Difference Between Apple iPad 3 and Motorola Xoom 2

Apple iPad 3 (New iPad) vs Motorola Xoom 2 | Speed, Performance and Features Reviewed | Full Specs Compared
 

It has become a common practice among vendors who produce tablets to come up with various screen sizes of the same tablet. It’s essentially like dressing up the same doll in different clothes and naming them in different ways. In this case, the clothes are mostly the screen size and resolution in some cases. For instance, a leading vendor in the mobile phone industry, Motorola does that with their Tablets. They have Xyboard 8.2 and Xyboard 10.1 which is essentially the same core unit with respectively 8.2 and 10.1 screen sizes. We do not mean to question their design decisions by pointing that out. In fact, there is a strong appeal for such devices in the market. This is due to the fact that consumers have different preferences when they come to the screen sizes. Some prefer big screen sizes and some prefer small screen size. In my point of view, vendors are still searching for the perfect harmony between sizes although we have witnessed several sizes in the last two years apart from the conventional 10 inch variant. In any case, it’s fair that the vendors don’t tend to redesign the whole architecture of the tablet due to the size preference and just change what is necessary to change the hulk. The only problem is when a lower screen size goes to an upper screen size, there may be resolution issues, but knowing the high end vendors like Motorola, it won’t really be a problem because even their small sized screens can feature monster resolutions.

Only other hand, Apple has been consistent with the screen size they offer their iPads. This is clearly advantageous in their point of view because then developing applications is highly portable between the devices. It is also because the consumers have embraced iPads very much that they don’t seem to mind which size it is offered at. It actually shows the consumer loyalty for Apple products where they are willing to pay the cost of either a bigger or smaller screen to lay their hands on an Apple product. So we are going to compare the most recent Apple product, the 3rd generation iPad, which was announced today, with Motorola Xoom 2 that falls into the category of the same screen size.

Apple iPad 3 (The new iPad 4G LTE)

There have been many speculations about Apple’s new iPad because it had such a pull from customer’s end. In fact, the Giant is trying to revolutionize the market again. Many of those features in the new iPad seem to add up to a consistent and revolutionary device that is going to blow your mind. As rumored, Apple iPad 3 comes with a 9.7 inches HD IPS retina display that features a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels at a pixel density of 264ppi. This is a huge barrier that Apple has broken, and they have introduced 1 million more pixels to the generic 1920 x 1080 pixels display which used to be the best resolution a mobile device provides. The total number of pixel adds up to 3.1 million, which is actually a monster resolution that hasn’t been matched by any tablet currently available in the market. Apple guarantees that iPad 3 has 44% more color saturation compared to previous models, and they have shown us some amazing photos and texts which looked wonderful on the big screen. They even cracked a joke about the difficulty of displaying the screens from iPad 3 because it has more resolution than the backdrop they were using at the auditorium.

That’s not all about it, the new iPad has a dual core Apple A5X processor at an unknown clock rate with quad core GPU. Apple claims A5X to offer four-times the performance of a Tegra 3; however, it has to be tested to confirm their statement but, needless to say, that this processor will make everything work smooth and seamlessly. It has three variations for internal storage, which is enough to stuff all of your favorite TV shows. The new iPad runs on Apple iOS 5.1, which seems like a great operating system with a very intuitive user interface.

There is a physical home button available at the bottom of the device, as usual. The next big feature Apple introduces is iSight camera, which is 5MP with autofocus and auto-exposure using a backside illuminated sensor. It has an IR filter built into it which is really great. The camera can also capture 1080p HD videos, and they have smart video stabilization software integrated with the camera which is a good move. This slate also supports the best digital assistant in the world, Siri, which was supported by iPhone 4S only.

