Need advice on buying a tablet

[egernant]

I have been looking around on the internet, but it seems every source I find is a bit outdated. As soon as the Motorola Xoom was revealed, I knew it was something I wanted, and now as the release date draws near, I just want to be sure it is something worth my $800.

I have a rooted Droid Incredible and a 4 year old windows laptop (which I hate using). I'm a senior in college with a job lined up for next year in banking, where I assume I will be issued a company windows laptop. Inevitably I will be buying a new laptop in the next year or so when this one gives out, but if I could get a tablet instead, that would be preferable. I have an old windows desktop at home I could use for a "home base" if you will, since the Xoom does not have USB ports (something I wish would come to tablets...)

So here are my needs. Will a honeycomb tablet meet these requirements and, if so, is pulling the trigger on a Xoom the right call or should I wait...

Create, edit, and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents - I understand this may be limited, and I would have Office on my desktop, but I need to be able to attend group meetings, have access to saved files or files from an email, bring them up to view, and edit and share with my team in real time like a laptop can do. I realize I will want an external keyboard for this.

Print to my home printer - I have a very simple HP printer, what do I need to have my Xoom wirelessly print to it?

Netflix and other Video - Flash is a big reason I think the iPad is so overrated. I want to be able to go to all of my favorite sites and experience them like I would on a laptop. Also, I know Netflix is coming to Android eventually, do we have any idea when and if the Xoom will get it?

True Multitasking - I know Android has multitasking, but is it enough? On PC, I am used to going back and forth between Word and Chrome, viewing both side by side as well as two word/excel/ppt documents side by side to edit/view both, all while playing music through winamp or grooveshark. Will I be disappointed with the tablet experience? Also, I assume grooveshark will not work as a free streaming service. I know for smartphones, it does not, instead there is an app and a monthly fee. Can anyone confirm the Xoom would be treated the same way?

Speed - Yea, I know. Dual-Core, 1 GB of RAM, etc. But the Windows PC I'm using now has dual core, 2 GB of RAM and it still gives me issues. Will the android tablet do what I want it to do AND maintain its speed throughout its life?



I know that was a lot, I just really want to justify buying this tablet, but I'm not looking for $800 worth of buyer's remorse for something that I already know I don't "need." But if it will keep me from buying a new (and most likely more expensive) laptop in the near future (and I could give my laptop to my girlfriend who needs one), then its a worthy investment.

Thoughts?

 

[reiththestud]

Technically you can view and edit those documents on a tablet (as you said, with a keyboard of course), but even Leo Laporte (The Tech Guy) said he would not want to have to create content on his iPad. It's must better for viewing than creating.

Netflix is kind of an interesting question. Netflix just announced it will be supporting android on devices using Snapdragon processors because snapdragon supports the DRM libraries it has. This smacks of stupid to me considering that people who are paying $8-$10 a month for netflix are probably not intending to pirate something they can stream at any time. But whatever, my point is nothing has been announced for Tegra support just yet (the processor the Xoom uses).

As for USB ports, it has yet to be determined if the USB port on the xoom can be used to attach storage devices. The upcoming Toshiba tablet (Honeycomb, Tegra, all that stuff) will have a full size traditional USB port for connecting external devices, so that may be a good option.

Printing, I have no idea about this. Anyone have experience with this?

Multitasking seems pretty slick on Honeycomb. All the videos I've seen seem to show it off pretty well. Either way, the Xoom releases this Thursday and you can go down to your nearest brick and mortar to find out for yourself if it will suit you. Also, reviews are sure to be hitting the web within the next week. So stay tuned on that.

Speed I think will be good. These OS's are very well optimized for these chips and Google has added GPU acceleration in the UI for the first time. Your interface experience should be good.

I think that addresses all of your questions except the printer question. One thing to consider. Nvidia just announced their new quad-core tegra chips which they say should be in tablets by summer. Also, considering the iPad has Netflix and printer support, it seems the only things of concern for you on that end are Flash support and camera (assuming you care about the cameras). The iPad 2 should have at the very least a front facing camera, and possibly an SD card slot. Also, if you use the skyfire web browser, you can still watch flash videos on the iPad. The iPad 2 might serve you well if you think these solutions would work.

The world is full of tech products. Finding the right one for each person is difficult. Let me know what other questions you have. FYI, I build computers and can probably help you pick out a new laptop if you need one.

 

[marctronixx]

moved to a more general section of the forum so you can possibly get more results.

out the gate the moto xoom will not have flash support. the microsd card will not be ready to be used either.

if you are seriously considering dropping a major investment, perhaps it may be wise for you to look at other tablets.

 

[reiththestud]

moved to a more general section of the forum so you can possibly get more results.

out the gate the moto xoom will not have flash support. the microsd card will not be ready to be used either.

if you are seriously considering dropping a major investment, perhaps it may be wise for you to look at other tablets.

Dude, seriously, almost no one even goes into that particular forum. You've basically guaranteed this guy is going to get as few responses as possible. This guy's questions were whether or not the Xoom would be sufficient for him. In my time at these forums, I've found the moderators here to be way too overzealous about moving threads around. I really hope this guy gets more than just our two responses.

 

[xmr405o]

I have been looking around on the internet, but it seems every source I find is a bit outdated. As soon as the Motorola Xoom was revealed, I knew it was something I wanted, and now as the release date draws near, I just want to be sure it is something worth my $800.

I have a rooted Droid Incredible and a 4 year old windows laptop (which I hate using). I'm a senior in college with a job lined up for next year in banking, where I assume I will be issued a company windows laptop. Inevitably I will be buying a new laptop in the next year or so when this one gives out, but if I could get a tablet instead, that would be preferable. I have an old windows desktop at home I could use for a "home base" if you will, since the Xoom does not have USB ports (something I wish would come to tablets...)

So here are my needs. Will a honeycomb tablet meet these requirements and, if so, is pulling the trigger on a Xoom the right call or should I wait...

Create, edit, and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents - I understand this may be limited, and I would have Office on my desktop, but I need to be able to attend group meetings, have access to saved files or files from an email, bring them up to view, and edit and share with my team in real time like a laptop can do. I realize I will want an external keyboard for this.

Print to my home printer - I have a very simple HP printer, what do I need to have my Xoom wirelessly print to it?

Netflix and other Video - Flash is a big reason I think the iPad is so overrated. I want to be able to go to all of my favorite sites and experience them like I would on a laptop. Also, I know Netflix is coming to Android eventually, do we have any idea when and if the Xoom will get it?

True Multitasking - I know Android has multitasking, but is it enough? On PC, I am used to going back and forth between Word and Chrome, viewing both side by side as well as two word/excel/ppt documents side by side to edit/view both, all while playing music through winamp or grooveshark. Will I be disappointed with the tablet experience? Also, I assume grooveshark will not work as a free streaming service. I know for smartphones, it does not, instead there is an app and a monthly fee. Can anyone confirm the Xoom would be treated the same way?

Speed - Yea, I know. Dual-Core, 1 GB of RAM, etc. But the Windows PC I'm using now has dual core, 2 GB of RAM and it still gives me issues. Will the android tablet do what I want it to do AND maintain its speed throughout its life?



I know that was a lot, I just really want to justify buying this tablet, but I'm not looking for $800 worth of buyer's remorse for something that I already know I don't "need." But if it will keep me from buying a new (and most likely more expensive) laptop in the near future (and I could give my laptop to my girlfriend who needs one), then its a worthy investment.

Thoughts?

My honest opinion, you need a netbook not a tablet. Tablets aren't generally considered productivity devices. You're a student professional so tablets aren't ready for you yet. haha.