The Microsoft Xoom was undoubtedly one of the best first-generation Android tablets around for the business user, so we’ve been looking forward to the arrival of its successor for a while now. Join us as we sum up the year in review for the Motorola Xoom 2.
It was no coincidence that the original Motorola Xoom was hand-picked by Google to be the vehicle to show off its tablet-specific Android Honeycomb operating system for the first time towards the end of 2010.
With its dual-core processor, 1080p video playback and of course Android Honeycomb itself, it certainly made a statement of intent, and when it officially launched in the early spring – the first Android Honeycomb tablet to hit the market – it got plenty of attention.
And yet here we are barely nine months down the line talking about the Motorola Xoom 2. Given the standard 12-month product renew cycle for most mobile devices, it’s unusual that Motorola has moved to update its tablet so soon, and hints at the fierce competition the wide array of Android tablets are facing in fighting for the scraps left in the wake of the still-dominant Apple iPad 2.
WANT MORE? Click here to see how the Xoom 2 compares with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9
Return of the Xoom
In the build-up to the Motorola Xoom 2′s announcement, our attention was mainly focused on just how much of a step forward it would be from a hardware point of view, and what benefits that would bring to the business user.
The most predictable upgrade was a reduction in the Xoom 2′s waistline from the original’s 12.9mm measurement. Our prediction of 9mm was actually a fraction of a millimetre higher than the eventual thickness of 8.8mm, and while rumours of a second 8.2-inch-screened model alongside the standard 10.1-inch variant proved to be bang on the money, talk of a screen resolution as high as 2,048 x 1,536 was wide of the mark.
Specs revealed
In early November the rumours were laid to rest as the Xoom 2 tablet was officially announced by Motorola. In the end the display resolution on both the standard model and the 8.2-inch Media Edition came in at 1,280 x 800-pixels, and with the 1.2GHz processor representing a 20 percent boost over the original, the hardware specification was ultimately only a modest step forward.
Leaving aside the consumer-focused Media Edition, we gave the Motorola Xoom 2 our usual once-over from a business user point of view. And once we shifted our attention from the spec sheet to the on-board software and features, we discovered a couple of pleasant surprises lying in wait.
WANT MORE? Click here for 10 ways to use your Motorola Xoom 2 to improve your business
Reasons to be cheerful
The first is Motocast, which allows you to stream documents to the tablet from your home PC or laptop over a Wi-Fi connection, and using cloud-based storage rather than your Xoom 2′s own resources.
Then there’s stylus support, which paves the way for notepad-type apps to add an extra layer of practical functionality to the Xoom 2, plus an HDMI port for sharing documents and presentations on a big-screen TV or projector.
Martin James
Remote working with One Net Express
If you run a small business you will know that one of the biggest challenges you face is keeping in touch with existing and potential customers. A lot of small businesses and startups don’t have funds for ‘back office’ admin and support services. Here we look at ways to keep the business rolling by remote working. Read More: One Net Express
