The Motorola Xoom, the first tablet to run Android 3. 0 Honeycomb, is on its way to store shelves in the US and Europe. In the UK, we've already found out that it will be sold by Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy, and now another retailer has it on offer. PC World has started taking pre-orders for the Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi. The tablet is priced at� �499. 99, and it's set to start shipping on April 9. This is the 3G-less, Wi-Fi-only version of the Xoom. The shipping date is still subject to change, however it's going to be during or near the first week of April.

The Motorola Xoom is nearing release outside of the US. In the UK, pre-orders have already started for the Wi-Fi-only version, as we reported yesterday. And now the 3G version has also made it across the pond. Carphone Warehouse has the 3G-enabled Xoom up for pre-order, and it can be yours for �599. 99. For this price, you'll also get a charging dock apparently worth �34. 99 alongside the tablet. Deliveries are set to start in �early April�, just like in the case of the Wi-Fi-only Xoom. Needless to say, this price makes the Xoom way more expensive in the UK than the US, but that's how it usually is with gadgets and electronics.

Fast and well built, but a little pricey and buggy
Since it was first announced at CES, we�ve been eagerly waiting for the Motorola Xoom � the first tablet with Google�s brand new Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system. This is truly the first real competitor to the Apple iPad, and Xoom actually manages to outperform Apple�s tablet in quite a few areas. It has just launched in the US, where T3�s US correspondent Jeppe Christensen has been checking it out.

Motorola Xoom: Screen
The hardware is sturdy and impressive. The Xoom weighs in at 730 grams and is 12.9 millimeters thick �almost identical to the iPad, but the roomy 10.1-inch screen is wider, with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. That gives the Xoom an edge when watching movies and browsing larger websites, but it also makes it feel a tad long and narrow while one is holding it vertically. No doubt, this beast was made for landscape mode, where the Honeycomb software is able to make great use of all that screen real estate.

The Xoom has better specs all-around than the current iPad. The processor is faster with two cores, there are four times as much memory, better speakers, and a bigger and higher resolution screen. Currently, it�s equipped with EVDO 3G for use on the Verizon cellular network in the US, but later in the year a free upgrade will be available for the company�s faster 4G network. When it arrives in the UK/Europe, the built-in Broadcom 3G chip will be configured to enable HSDPA performance of up to 10.1 megabits per second.

There is 32GB storage for apps, movies, music and photos. The Xoom actually does have a slot for MicroSD memory cards, but unfortunately, it�s not working right out of the box. Motorola reports it is waiting for a software update from Google to enable support for memory cards in Honeycomb. Finally, there�s a 2.0 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat or narcissistic self-portraits and a five-megapixel shooter on the back that also produces 720p video with 30 frames per second.

Motorola Xoom: Android 3.0

So, the Xoom is quite a well-equipped package, but does that really translate into a fast, functional and accessible user experience? In most instances, the answer is a resounding �yes!� Having used quite a few Android phones over the last couple of years, we quickly felt at home in the Honeycomb user interface. You have five home screens for apps and widgets and a permanent navigation and notification bar at the bottom of the screen. In the past, Android has been criticized for being a bit nerdy and complicated, and while Honeycomb does have kind of a cold and digital look (TRON, anyone?), most actions are easy and intuitive.

Composing e-mails, checking your calendar, browsing the Web, using Google Maps, or simply playing with the settings are allsimple tasks, and it�s a joy working with apps built and optimized for the larger screen. The user experience is definitely much closer to that of a PC than that of a smartphone.

Surfing the Web is a breeze thanks to tabbed browsing, the ability to open and render new Web pages in the background, and the sheer speed of the device.This thing is fast, and now it�s actually preferable to look up something or check a link on your tablet than it is on your laptop. We�re a bit bummed to discover there�s no support for Flash straight away, but Adobe is assuring us that their software for Honeycomb will arrive in just a few weeks. We hope that this won�t impact the speed too much.

Most Android apps for phones work fine and fill out the entire screen, but occasionally, you�ll run into apps that won�t work properly or simply crash, and this is something we�d like Google to fix immediately. As of writing this, there are only 16 tablet apps in the Android Market, and this puts the Xoom at a huge disadvantage compared to iPad and Apple�s booming app store that carry more than 60,000 apps for the iPad. The few apps that are in there are generally of a high quality, and we enjoyed checking the latest news with the Pulse News Reader, checking out movie listings and reviews with the Movies app from Flixster, and just killing time with the tablet-optimized version of Angry Birds Seasons.

