Ipad or motorola xoom?

[Purplebuns]

I love the shininess of the Ipad, DH thinks that the xoom is more flexible and a better investment in the long term. Which do you think?
Also can you use Ipod as storage for Ipad? I thought I had read that somewhere but I cannot find it and wonder if I made it up now.
How big a memory would I need for Ipad, is 16GB enough for some games movies. etc? Help me make this most difficult decision! :)

I'm with your DH, and think the xoom is a better option. Ipad has already been replaced with Ipad2, but there are already rumours that the Ipad3 will be released in September. Makes me think the Ipad2 is just an interim release designed just to compete with the Motorolla and Samsung.

The problem with the Xoom is that it is bleeding edge. Undoubtedly hardware-wise it is superior to the Ipad2.

HOWEVER.....hardware is only one part of the equation and I implore you to think about that.

Xoom is the first tablet to run Android version 3. There's a lot of reports of user's are experiencing crashes. Their sales have been very weak with analysts criticising the Honeycomb OS. Compare that to the ipad 2 which is flying off the shelves and you'd be lucky to get one.

And perhaps THE most important. With Honeycomb being new, there are not so many applications available. The ipad is more mature and there are a LOT more apps. And that's where you will get the better experience.

In many ways its a real shame. I really want to like Android. I love how customisable it is. I love what developers are doing and I do hate the way Apple control everything.

But at this moment in time, Android is only good for geeks who don't mind being on the bleeding edge. Don't mind if it crashes intermittently. Don't mind rooting it and hacking it to make it do things. But if like me you'd rather have something that just works......buy an Apple.

Lastly, if your budget can stretch to it, I'd get the 32GB. I have 16GB and it's fine for 99% of the time. I did once travel long haul and had to delete some large games to fit about 20 hours worth of films/TV on so it all depends on your needs. Oh and personally I don't see the point in the 3G version unless you plan to travel a lot with it. I have an iphone too so if I need to surf whilst on the move, I use that. I'd rather not tattoo "MUG ME!" on my forehead by using an ipad.

Thanks for your replies, Dh is very techy, and is much more performance based and excited about advances. His phone is android and I have found some of the apps slow to load and sometimes just can't run them. DH says that it is because his phone is low end, (Wildfire) however I think that it cost enough that it should be better? This has put me off a bit.

It would be an Ipad 2 I would get, I had already discounted 3G as I would be using it in the house mainly. I would like 32 GB but Dh thinks I won't need it. However my Ipod is 80GB so even 32GB seems pretty minuscule to me! Also, I have had such good use out of my Ipod that I am already pleased with Apple.
I might wait for the Ipad 3, however is it all hype and speculation or is it going to be an AMAZING new thing?

Xoom. Android is far better than apple os. Much more stable, never crashes, android market is open and unrestricted. You will be able to Swype which is amazing, far better and quicker than typing, and also get Flash which Steve Jobs won't allow on anything apple as apparently it's too unstable and makes things crash. Funny that as I've had an android phone for 2 years and it's never once crashed whereas DP has gone through an infinite amount of iphones after they've become corrupted and is having to reboot them very regularly due to constant crashing.

Completely agree with him about the Wildfire, it's too slow to run a lot of things. I had the hero for a year and a half which is better spec than the Wildfire even though it's a year older. Now have the Desire which is much quicker, more reponsive and smoother than DPs iphone4. He only uses his phone for work, at home and if he needs to pop out in the evening he uses my phone. Don't be put off by the Wildfire, it's a very poor example of what android can do.

I agree that the Wildfire is a slow phone. My GF has one and it's slow. I also did once have a HTC Desire but returned it due to the number of bugs I found in the OS.

As for Xoom > Ipad2. You may want to check these links out:

Techcrunch Best quote "Frankly, I think it stinks" And that's from a guy who says he's an android fan.

EweekEurope Quote "Honeycomb is the weakest link, as it is buggy, ?extremely complicated and confusing?"

The thing is, Android market is open and that's a great strength. But the fact there are so many variations in hardware that often apps don't work and each developer must make their app work.

All I can say is if you still want a Xoom, make sure you get it from somewhere you can return it.

I debated for ages whether to get an ipad2 or a xoom, I opted for the xoom in the end and so far I'm 100% hapy with it (although I stupidly forgot to buy a cover and cannot find any on sale near me). It hasn't crashed and any apps I've used have worked. Was delighted to discover GPS, didn't realise it was included when I bought it!

I am still not sure! I keep coming back to the Ipad, I think mostly because of the pink cover and I know it will be easy.. I hope to go somewhere that I can try them both out and see. Thanks for all your help, any other views will be much appreciated :)

Computer Weekly has put together a selection of alternatives (*), so you're not limited to just the Xoom or the iPad 2... and I didn't see mention of another - the Asus Transformer - which launched on Wednesday (yesterday).

(*) not sure which were pre-launch photos. I don't have the spare cash for any of them at the moment, and would tend not to go for something so small... more likely to go for multiple machines and a wall of screens :)