Motorola Xoom vs Asus EEE Transformer

Funky.fresh

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
174
Hey guys,

Let's consider that I can get a xoom for $400 and a Asus EEE transformer for $350

Which one is the better deal if I am looking for bigger size, better front camera, and battery life? I know it could be found on google with specification, but how about real life feedback?
 
Might ask an Admin or Mod to move this to the Mobile Computing subforum since that's where almost all the Asus Transformer/Motorola Xoom discussion happens. Yes, they're 'gadgets' for most of us but, they're more accurately defined as mobile computing devices I'd say, hence more discussion "over there" in that subforum.

I don't own either but I have used both devices over the past few months (because of friends that own them, I'm still holding out for a Nook Color 2 or something similar), and of the two I'd prefer the Asus Transformer if I was looking to buy one of those two choices myself. The keyboard/battery pushes the battery life into the 14-15+ range so for me that would be the deciding factor first and foremost.

What crippled the Xoom (IMO) was the pricing out of the gate, which so many companies get wrong these days. They overcharge and then hope people come around after they start dropping it, as Motorola has been doing with the Xoom. The Transformer was perfectly priced (for most people) at the start, and it's still the most popular 10" Android tablet out there because of that reason, primarily.

The Acer Iconia 500 isn't a bad 10" Android tablet either, just a tad more expensive than the Transformer but it has a physical USB port in the tablet itself (Transformer only has 2 in the dock/keyboard/battery) so that could be a reason to consider it as well.

Honestly most 10" (ok, 10.1" to be technically accurate) Android tablets are all pretty much the same these days, with cosmetic differences and of course different LCD panels (IPS is always the most desired but does cost more - that's one other reason the Transformer sells so well, it has an IPS panel in it iirc).
 
Yah, I did some test shots with the back cameras on both and some test videos, nothing special in my opinion, but I'm not a photographer or videographer in any respect so I can't comment on the actual image quality. Both devices produced similar output as far as I could tell.

I suppose people shouldn't expect seriously awesome quality for pics or video from such devices considering the sensors used in the actual hardware, even in spite of high megapixel counts. They're functional, they get the job done, but if you care about high quality, obviously you'd use a dedicated digital camera or video camera for such purposes.
 
Might ask an Admin or Mod to move this to the Mobile Computing subforum since that's where almost all the Asus Transformer/Motorola Xoom discussion happens. Yes, they're 'gadgets' for most of us but, they're more accurately defined as mobile computing devices I'd say, hence more discussion "over there" in that subforum.

I don't own either but I have used both devices over the past few months (because of friends that own them, I'm still holding out for a Nook Color 2 or something similar), and of the two I'd prefer the Asus Transformer if I was looking to buy one of those two choices myself. The keyboard/battery pushes the battery life into the 14-15+ range so for me that would be the deciding factor first and foremost.

What crippled the Xoom (IMO) was the pricing out of the gate, which so many companies get wrong these days. They overcharge and then hope people come around after they start dropping it, as Motorola has been doing with the Xoom. The Transformer was perfectly priced (for most people) at the start, and it's still the most popular 10" Android tablet out there because of that reason, primarily.

The Acer Iconia 500 isn't a bad 10" Android tablet either, just a tad more expensive than the Transformer but it has a physical USB port in the tablet itself (Transformer only has 2 in the dock/keyboard/battery) so that could be a reason to consider it as well.

Honestly most 10" (ok, 10.1" to be technically accurate) Android tablets are all pretty much the same these days, with cosmetic differences and of course different LCD panels (IPS is always the most desired but does cost more - that's one other reason the Transformer sells so well, it has an IPS panel in it iirc).

yep, the transformer has a 10.1" e-IPS 1280x800 panel in it :)
 
Which to me is a bit odd in some respects: when demoing an Acer Iconia Tab recently, I felt as though the screen (which isn't an IPS panel iirc) had a better visual quality to it than the Transformer does... could just be my eyes but, the only really standout Android tablet to me with respect to the actual display itself is still the Nook Color (ok, so it's not officially an Android tablet but with a little effort it most certainly becomes one).

Hell, my trusty Dell Latitude D830 I'm using has a 1680x1050 "whatever" panel in it (sure ain't IPS) but it's still got fantastic image quality all around. Would be nice if it was as bright as newer panels are but, the days of proper 16:10 are dying fast so I don't expect I'll ever locate a nice IPS replacement for this machine, sadly.
 
