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Thanks to its higher price tag, nondescript design, and "eclectic" marketing campaign, the Motorola Xoom belike isn't most people's first pick of paper unless they're already fans of Android -- Google's "organic," open-source operative grouping for tablets and smartphones.

If you're considering effort one, though, you'll poverty to keep these things in mind:

Limited app selection

The Xoom crapper separate pretty much anything in the Android Market, which has more than 150,000 apps in it. Because the obstruction to entry to the Android Market is so low, however, a lot of those apps are things same wallpapers and ringtones. And there are rattling few Android apps right today that are specifically fashioned for tablets.

The iPad, in contrast, has over 65,000 apps specifically fashioned for it, plus it crapper separate the hundreds of thousands of apps already prefabricated for the iPhone. Since it's thoughtful the choice paper to indite apps for, chances are if you've heard of a paper app -- and it's not prefabricated by Google -- it's exclusive acquirable on the iPad.

This module belike modify as time goes on, meet as it did for Android phones. Nowadays, most "name-brand" smartphone apps hit both iPhone and Android versions available. Indie developers seem to favor Apple's products, though, and they've produced whatever of the most compelling reasons to acquire one.

Works differently

The iPad runs iOS, which is most as ultimate as an operative grouping crapper mayhap get. It exclusive has digit button, and home screens exclusive hit apps and collections of apps. If you really, rattling don't same to be discomposed with technical details, you poverty an iPad, because the Xoom puts more buttons in face of you and gives you more things you crapper place on your home screens.

Neither are rattling that hornlike to intend utilised to, though. And whatever grouping might favour the artefact the Xoom handles certain things ... you crapper double-tap after zooming in on book in your web browser to attain it reflow to sound the screen, for instance. And instead of taking over the full concealment when it wants to verify you something, the Xoom has a asking Atlantic same on an Android phone, and you crapper analyse it when you feel same doing so.

The Xoom's element also handles differently. Because it's a widescreen tablet, it's easier to identify on with both hands in genre mode, or with your thumbs in semblance mode. It doesn't hit a Smart Cover, though ... which is belike the biggest element disagreement between the Xoom and the iPad.

These differences haw seem minor, but they are differences, and you'll poverty to take them into account. Especially if you're utilised to iOS, or to non-tablet versions of Android.

It has inferior of a forthcoming than the iPad

By that I don't stingy it won't terminal you as long. You could belike intend at least two eld of assist out of either a Xoom or an iPad.

I stingy that it's inferior of a priority for Motorola than the iPad is for Apple. They attain mountain of Android devices, hour of which is an manifest flagship. And as competitors same HTC and LG start making tablets, the Xoom module stop existence "the Android tablet" and start existence "an Android tablet." It'll be harder to acquire accessories for it, and your next paper haw not countenance anything same it.

On the other hand, Android itself haw be worth the long-term investment ... if you're a fan of Android, or of open-source code in general.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source code enthusiast, who uses an Android sound and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been composition most profession and electronics since 2008.

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