Motorola Xoom review: An Android 'Honeycomb' tablet that promises a slick multimedia experience

Motorola's long-awaited Xoom tablet may have already launched in the US, but has just hit Australian shores. The Xoom was the first tablet in the world to ship with Google's Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' operating system that has been specifically designed for tablets. The 10.1in Motorola Xoom is well designed and has plenty of features, but like all of the latest Android tablets, it is still very much a work in progress.

See how the Motorola Xoom stacks up against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v and the Acer Iconia A500 in our Android tablet showdown, and read our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011.

UPDATE: The Motorola Xoom is available through Telstra from 24 May for $840 outright, or on a range of Telstra cap plans. The Xoom can be purchased on Telstra's $29 (1GB data), $49 (7GB data) or $79 (12GB data) caps, with an additional monthly payment of $25 for the $29 and $49 plans, and $15 for the $79 plan.

Motorola Xoom: Design and display

The Motorola Xoom Android tablet is an excellent piece of industrial design with superb construction. In particular, its brushed aluminium sides and rear, along with a strip of rubberised-feeling plastic on the back make it an attractive device. At 730g the Xoom is rather heavy, but its curved back does make it easy to hold and pick up off a desk or table, so we don't think the extra weight is a huge deal. The thin bezel surrounding the front also looks striking and attractive.

Of far more concern than the Xoom's hefty weight is its poorly designed and positioned buttons. The power/screen lock key is on the rear of the device, in the top left, and it's strangely recessed into the plastic. This makes it difficult to press without force. Even worse are the tiny volume controls on the left edge of the Xoom which are also recessed; they, too, require a firm and uncomfortable press to activate.

On the top of the Xoom is a headphone jack and a non-functioning microSD card slot — Motorola says an incoming Android software update will allow the microSD card slot to function, but initially it can't be used. The bottom of the Xoom houses a microUSB port, a mini-HDMI out port and a charging port. Annoyingly, the Motorola Xoom won't charge via a microUSB port, instead using a separate AC charging port. The one benefit to this is that the Xoom charges much faster than any other Android tablet we've tested — we charged the battery from flat to full in just one hour.

The Motorola Xoom has an industrial-looking design that features an attractive black metal finish on the rear and sides, but at 730g, its significantly heavier than the iPad 2.

The Motorola Xoom has a 10.1in capacitive touchscreen display with a 1280x800 resolution. For general use indoors the display produces vibrant colour, but its glossy surface makes it very tough to see in direct sunlight, and viewing angles aren't great. We also found that text wasn't as crisp or clear as we'd like — particularly when reading books, or long articles on the Web. Importantly, the Xoom's display is responsive to touch, and doesn't feel sticky when swiping.

Motorola Xoom: Software

The Motorola Xoom is one of the first tablets to run Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform, even if it was beaten to an Australian launch by both the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v and theAcer Iconia A500. The software is a "vanilla" version of the Honeycomb OS, so Motorola hasn't included any UI overlays as it does with its Atrix and Defy Android phones.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb has a completely redesigned interface that aims to take advantage of the larger screen of a tablet. New UI features include an "action bar", a contextual option group displayed at the top of the screen, five customisable home screens with a big emphasis on widgets, a recent apps list for easier multitasking, a redesigned on-screen keyboard, a new browser and improved copy and paste.

Most of the changes are positive. The Motorola Xoom's Web browser is slick, fast and displays Flash content, most of the time with minimal delay. It also supports tabbed Web browsing and the entire browsing experience is as close as you'll find to a full desktop or notebook computer. The on-screen keyboard is also spacious and comfortable to type on once you get used to its layout.

Samsung Galaxy Pro review

The Samsung Galaxy Pro is here to make Google converts of all your BlackBerry messaging fiends: it comes armed with Android and a marvellous portrait keyboard, plus all of those lovely, lovely apps. But is it worth trading in a decent screen for a QWERTY pad? Let’s have a look-see.

Verdict
If you really need an Android messaging phone, this will keep your thumbs happy – but it might be worth holding out for theHTC ChaCha.