Here comes another stabilization for the wave of rumors. iPad 3 does come with 4G LTE connectivity apart from EV-DO, HSDPA, HSPA+21Mbps, DC-HSDPA+42Mbps. LTE supports speed up to 73Mbps. However, currently 4G LTE is supported only on AT&T network (700/2100MHz) and Verizon network (700MHz) in the U.S. and Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks in Canada. During launch, the demo was on AT&T’s LTE network, and the device loaded everything super-fast and handled the load very well. Apple claims the new iPad is the device that supports most number of bands ever, but they didn’t say what bands exactly. It is said to have Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for continuous connectivity, which was expected by default. Fortunately, you can let your new iPad share your internet connection with your friends by making it a wi-fi hotspot. It is 9.4mm thick and has a weight of 1.44-1.46lbs, which is rather comforting, though it is slightly thicker and heftier than iPad 2. The new iPad promises a battery life of 10 hours on normal usage and 9 hours on 3G/4G usage, which is another game changer for the new iPad.

The new iPad is available in either Black or White, and the 16GB variant is offered at $499 which is rather low. The 4G version of the same storage capacity is offered at $629 which is still a good deal. There are two other variants, 32GB and 64GB which comes at $599 / $729 and $699 / $829 respectively without 4G and with 4G. The preorders started on 7 March 2012, and the slate will be released to the market on the 16th of March 2012. Surprisingly the giant has decided to roll out the device in US, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan at the same time which makes it the biggest rollout ever.

Motorola Xoom 2

Motorola Xoom 2 is a very competitive Tablet available in the market. It comes with a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 processor on top of Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset with a ULP Geforce GPU and 1GB of RAM. This is a very solid combination that performs without the slightest lag in any benchmark. It comes with the Android v3.2 Honeycomb while Motorola promises an upgrade to v4.0 IceCreamSandwich soon in the future. The OS uses the resources very efficiently and generates an amazing user experience.

Motorola has included a 32GB internal storage and comes with a 10.1 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors featuring a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and a pixel density of 149ppi. The 10.1 inches screen is larger than that of the iPad and also features a higher pixel density and a resolution. But the Retina display of the new iPad compensates any differences created by the size of the screen. The tablet weighs 603g and is 8.8mm thick. This is a radical improvement compared to its predecessor, which used to weigh around 750g. Xoom 2 also feels good in the hand and emanates a glow of superiority and expensive looks. For connectivity, Xoom 2 has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and supports 3G HSDPA (14.4Mbps).

Motorola Xoom 2 has a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash with Geo-tagging and 720p HD video capturing @ 30 frames per second, and a 1.3MP camera in the front for video conferencing. This is of course a pretty decent cameras. Xoom 2 comes with the usual aspects of an Android Tablet along with a HDMI port and Gyro Sensor. The Gorilla Glass coating on the screen ensures it’s scratch resistant and smooth. It also has a water repellent coating, guarding against spills and rain showers. Motorola has also included a 3D virtual surround sound setup which is a pleasant surprise. Xoom 2 promises an effective battery time of 10 hours which is fair compared to the screen size and the processor.

Conclusion

Apple products have always been survivors because they are built to be followed and to take hits. Apple iPad 3 (new iPad) is not so different. It has an industrial standard retina display that features such a high resolution that hasn’t been replicated to a mobile device before. For this reason, it’s even recorded as the mobile device with the highest number of active pixels. iPad 3 (new iPad) may also have a better processor compared to Motorola Xoom 2 but we can be sure that the GPU in iPad 3 (new iPad) is better than that of Motorola Xoom 2. Additionally, it offers the super-fast LTE connectivity which can be an added advantage when you’re surfing with a slate. The only thing we would worry about is the thickness and weight of the iPad 3 (new iPad). We can neglect the thickness at 9.4mm compared to 8.8mm of Xoom 2, but you would feel the weight of 662g in your hands if you keep the slate in your hands for a long time. So think about whether you’re going to use the device for prolonged periods of times and whether you would need LTE connectivity. If the answer is yes and no respectively, Motorola Xoom 2 may be a worthwhile option. If the case is otherwise, then you have to invest in Apple iPad 3 (new iPad).