Motorola Xoom: Video and music

The Xoom�s 10.1-inch screen just begs for Hi-Def video, but currently there are no compatible video rental or download services available. Google states this will change soon enough, but right now, you have to make do with converting your DVD or Blu-ray collection. Unfortunately, the built-in movie player is very picky and won�t play even the most popular file formats. Forget about DivX and MKV files, and nothing with DTS or AC3 sound will play either. The �easiest� solution is to fire up a program like Handbrake and convert or re-encode your movies into MP4 files with AAC or MP3 audio.
The lack of support for a variety of movie and audio formats is seriously disappointing, especially considering that a device like Samsung�s Galaxy Tab will play nearly everything you throw at it.

Handling your music collection is easy, and the built-in player looks beautiful with its fancy 3D-effects and album graphics. Unfortunately, Honeycomb has trouble recognizing embedded album artwork, which is a shame. Also, if you stuff the tablet with gigabytes and gigabytes of music, the music player tends to become overwhelmed and then takes quite a while to change between different views. You can�t help but feel that the software needs time to mature.

Motorola Xoom: Battery

Battery life seems to be comparable to that of the iPad, with better or worse performance depending on your usage scenario. We got a whopping 10 hours of heaving Web browsing over 3G before the battery finally ran out of juice. That is, in all respects, pretty impressive. It doesn�t handle video quite as well, but still managed to squeeze out eight hours with brightness at 65 percent and Wi-Fi and 3G turned on. In a mixed-use scenario, you can probably squeeze out between 10-14 hours of use.

The Xoom is an enticing device with a very promising operating system, but we must note that despite the long wait, Honeycomb feels a bit rushed-to-market and somewhat rough around the edges. We love the user-interface, the Web browser, and all the Google-oriented apps, but the poor media handling is seriously disappointing, and we desperately need more tablet-apps in Android Market. We will update this review when we get a UK review sample, so we'll see if this improves.

We could overlook all this were the Xoom priced competitively, but Motorola is asking for a whopping $800 dollars without a contract or $600 with a two-year Verizon contract. In the UK pricing has just been announced at �499, which seems respectable. Considering we�ll see iPad 2.0 in just a few days, with expected availability within a few weeks, and with the Honeycomb running Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus Pad coming soon, we'd suggest waiting before investing.

Motorola Xoom launch date: Q2, link Motorola
Motorola Xoom price: Pre-sale for �499

Motorola Xoom Specifications:
OS: Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Processor: Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core 1GHZ, 1GH RAM
Storage: 40MB internal, 2GB memory card
Screen: 10-inches 1280 x 800 pixel (160 dpi)
Connectivity: EVDO, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, MicroUSB, HDMI 1.4
Camera: 2-megapixel front-facing, 5-megapixel
Video: VGA @ 15fps
Memory: 32GB + MicroSD slot (needs software update to work)
Dimensions: 249.1 x 167.8 x 12.9 mm/730 g

Design and Build
Apple iPad 2: Weighing 601g the iPad is easy to hold with one hand, but still feels comfier when you use two. However its the depth that really impresses, measuring just 8.8mm deep, it�s slimmer than an iPhone 4 and all-in-all is a stunning piece of design.
Motorola Xoom: Weighing in at 730g, the Xoom is about 100g heavier than the iPad 2 and at 12.9mm looks positively chunky next to it. Build quality is excellent though, it feels sturdy and strong, although definitely needs two hands. It doesn't really stand out from the crowd though - just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus Pad.
Winner: Apple iPad 2

Operating System:
Apple iPad 2: With multiple homescreens you can customise, with apps - like its predecessor - the iPad will launch with Apple iOS 4.3. Along with multitasking, folders and GameCentre. AirPlay Enhancements let you stream video from iPhoto to an HD TV, while Safari has been optimised via the Nitro JavaScript Engine, so websites with lots of video and images (like T3.com) load more quickly.