We love
Superb keyboard with ace Android integration

We hate
Very low resolution screen, Samsung adds little to Android itself

Specs
Screen: 2.8in, 240×320
Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi, USB
Camera: 3MP
Storage: 512MB internal, up to 32GB via microSD
Battery: 1350mAh
Size/Weight: 198.6×66.7×10.65mm/103g

Design and build quality

If you’ve ever handled one of Nokia, INQ or Sony Ericsson’s portrait QWERTY phones, you’ll know what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy Pro: it’s relatively slim, with a small landscape orientation (touchscreen) display and a four line keyboard.

The materials used to finish the Galaxy Pro are far from premium (the smudge free back can only be described as corrugated plastic), but it is as strong as a smartphone ox, with ports places sensibly on the top, volume on the left hand side and a power/lock button on the right. It’s durable rather than attractive, which is what you’d expect given where it sits in Samsung’s handset line up – far below the sensational Samsung Galaxy S 2.

That keyboard though is the one reason to consider this handset – but it’s quite the compelling one. The keys click down satisfyingly, there are Shift and Alt buttons squeezed in the corner for easy reach and Samsung has even found space for cursor keys, which makes text selection a doddle.

If we have a complaint, it’s that the rows of letters aren’t arranged symmetrically as on a BlackBerry, so the typing experience isn’t quite as seamless. But it’s hard to complain: this is undoubtedly the Android phone with the fastest possible WPM count yet, far outstripping the likes of the HTC Desire Z and Motorola Milestone 2, with their elongated landscape keypads.

Screen

Things start to unravel with the screen however: while the 2.8-inch size is perfectly sized with the keyboard outsourced to the button below, it’s wishy washy at best, with poor blacks and shallow horizontal viewing angles.

It also doesn’t support multitouch pinch to zoom gestures on apps and web pages. It’s curious, because should you choose to turn the on-screen keyboard on in the settings (you can, but there’s little point to it), you can see the screen is perfectly responsive for touch typing.

That low resolution has another serious side effect: not every Android app supports 320×240, so you simply won’t find them in the Android Market. Most major services still do (Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Dropbox etc) so it’s not a deal breaker, but messaging obsessives be aware: this and the lack of multitouch removes the option to play a lot of Android games. This phone’s keyboard comes with unseen costs.

Key features

While the Samsung Galaxy Pro won’t tempt suited BlackBerry die hards, it’s certain to appeal to RIM’s legions of tween fans with fewer digits in their bank balance. The fantastic keyboard is combined with Samsung’s integrated phonebook, which intelligently integrates your Facebook contacts with your phone numbers, so you can see people’s latest activity before you even call them – a thoughtful touch. That seamless social networking experience ends there however – it might be worth holding out for the HTC ChaCha, which promises tight Facebook integration, including a dedicated button and Facebook Chat widget.

Usability

For the most part, Samsung has made Android 2.2 (not the newer 2.3) on the Galaxy Pro a tad more confusing than it needs to be. Many core Samsung services open in portrait mode unless you lock the display’s orientation, and its Social Hub for checking out your friends’ Facebook and Twitter updates simply opens both services in the web browser – you’re far better off downloading the native Facebook and Twitter apps for up to the minute alerts, but sadly, not everyone who buys this phone will realise this.

We should spare praise however for the Samsung Galaxy Pro’s keyboard homescreen integration. Start typing and you can immediately rifle through contacts and call them with a prod, or simply make a Google search by hitting enter. It’s another little feature that will make BlackBerry addicts used to quick universal search consider crossing the floor.

Connectivity

As you’ll find with any phone running Android 2.2 and up, you’ve got the trinity of 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS to keep you located and in the know on the net, plus the free mobile AP feature for turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot wherever you are. That’s your lot though: if you want to hook a phone up to your TV, you’ll need to shop up market and take a gander at the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Samsung Galaxy S 2 or iPhone 4.

