Motorola Xoom vs HTC Flyer

[d13g0]

So I've been researching these 2 tablets and have really come to not be able to make up my mind on which I would like. Although I have done some research I haven't had the opportunity to play with either device. So far when I try to find a thread or video it always seems bias as nothing good is ever said about the flyer. I have came to believe that the Xoom is the best one of the 2. But then again I hear that honeycomb has no applications that are supported and that it crashes a lot. Something that I like about the Flyer is that it is only 7" which is pretty portable. I guess I have a couple of questions and hope I can find the answers I'm looking for with you as my help:

1. The HTC Flyer has a 1.5GHZ processor. As of now it works perfectly fine and runs smoothly. Will this hold true when honeycomb is introduced to the Flyer?

2. When does honeycomb come out for the flyer?

3. They say the stylus for the Flyer is horrible because it has limited usability. Has HTC or any other company commented on fabricating new apps to support stylus use?

4. Is it me or does the Xoom look like it maybe too big to enjoy as a tablet? Am I wrong with thinking that the Flyer being 7" is a good size...is the Flyer too small to enjoy as a tablet?

My usage with these devices would mainly be:

Video Gaming
Watching Videos
Music Playing
Internet Browsing
Customization with Widgets
School

 

[Dolmangar]

I own a Flyer, picked it up in June. As a business tool, it's great. I use it for mobile access to my corporate calendar and email. I tether it to my Nexus One when out of WiFi range.

1. Speed is not an issue. The only lag that I dislike is the Sense unlock screen. There are settings and tweaks that can change the animation, but I haven't bothered to do anything about it.

2. Honeycomb is sort of a question mark. I was supposed to be out by now, but like you said there aren't a ton of apps yet. HC 3.2 (I think) is supposed to support 7" screens. I suspect that HTC may still be waiting, and updating Sense. I'm interested in seeing HC on the Flyer, the updated GMail app is really what I would like. The build in non-Gmail email tool is great.

3. The stylus is disappointing. I got it for free so I'm not that worried about it. There aren't a lot of apps that use it. Perhaps everyone is waiting on HC? HTC just released a larger tablet with the same pen and released the APK for it, so maybe that will kick start it.

4. 7" is not ideal for lots of web surfing, but it does a fine job for most things. 7" is ideal for taking with you. The Xoom and other 10" class tablets are nice and easy to use, but in my opinion are too big to drag with you all the time.

Depending on the video games you want to play you might find the Flyer doesn't pack enough power, you'll just have to go somewhere and try it out for that. For everything else you should have plenty of power with everything else.


-Mike

 

[d13g0]

Thanks for the input...does anyone else want to throw in anything...the more the merry and will really help me in my final purchase

 

[Jmobie]

I own a Nook Color, a Xoom, and since this afternoon, an HTC Flyer. I liked the speed of the Xoom and Honeycomb, but I think the smaller size of the NC was the winning factor.

I do most of my internet browsing on a laptop, and I was not using the Xoom much for this at all. I learned during these past six months that I enjoy using tablets most for reading books and the news, listening to music, and watching movies.

Answer? A Nook Color-sized tablet with access to the Android Market for Netflix and Hulu. Yes, I could have rooted my NC, but now with the Flyer, I also have a camera and 48 total GB of memory (including 32gb sd). Yes, I could have waited for a Samsung Tab 7.7, but I like HTC much more than Samsung. (My phone is a Thunderbolt.) The clinchers for buying the Flyer today were Best Buy's pending price drop from $499 to $299, and the probable Honeycomb update.

 

[rushmore]

$500 was nuts-high for a single core 7". $300 is a better fit.

 

[dbpaddler]

Use of the pen greatly increases in Honeycomb. Remember, gingerbread is a phone OS. How many phones do you know that were made for a digitizer pen? I'm waiting for signature capability in Docs To Go or some other Office app so I can get my invoices signed and email them off to avoid printing them out for sigs and wasting paper. That's my big use for the digitizer. Would imagine it makes (hey, nook tablet commercial) annotating and such a lot easier as well.