Hey guys,

Let's consider that I can get a xoom for $400 and a Asus EEE transformer for $350

Which one is the better deal if I am looking for bigger size, better front camera, and battery life? I know it could be found on google with specification, but how about real life feedback?

I have an Asus TF101 32GB & Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I would recommend the GT10.1 due to the weight & better screen. IHMO, Asus is better if you plan to take advantage of their dock.

GT10.1 has a USB kit to use for more memory & you could connect a FAT32 USB drive to it.

Camera on the GT isn't all that but I have a SGS2 for a camera.

Asus has better battery life if you use the dock with it. If not, then both are on par with each other.

I had a Xoom & the bad screen made me return it.
 
Camera on the GT isn't all that but I have a SGS2 for a camera.

I had a Xoom & the bad screen made me return it.


How is the screen when you compare the tab vs transformer?

Can you elaborate on the xoom's bad screen? thank you
 
I find the Asus Transformer intriguing because it has an optional keyboard attachment that also has a battery and some expansion ports. I think the extra battery increases total battery life to around 15 hours (from 8 hours) I believe. It's been a while since I've read the review. The keyboard allows you to use the Transformer like a netbook making it easier to be productive with it.

I thought about getting the 32GB Transformer and the keyboard for around $650, but I ended buying a laptop for about $675 before taxes. More productive and useful than a tablet for my needs.
 
Very true. I thought of it too that a laptop is better than the asus with a keyboard. I would hate myself for not having task manager and other window based programs >.<

Although it is cool have android and a touch screen 'laptop' but those are around and clunky
 
For what its worth, I've found the Transformer to be excellent, compared to Xoom and Samsung Galaxy. The additional ports and battery life of the "dock" basically turn it into a netbook when you wish, and it has a nice IPS display with 10 touch points on its own. The only thing I don't like about it is that either Google or Nvidia needs to install new graphics drivers that deal better with playing video compressed with high profile options. There's no reason that a 3D game running in 720p should be smooth as butter, as can a mp4 coded one way, but a mkv coded another way with common high profile settings will be a choppy mess.
 
I compared the two before getting my Transformer, I found the Xoom's screen and its angles to not hold their own with the Asus. The dock for me was a huge selling point as well, the camera on the transformer leaves much to be desired though. Overall, I love it and don't regret my decision for an instant.
 
If you can wait a few months, Kal El equiped tablets will be releasing soon. That most likely means the play back with mostly be fixed as well. Not exactly sure how much of a performance improvement being a quad core will provide but its always nice to get something thats claiming a big advancement.
 
Funny point: was watching something on TV earlier tonight and saw a commercial for the "new" Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" (apparently a new revision, maybe, I don't know) and couldn't help but laugh at how hyper-fast the thing was operating - of course, all the crap we see on the "screen" of the tablet when people are using it is just a CGI-overlay on the video, but even so I couldn't stop laughing and basically yelling out "YEAH, RIGHT..." every time the actors did a simple swipe maneuver.

What a crock of shit... :p

I swear, one of these days I'm going to go into a fast food joint and demand they make me a <whatever product I choose> and point at the in-store pictures and posters of said product while emphasizing "I want that, right there, make one..." and see just how ridiculous they get knowing it'll never happen.

Anyone remember when Big Macs were actually "big"? I do, in the late 1970s... nowadays they're 1/2 the size they used to be, and it's like 3 pieces of bread with two "meat" patties that are basically the size of Oreo cookie halves. I mean really... and they're 6x more expensive.

But that Galaxy Tab, even Apple would piss themselves silly at the sheer speed. :D
 
Looking at both I am leaning more into the Asus my brother has the Galaxy and need to go see how looks and feels.Then I can make up my mind
 
There are at least two different 10 inch Sammy tabs. Mostly because Sammy changed the design req's after the ipad2 launch, iirc.
 
Overall i found the asus transformer to have the best screen and features. So that's why i got mine. Battery life was one of the best by itself and in a class by itself with the dock.
 
Joe - I laugh more at the photo realistic screen it has in the commercial, OMG THE COLORS ARE REAL LIFE?! then I see it in best buy and become a sad panda.
 
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