Motorola Xoom: Running Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the OS that has been designed expecially for tablets. The UI interface is excellent, with five home screens you can customise for apps and widgets and a permanent navigation and notification bar at the bottom of the screen. Composing e-mails, checking your calendar, browsing the Web, using Google Maps, or simply playing with the settings are allsimple tasks, and it�s a joy working with apps built and optimized for the larger screen. The tabbed browsing makes surfing the web a breeze, although there's support for Flash straight away.
Winner: Draw

Connectivity:
Apple iPad 2: As with its predecessor, the iPad comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, it launches with WiFi and WiFi+3G version. Elsewhere you got Bluetooth 2.1, aGPS. You can now connect to a flatscreen TV via HDMI using the Apple Digital AV Adaptor.
Motorola Xoom: Available in one 32GB flavour, the Xoom has 3G and 3G if you live in the US, a WiFi version is rumored to be coming soon. Connectivity includes Bluetooth 2.1 and aGPS, along with built-in HDMI (not via an adaptor).
Winner: Apple iPad


Power:
Apple iPad 2: There�s a 1Ghz dual core Apple A5 custom designed chip, it also has 9x the graphics performance of the original iPad
Motorola Xoom: Powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core Chip, with 1GB RAM, in practice it's exceptionally quick to use, loading web pages exceptionally quickly.
Winner: Draw - until we get them side by side for real-world tests it has to be a draw


Camera:
Apple iPad 2: Capture 720p HD movies at 30fps using the main camera, there�s a secondary VGA 30fps camera for FaceTime calling. Apple has not commented on megapixel rating for either.
Motorola Xoom: The primary 5-megapixel camera shoots 720p movies at 30fps, the secondary camera is 2-megapixels, capturing VGA movies.
Winner: Draw


Screen:
Apple iPad 2: At 9.7-inches the screen is slightly smaller than the Zoom, it has a resolution of 1024x768, with full multitouch support. Shame we didn�t get the Retina display we wanted.
Motorola Xoom: The Xoom has a larger screen of 10.1-inches, with a higher resolution of 1280x800. Like the iPad 2 you get multitouch support.
Winner: Motorola Xoom


Apps:
Apple iPad 2: Built-in apps include: FaceTime, the innovative Photo Booth, which lets you add crazy effects to pictures of yourself. Mail, Safari, Videos and Photos. Elsewhere the Apple App store has 65,000 apps.
Motorola Xoom: On-board apps include: Google Maps, Gmail and Calendar are supplied. But because Honeycomb is brand new, App developers haven�t had time to develop apps, so there are only 15 apps. You can use Android apps, but we had issues with crashing etc.
Winner: Apple iPad 2


Battery:
Apple iPad 2: Apple quotes 10 hours of browsing, video and music listening. Web browsing drops to nine hours over 3G.
Motorola Xoom: From our tests we got 10 hours of heaving web browsing over 3G, eight hours video. Turning off WiFi you can probably squeeze out between 10-14 hours of use.
Winner: Motorola Xoom

Price:
Apple iPad 2: In the US prices will be the same as the original iPad, so $499 (US) for the 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for the 64GB model. Translate this to sterling and you're looking at around �399 for the entry-version.
Motorola Xoom: Expect to pay �499 for the 32GB version, which is comparable to the UK version.
Winner: Apple iPad 2

Conclusion:
While the Apple iPad 2 and Motorola Xoom have similarites: processor, apps, camera they seem slightly different propositions.
In our review of the Motorola Xoom, our writter likened the UI experience as being closer to that of a PC than that of a smartphone. Google clearly thinks so too, by having two different operating systems: Honeycomb and Gingerbread for tablets and mobiles. In contrast, regardless of how you use the tablet, the iPad 2 user experience is very similar to the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.
We like the Xoom a lot, but it just doesn't really have enough to make it stand out from other tablets. Where the batte will lie is with apps and Honeycomb is so new, at the moment he iPad is our winner. But we'll bring you a full comparison when we get the Apple iPad 2

Affordable tablet, with good music credentials, let down by a poor touchscreen

Creative has waited before taking its first leap into the tablet market, but has entered with 7-inch and 10-inch screen sizes it�s billing as �entertainment devices,� with enticing features to make it appeal to audiophiles.

At a �199 entry point, the 7-inch Ziio is half the price of an Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom. But the comparison stops with the word �tablet.� This isn�t an rival to either of them and as we�ve seen so many budget Android tablets and is evident when you use this tablet, you get what you pay for.

