Monday, March 14, 2011

Apple iPad 2 vs Motorola Xoom vs Samsung Galaxy tab - A comparison of features, hardware and usability

Its Showtime for the tablet competitors Apple, Motorola and Samsung and for tablet lovers, it can’t get better than this. Gone are the days of Apple monopoly in the market. Now, the customer is the king and we have for the first time real competitors to consider when thinking about the latest in electronics market – tab. The release of iPad 2 (read the features and highlights here) had Samsung do some serious re-thinking about its price and features before launching it in the market. Also there were reviews on Motorola Xoom which showed that there were some areas of improvement when compared to the iPad2. However, with Android making its presence felt among users of wide ranges of age group and profession, it is customer oriented market yet again and here is how I compare the tabs (Read a detailed comparison of Android vs iPhone here). Again, in this case too, I am not going to say if one tab beats the other or if Apple wins over Android or Android gets better than apple – just trying to bring out an unbiased review.ipad 2 vs motorola xoom vs galaxy tab 2

Comparison Chart:

  Motorola Xoom Samsung Galaxy tab 2 Apple iPad 2 Advantage
OS Honeycomb Honeycomb (android 3.0) Apple iOS 4.3 Purely for the brand power and also because Honeycomb is still raw and yet to be experienced – Apple
Display 10.1” 10.1” 9.7” Though Apple’s display is slightly smaller than the other two, it looks cuter than the other two to me – Apple
Resolution 1280 x 800 1280 x 800 1024 x 768 Definitely Motorola 
RAM 1 GB Not Available 512 MB Motorola
Processor 1 GHz Terga 2 dual-core 1 GHz Terga 2 dual-core A5 1GHz dual-core Again for the tested and extremely satisfying performance – Apple 
Camera 5 MegaPix rear camera with LED Flash / 2 MegaPix front camera 8 MegaPix rear camera with Flash and 2 MegaPix front camera Rear camera pix rating unspecified, front camera VGA Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 – Apple disappointed everybody big time here
Memory 32 GB – Expandable memory up to 32 GB in microSD 16 or 32 GB – Nothing specified yet about external memory 16, 32, 64 GB but no external expandable memory Motorola – MicroSD slot was one of the most expected feature in the new version of Tabs
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n along with Personal Hotspot 802.11 b/g/n 802.11 b/g/n Tied – similar specs
Network 3G (upgradable to 4G – if you don’t mind shipping it back and forth to Verizon to get this done) 4G HSPA / EDGE / GPRS 3G HSDPA / GSM / EDGE / CMDA Samsung Galaxy Tab for the 4G
Externals 9.8 x 6.6 x 0.5 / 12.7 mm / 1.61 lbs 9.67 x 6.7 x 0.43 / 10.9 mm thick / 1.32 lbs 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.34 / 8.8 mm thick / 1.33 lbs Apple – truly lives up to its marketing slogan – thinner, lighter and smarter
Ports HDMI, USB 2.0 USB 2.0 HDMI (with adapter) Motorola Xoom 

 

Apple’s exciting features like Facetime, excellent multitasking still scores overs minor hitches in Motorola (like problems with microSD, confusing buttons in different applications and heftier finish than iPad2). However Motorola Xoom is a serious competitor to Apple in the tablet race and we are in for some exciting market analysis in near future!!

What do you think about the latest tabs in market? Do share your views and reviews on your tab experience

3 comments:

Anzi said...

In the beginning there was no competition for ipad. Apple is not the market king anymore. Google introduced their giant OS and changed every thing about smartphones and Tablet PC world. Samsung, motorola and most importantly Companies like OziTechnology jumped in the field and generated issues for Apple by producing finest Android Devices.

Bhaiya G said...

Apple is a perfect Tab to use because of it's screen resolution and exe lent touch response it has high definition vidio recording and playing . It 9.7 inch LED Backlit display . It has around 2 lacs 40 thousands applications and 1.2 lacs applications are free to download from it's apple store .THE MOST MPORTANT THING APPLE NEVER USES ANY COMPANIES APLICATIO, PROCESSER OR OPRATING SYSTEM IT HAS ALL THE THING DOVELOPED BY APPLE EXPERTS ITSELF TO GIVE A BETTER PERFORMANCE.

Shivji said...

Apple's A5 chip is built by Samsung ‎
The processor that powers Apple's iPhone 4S and iPad 2 is being manufactured in Texas by rival Samsung

Following are some of the key manufacturers of Apple parts:

1. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) makes the main processor as well as the flash memory chips that store music, photos and other user data *

2. The processor is based on an architecture licensed from Britain's ARM Holdings Plc (ARM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) #

3. Germany's Infineon Technologies (IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) supplies the phone's transceiver and baseband processor #

4. Britain's Wolfson Microelectronics Plc (WLF.L: Quote, Profile, Research) makes the audio processing chip. Wolfson already supplies audio chips for Apple's popular iPods *

5. U.S.-based Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) makes the Wi-Fi chip that allows the iPhone to connect to the Internet wirelessly *

6. Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) supplies the cellular network power amplifier *

7. Britain's CSR Plc (CSR.L: Quote, Profile, Research) makes the Bluetooth chip that supports wireless accessories such as microphones *

8. Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) supplies the USB battery charger, a part that is also used in iPods #

9. Broadcom Corp. (BRCM.O: Quote, Profile, Research), privately held NXP Semiconductors and National Semiconductor Inc. (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) make components to support the touch screen #

10. Micron Technology Inc. (MU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) makes the 2-megapixel image sensor for the iPhone's camera #

11.Other components were supplied by Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Europe's STMicroelectronics (STM.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Silicon Storage Technology Inc. (SSTI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and RF Microdevices Inc. (RFMD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) #

From iFixit, a Web site offering parts and self-repair guides for iPods and Macintosh computers. The company, which has conducted similar "tear downs" on other Apple products, posted step-by-step photos of the process on its Web site at: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone

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