Users and reviewers like the Honeycomb OS, but aren't so keen on the price of the new Motorola tablet

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

February 24, 2011

2 Min Read
Tablet Wars: Who's Xooming Whom?

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT)'s first Android 3.0 tablet -- the Xoom -- is out today on the Verizon Wireless 3G network and will be upgradeable to 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) at a later date.

The device is getting mixed reviews. Many like the new operating system but wince at the price tag, which is $800 without a contract or $600 with the standard two-year ball and chain. Still, at least some potential customers are liking the new machine:

"Just played around with the xoom at verizon store," writes designer/blogger Gordon Fraser on Twitter. "Love honeycomb!"

What they say
The big daddy of tech reviews, Walt Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal, has some good words on the Honeycomb tablet. "I consider it the first truly comparable competitor to Apple’s hit iPad," he writes.

Naturally, Mossberg isn't so impressed with the price of the device and so ends with this sting: "As much as I like the Xoom and Honeycomb, I’d advise consumers to wait to see what Apple has up its sleeve next before committing to a higher price for the Motorola product."

Meanwhile, there's a minor catch to the planned upgrade to LTE for the Xoom, as CNET notes: "Consumers who buy Motorola's new Xoom tablet when it hits stores today [Thursday] will have to send their tablets back to Motorola if they want to upgrade to 4G LTE.

Hey, at least it's a free upgrade! Verizon says the LTE option should be available in about 90 days.

Motorola has also been hit with a trademark lawsuit over the product's name by -- you guessed it! -- the Xoom Corporation. You might think that consumers could easily tell the difference between a tablet and an electronic payment company, but Florian Mueller at the FOSS Patents blog isn't so sure.

"I ... wouldn't view Xoom's action as just a ridiculous 'troll' suit," he writes. See Mueller's post for an in-depth overview of the multiple issues in the suit.

What we say
See below for more on the Xoom:

  • Tablet Wars: iPad 2 vs Android 3.0

  • Verizon Lets Users Xoom for $600

  • CES 2011: Moto's 4G Gadgets Blur Lines

  • Motorola Xooms Out Next Month

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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