Video and camera

It’s best we don’t linger on the camera. While it’s the same camera app as that on the Samsung Galaxy Ace, it’s noticeably slower to shoot, sometimes taking up to a few seconds to pop a shot after hitting the shutter button. There’s no flash, and even in broad daylight the stills grabbed by the three megapixel sensor are mediocre at best. And the QVGA video shooting? It’s suitable only for sending your mates MMS messages of happyslaps, or something hopefully slightly less illegal.

Media playback

As with the Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung hasn’t deigned to bless the Galaxy Pro with its impressive Android codec support as seen on the Galaxy S series of phones. You’ll be able to open H.264 MP4 files if you’re lucky, MP3 tunes, and that’s it. As expected of a low end Android phone, Flash is a no go, but we were also sorry to see that Samsung has also removed its excellent DLNA streaming app, allShare, along with it. There are other options on the Android Market, sure, but your mileage will most definitely vary on this handset.

Apps

Any Android phone review has to be prefaced by the boiler plate statement that the Android Market is a treasure trove of software, and even the lack of support for some apps at 320×240 resolution still leaves you with thousands to get stuck into. And it’s only going to get better over time, as Google’s fantastic OS continues to expand exponentially.

In this case though, there’s little else to remark on: Samsung hasn’t included any other apps of interest, other than its own Apps download store, which during our testing simply crashed every single time.

Call quality/battery life

Call quality might not be high on the list of priorities if you’re after a phone for sending group texts, IM messages and Facebook bleats, so it’s probably just as well that chats sounded rather noise filled, with cracks and pops we’re not accustomed to with full reception.

Battery life on the other hand is solid: the same 1350 mAh battery as that on the Galaxy Ace helps the Samsung Galaxy Pro last a full day and a half of heavy use, or two if you’re able to control your tweeting urges.

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Samsung Galaxy S2 reaches 3 million pre-orders

Samsung has announced that it has received over three million pre-orders for the new Galaxy S2.

The latest Android smartphone from the Korean electronics giant has received rave reviews from around the web, including nabbing top spot in TechRadar's best mobile phones ranking.

Samsung recently confirmed that it had received over 120,000 orders in South Korea, but it seems demand is equally high in other territories too, with the Galaxy S2 en route to over 120 countries.

Big up the big screen

With the phone likely to shatter sales estimates - Samsung was reported to have been expecting sales of 10 million units for the handset - the rumours of an impending stock shortage are inevitable, especially given the previous supply problems from Samsung of its Super AMOLED technology (the advanced display technology used in the screen).

Samsung officials said on Flickr: "There are quite a few demands in some countries to ask for preferred orders for the supply of Galaxy S II. We will do our utmost best to ensure that all the global demands should be met as quickly as possible."

We'll keep an eye on the sales of the Galaxy S2, which is flying off the shelves in the UK too - let's just hope as many people as possible can get their hands on our new favourite phone.

Latest Nokia 5233 Full Touch Screen Mobile Phone

Nokia has launched a mind blasting phone and especially for those who wants a fully touch screen phone at the cheapest price ever. This phone model of Nokia is said as Nokia 5233. It runs on the latest Symbian 60 series Operating System of version 9.4 and powered by 434 MHz ARM 11 processor, which make it fast than other. This phone has a bigger screen of 3.2 inches of resolution 360×640 pixels. This phone measures 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm, and its weight about 115g. This phone contains internal memory of 70 MB and also have 128MB RAM, and can support up to 16GB of microSDcard for external memory.
For connectivity, Nokia 5233 has GPRS, EDGE, USB Data Port, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP. This device also acts as a modem as you can connect net to your PC via your phone by Bluetooth or USB Data Cable. You will get speed almost of 256kbps while surfing or downloading. It also has 2 MP camera fitted at the back side with resolution 1600×1200, which gives a better quality of images and videos. The video recording quality of this phone is much better than others, and this phone can records videos in widescreen mode too. This phone comes with two most interesting colors that are Black, White with various back covers. It has also many installed features which attract you the most as it has Organizer, Photo editor, Flash Lite 3.0, Voice memo/dial etc. And about its price, it comes around Rs 6100 (Differs according different places). Overall, phone is perfect for use.

