Apple iPad 2 Vs Motorola Xoom

Apple's iPad 2 is the company's second generation PC tablet and has a different set of rules that sets it apart from the company's first edition. And with the success of this remarkable machine, competitors are all the buzz on how to get their fair share of profits in this fast growing market of computer tablets. One major competitor of the iPad 2 is the Motorola Xoom, which has been on the market a little longer. Let's look at how these two machines compare side by side.

The Xoom features a 10.1-inch screen compared to the iPad 2 9.7-inch. It may not seem like much, but when held, it makes a big difference when surfing the web or watching videos. Although the Xoom currently uses Verizon's 3G network, it will offer a free upgrade to the super-fast 4G network with Motorola Mobility. Ipad 2 customers will not have that luxury any time soon.

Apple has cornered the market for the time being in the number of applications it offers. Last count it was close to 70,000, but more developers are getting on the Android development board and by year-end, there will be just as many of these tablet applications offered.

The duel-core 1 GHz A5 processor of the iPad 2 was a major improvement from its predecessor's A4, compared to the Xoom's NVIDIA Tegra 2 1.0 GHz dual core processor. In the area of web browsing, Apple did not make much of an improvement here. It still uses Safari Mobile, while Motorola uses Chrome browser in Honeycomb giving the user a faster surfing experience.

So where is the advantage? Well, looking at both tablets side by side, the only advantage the iPad 2 may have is that it's made by Apple. Both devices have duel core processors, offer WiFi and 3G, and have duel cameras. For a cost comparison, the Xoom runs close in price with the iPad. Apple has built a high quality product. It's thinner and lighter than the Xoom, but that's really the only area where it stands out. It is more comfortable to carry than the Xoom but in a bag or purse, it's just as easy to pick up and go.

Doing multiple tasks is simple for Xoom with all of the upgrades to the Google Android 3.0 operating system. Google wanted to give a desktop functionality to their product which makes the Apple iOS 4.3 look obsolete. It may be safe to say that the iPad 2 has found a formidable match in the Xoom. It just makes us anticipate what Apple will do when they bring the third edition tablet to market.