Laptop Thoughts: Motorola Xoom Fails to Impress

"The number one reason I’m returning the device is because I’m simply not using it as much as I had expected to. The user experience still some rough edges and I just don’t have the patience to wait for the Honeycomb ecosystem to evolve. When I plunk down $800, I want something now…not ‘soon.’"

The Apple iPad is the tablet to beat, and while Motorola has come out swinging, it looks like it might be a swing and a miss. It looks like Steve Jobs may be right to an extent, that we are living in a post-PC world. I do not mean that the traditional computer has gone the way of a dinosaur, but specifications are becoming less important. With ample computing power, even for mobile devices, does it really matter if the CPU is 1Ghz, 1.2Ghz or 2Ghz? If that tablet provides a buttery smooth interface, does it matter if it is dual or quad-core?

Hardware will always matter, of course, but most manufacturers have access to the same sources so that they all have similar guts. The best way to differentiate yourself in that kind of environment is through service, support and polish. The Xoom, as impressive as it is, appears to lack that polish. There are some arguments that theiPad also lacks some polish as well, so it seems to come down to what frustrations you are willing to live with.

Tablets as the are now, with their touchy, feely interface, are still relatively new. That and the increasing use of the cloud means that we probably are still another year or two away from having a truly smooth customer experience where we can pick up a tablet, log in, and have everything at our fingertips. Until then, we will have to deal with a few rough edges.