure they would have spiked my peanut butter sandwiches with flaxseed oil.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/for-64-percent-of-kids-with-adhd-food-is-the-cause.html

David Pessis

David Pessis is the Founder of FIPPEX. A proven entrepreneur, David has devoted his career to creating and managing solutions for companies who want to streamline and simplify their enterprise application portfolios. David has worked with leading technology companies such as IBM and Accenture.

David earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and his Master of Science in Information Technology from Northwestern University.


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