Okay, cool. We'll do this.
So, because you feel you won't use the extra memory you would rather not have it and pay the same price.
Considering the fact that I don't own an SD card and would have to pay in order to get it, sure, I'm just fine with that. Will other people have problems with the lack of an SD slot, (mainly photographers) you bet, and it may break the deal
for them. For me, I don't give two shits.
You are also missing the resolution of the screen (if you say this doesn't make a difference you are simply wrong)
That's true, but having compared the two side-by-side I can tell you that despite being lower resolution the iPad screen
comes off as better because it's much,
much brighter, creating better white-levels and vibrancy of colors. I actually told the guy at the Verizon kiosk (I visit these guys constantly, I practically work there at this point) when he asked what he could do to get the Xoom to sell is to try and move the iPad so people don't get hung up on the screen.
NOT YET IT DOESN'T
a higher video playback (not just mirroring) resolution
Conceded.
a higher MP camera, USB ports, an HDMI port,
MP rates aren't everything when it comes to a camera. There's a reason why an iPhone 4 (5MP) can take better pictures than my Incredible (8MP). The underlying software (and other hardware considerations) need to be there. I didn't take any photos, so I can't directly comment on the quality of the Xoom and I've never handled the iPad 2, so I can't comment on that either.
USB ports, I can take 'em or leave 'em. The HDMI port comes standard, which is awesome, but unless you're a teacher (that can't properly utilize a projector or SmartBoard, wtf) or have to give presentations, most people don't want to hook their tablet up to their TV. The
only reason most people would want to do that is for video, which is the entire point of AirPlay.
After a hardware update that happens who-knows-when, that you have to go without your tablet for at least 6 days in order to get, with a service that is unproven and doesn't affect most people because it's largest coverage is in the city. iPad has 3G on AT&T
and Verizon, Xoom is only on Verizon (at this point). So as far as 3G goes, iPad wins.
Android OS supports more open source and freeware.
Conceded, but with several caveats.
1. There's a reason why there's so much freeware, and that's because Android users have this ingrown
mindset that something should be free. They (we) don't care if there are ads, do what you need to do, but I'm not paying for it so SUCK IT. There's a reason why most developers haven't ported games over (besides technical limitations in doing so) and that's the fact that they recognize that producing 2 iOS/iPad games will make them much more money than a version for iOS and then taking the time to port it to Android
and making sure it works on the large variety of hardware. Google seems to be becoming more strict about the hardware differences, but it's far from an easy experience.
2. Google had to just shoot 21 apps right in the face, because they were so malicious that people are recommended to do a factory reset on their phone. Sorry, but that's not a good point for the market, and (most likely) won't happen with the App Store.
3. Honeycomb was rushed to beat the second iPad to market. Every review (and my own experience) just shows that it's half-baked, and we don't know when things will be fixed. iOS will work right out the gate.
There are some other things that you can't get from a spec sheet, as I said before. I've got things for both that I've only noticed by actually
handling the devices (in some cases, side-by-side).
Points for Xoom:
- The implementation of Chrome (the default browser) is far superior to Safari in many ways. People love tabbed browsing, and it delivers. It's also faster (note: I haven't used the souped-up Safari in 4.3)
- The interface is slick, and widgets genuinely add to the experience
- The on-screen keyboard is genuinely fantastic
However, there are some real annoyances. The on-screen buttons aren't implemented well; you have to either read the manual or guess, and because things are so different even seasoned Android users will get lost. The 16:9 screen is just
awkward to use in portrait mode. As I said, the screen is, despite its higher resolution, very dark and just
dull.
Contrast that with the iPad, which is genuinely usable in both orientations (insert bi joke here). I like this because I'm not always going to be in a position to use the tablet in landscape, so it's nice that it doesn't look or feel
wrong to use it in one orientation over the other. You always know where you're going, and while the home button is just one singular point of button interaction, it's more intuitive and you don't end up wondering which button to press. And, if or when you manage to fuck your screen up, you aren't left with something unusable.
Another big thing is the app 'problem'. iOS has more apps. Period. These apps have, in some cases, been in development longer, period. I also enjoy the fact that spending 2.99, something that I just don't feel like doing with Android, will get me an ad-free experience. Is that personal? Could I spend that money? Yes, but I'm representing myself as the average Android user. Development for iOS pays, and as a general rule development for Android doesn't. I'll be enjoying all the games and apps custom-tailored for my tablet and you'll be having fun with the apps made for phones (which the iPad can also do).
The big question: have you actually
used both devices? Until you have you can only speculate on what it's like (which is why most, if not all, of my arguments can apply to the original iPad instead of solely to the iPad 2) and look at a spec sheet. As I pointed out, specs aren't everything--you genuinely
cannot have a full opinion until you touch the things (and having some pretty good knowledge of the OS doesn't hurt).