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Samsung slams Nokia in Western Europe

By Heather McLean

The Western European mobile phone market grew 5% year on year, to 45 million units in the first quarter of 2011, according to IDC’s European Mobile Phone Tracker.

During the quarter, Samsung shipments increased 5.3% year on year, to 13.2 million units, and became the biggest mobile phone maker in the region with 29.3% marketshare.

Nokia shipments dropped 10.3% year on year to 12.6 million units, and it is now the second player with 27.9% marketshare.

In the smartphones segment, Apple shipments increased 48.9% year on year to 4.4 million units, and it became the biggest player with 20.8% market share. Nokia comes in second with 19.6% marketshare.

“Samsung and Apple achieved outstanding milestones this quarter in the region. Samsung became the biggest mobile phone vendor in Western Europe and Apple the biggest smartphone vendor,” noted Francisco Jeronimo, European mobile devices research manager, IDC.

“These results show how volatile this market is and how important it is not to underestimate the trends. Companies like Nokia (and Ericsson in the past) may have strong brands and big market shares as Nokia always had, but can be overtaken by their competitors on a blink of an eye,” said Jeronimo.

“Nokia is one of the most recognised and appreciated brands in Europe, but Samsung was the one understanding the trends first and moving faster. Samsung understood early the trend on touchscreen devices and became the market leader on feature phones, by providing a full range of devices at very competitive prices.

“On smartphones Samsung has quickly moved to Android as well as invests on its own platform, Bada,” Jeronimo added. “Flexibility and to address all market segments have contributed to quickly adjust to the market trends. Apple, on the other hand, coming from nowhere in the mobile phone business, capitalised on its strong brand and user experience innovation. It took years to competitors to come up with devices that could challenge consumers’ preference for the iPhone.”

During the quarter smartphones shipments increased 76% year on year to 21.2 million units, to represent 47% of total mobile phone shipments. Android was the smartphones operating system leader with 35.7% marketshare.

Those vendors focusing mainly on Android have notably been improving their market positions on smartphones, which shows how successfully this OS attracts consumers to smartphones, driving manufacturers’ sales, said Jeronimo. Second comes iOS with 20.8% marketshare due the popularity of the iPhone. Symbian slipped to third place with 20.5% market share.

For smartphone and feature phone shipments and marketshare in Western Europe, following Samsung at the top and Nokia and Apple a close second and third, RIM came in fourth with 1Q shipments of 3.5 million, marketshare at 7.8%, up a massive 48% year on year, and HTC came in fifth with figures identical to RIM with 1Q shipments of 3.5 million also, marketshare at 7.8%, up an even huger 271% year on year.

On smartphones alone, after Apple at number one, Nokia 1Q shipments were 4.2 million, marketshare at 19.6%, down 15% year on year, RIM was third with 1Q shipments of 3.5 million, marketshare at 16.5%, up 48% year on year, HTC came in fourth with 1Q shipments of 3.5 million, marketshare at 16.5%, up 271% year on year, and Samsung is in fifth place with 1Q shipments of 2.6 million, marketshare at 12.1%, up an enormous 744% year on year

Leaked Samsung Exhibit 4G coming to T-Mobile with Gingerbread onboard

Leaked images of the the Samsung T759 running Android 2.3.3 recently surfaced. It is believed that this will be marketed as the “Exhibit.”
Some of the expected features include:

• 3.7-inch (800 x 400) AMOLED display
• 1,4GHz ARM11 processor
• 5 megapixel camera with 720p recording
• VGA front-facing camera
• HSPA+

It is refreshing to see a new phone that has Gingerbread already installed, even if it is not the latest version 2.3.4. It is amazing how many phones are being released with Froyo on it. The fact that the Exhibit is a Samsung phone makes it even more amazing.
We do not know about pricing or availability yet, but we will let you know as we find out more.
Hit the break for more photos