Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition 8.2 inch 16GB Android Tablet (Wi-Fi Version)

After much research, I plumped for this tablet and was not disappointed. Smaller than an iPad, but just as fast (if not more so), and lighter. The Xoom2 is very responsive, and if you have a touch screen phone, then you will have no problem working out the controls for this. An advantage of the Xoom2 is the micro-usb socket, so you will need a cable to connect the Xoom to your PC to download content, and as recommended by other buyers, I've also got a micro-usb to female usb connector (about £2 on ebay)so as I can plug in USB sticks and dongles if need be (so no need to buy the 3g version!).
From seeing online forums, it seems that Motorola decided that the UK versions of the Xoom would have a microSD card socket, as with other markets, but for some reason, this socket is blocked on the UK model - even though start-up instructions tell you to "remove the SD plug" ! Why Motorola, why?
All in though, a great purchase and very happy with it.

I looked at various reviews of different tablets when I was deciding which to buy. For me the choice was not straightforward, as I don't like Apple. However, to be fair I did try a colleague's iPad 3. Although the screen resolution was good and the interface was very slick, I found the screen ratio akin to looking at an old 4:3 television.
So back to the research. Nearly everything I read about the Xoom 2 I liked, (the biggest bugbear is the lack of a usable micro SD slot), but the screen ratio is much more pleasing, so I took the plunge and bought one.

I've now had it for several weeks, so what's it like to live with? So far, brilliant it does everything I ask of it and more. The mains adapter comes with a very long lead which is very useful, particularly as I have several devices that use a micro USB charging sockets. It is, as others have said, very comfortable to hold and it looks different. The interface is slick and intuitive, the screen is bright and vibrant and in a more pleasing widescreen format. The inbuilt speakers are staggeringly good when you consider the size of them, it's just a shame that there isn't more memory to store more music/videos on it.

The only issue I've had is occasionally it would freeze whilst browsing, then (eventually) restart. However, the software update that I did a few days ago seems to have stopped that.

All in all, apart from the memory expansion shortcoming, it is a brilliant device and I can't see why anyone would want an iPad, (with all of Apple's restrictions), when there is something like the Xoom 2 around.

If you're sensible enough to do adequate product research before you buy (which you should be if you're buying something like this), you will find that this product has no SD card slot, and you have only the 16GB of internal memory supplied with the device. This is more than enough. Let's put that in context, assuming that you have 14GB available after the operating system and built-in apps:

You can store 6 high definition films at 2.3GB each (some can be much less)
You can store 20 standard definition films at 700MB each
You can store 3500 songs at 4MB each (Using Spotify takes no space if you're at home, and you can sync the playlists you want to take with you each time you go out)
You can store 4000 e-books at 3.5MB each
You can store 7000 pictures at 2MB each (taken with the 5 megapixel camera on the XOOM 2 ME)
You can store 280 magazines at 50MB each

Apps generally use a negligible amount of space, and any they do use is in utilising the aforementioned formats. For instance, on my Android phone with only 184MB internal memory and 2GB expansion, I have more apps than I could ever need. (Apps specifically designed for tablets will take up more memory, but not significantly so - games will use a bit more).

Let's face it; the only things you're likely to leave on there for any period of time after using them once, are the songs and the e-books. If you have a computer with a large hard-drive, any sensible user is going to regularly transfer images and videos between the two in order to refresh the content on their mobile device. Is 10 films not enough for a 10 hour flight? Even if you manage to watch them all, you will still have plenty of books to read or songs to listen to.

This is forgetting the possibility of using the MotoCast app where you can transfer files directly from your PC from any WiFi enabled location. Don't want to leave your computer running while you're out? Use a cloud storage solution. Amazon already gives you 5GB free.

I have personally never the seen the need for 3G in a tablet. If you have a 3G enabled smartphone with tethering capabilities, then just connect to it over WiFi with your tablet! If you don't have a 3G smartphone, then by all means buy a 3G tablet. If not, there is absolutely no reason to buy one.

Onto the other features of this tablet. The screen is stunning - with 1280x800 packed into an 8.2 inch screen, it has one of the highest pixel densities in its class at 184ppi. The colours are vivid and the text is crystal clear and sharp, even at the most obtuse viewing angles. There is a tiny bit of backlight bleed at the highest of viewing angles - but then no-one really looks at the screen from an angle of 178 degrees!

With 1GB of RAM (double the iPad 2) and 1.2GHz of processing power, this tablet is more than quick enough for the Honeycomb experience, and the interface is as smooth as any I've seen. That being said, Motorola have promised an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, which should also run perfectly (as the specs of this tablet are in fact designed for an ICS operating system).

At the moment, I would say theres's absolutely no better tablet in its class (medium-range, paperback sized tablets). The Samsung Galaxy 7.0+ is too small for a satisfying video experience. 10.1 inch tablets are too big for a satisfying e-reading experience. Sure, we have the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 and 7.7 coming out, but the 7.7 is far more expensive for a smaller screen and not much more processing power and the 8.9 has inferior specs ad I still more expensive. All that being said, it is a slight disappointment that this device does not include an SD card slot, but if this is something you really require, then wait for one of the other devices, or buy a 7.0+ for £20 more and a smaller screen size with a lower resolution. There is never a perfect device. You will always have to trade off on something over another. For me, the SD card was a small trade off, and I have tried to justify why, but overall it really doesn't detract from the awesomeness of the device.

If you are looking for a medium-size tablet that's portable, packed with power, has plenty of space for those who have lives outside their tablets, and is different from the same old iPad 2 (which it is far more powerful than, although the number of tablet oriented apps on the Android market is still inferior), then you should definitely buy the Xoom 2 Media Edition!

Additional point:
This runs Honeycomb. The only Android tablet that will run Ice-Cream Sandwich at launch is the Asus Transformer Prime (which will be an awesome device but is only comparable to the 10.1 inch version of the Xoom 2). No other tablet runs ICS 4.0. This will certainly be one of the first other than the Asus TP to do so.