A light 400g, the 7-inch version is white (if you want black you have to go for the 10-inch version), even though it�s plastic it feels solid and strong, with an inoffensive design.

Connections include HDMI, mini USB and DC point for charging. There�s a 3.5mm jack at the top and dedicated volume controls on the side. Alongside 8GB or 16GB internal memory, expand storage using the microSD slot on the side.

Creative Ziio: Screen

At 800x480, screen resolution is pitifully low, especially when you consider it�s exactly the same found in 4-inch smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S and LG Optimus 2X. It�s far less than the 1024x600 of the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab and Blackberry Playbook.

Video quality isn�t too bad though, with smooth playback, although colours could be punchier. Off-angle viewing is poor, although the stereo speakers produce a respectably loud sound.

What is worse is that the touchscreen is resistive instead of capacitive, which means on occasion you end up jabbing the screen multiple times to try to get commands to respond. Typing especially requires precision too, we frequently pressed L when we meant to press Delete. It�s not terrible, you can still browse web pages and Creative supplies a stylus to help, however anyone used to multitouch on their phones will find the experience sluggish.

Creative Ziio: Android

The Ziio runs Android 2.1, but if you�re expecting the same functionality from an Android handset you�ll be disappointing. There�s no synching to Gmail, or Android apps to customise the three homescreens. Additionally, like the Archos 7 Home Tablet, the Ziio doesn�t support the Android Market. Instead you have to go to the Zii Store, which has a limited selection of apps, although you do get Facebook, Twidroid, BBC News and Word Press. You Tube is only available through the browser as well.

Creative Ziio: Music

The unique selling point of the Ziio tablets is their music capability. Support for the apt-X codec lets you stream audio over Bluetooth without a loss of quality, it�s accessed within the music player by pressing the Pure Android Audio button.

We streamed a selection of tracks at different bitrates to the Creative WP-300 and sound quality is really impressive - surprisingly so for Bluetooth - in fact you almost forget you're streaming. You can also stream to a wireless dock, like the Creative Zii Sound D5 or Conran Audio Dock. As well the usual MP3 and AAC, the Ziio also supports uncompress audio like WAV and - unlike the iPad - lossless formats FLAC and OGG

Elsewhere other X-Fi Audio Enhancements include X-Fi Crystalizer which adds detail and X-Fi Expand makes a huge difference to movie playback, adding a sense of surround and depth

Creative Ziio: Verdict

With its excellent audio capability, the Creative Zii stands apart from other tablets. Although it�s a shame there aren�t more iPod docks or headphones supporting the APT-X codec to make use of this feature.

Elsewhere the resistive screen makes navigation exceptionally sluggish and app choice is limited. However, the tablet only costs �199, which is exceptionally cheap - an an extra �20 doubles the storage. If you�re looking for a tablet for the odd browse and music streaming it�s worth a look. Otherwise save your money and wait until the Blackberry Playbook or HTC Flyer are out.


Creative Ziio price: �199 8GB, �219 16GB
Creative Ziio launch date: Out now, link Creative

Creative Ziio Specifications:
* OS: Android 2.1
* Processor: ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD Media-Rich Applications Processor
* Storage: 8GB internal, microSD
* Screen: 7-inches 480x800 pixels
* Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI mini
* Camera: 2-megapixel front-facing, 5-megapixel
* Video: VGA
* Battery: 25 hours audio, 5 hours video
* Music formats: MP3, AAC, WMA9, FLAC, OGG, MIDI, WAV, Audible Format
* Video formats: H.264, MPEG4, WMV9, MOV, AVI, MKV
* Dimensions: 207.4 x 133 x 13.7mm/415g

Costco is one of several carriers said to be officially launching the Wi-Fi-only model of the Motorola XOOM. They�re now offering a presale opportunity for the device at their website. 99 � $10 less than the base price � you can have this thing shipped to you starting April 1st. That last bit is odd considering Motorola gave a specific March 27th date, but availability is different from retailer to retailer. It�s only a few days, though, so we�re sure it won�t be too big of a turn-off for some of you.

The pricing information for no less than four upcoming Android-powered tablets has leaked earlier today. The info comes courtesy of AndroidGeek, an Italian-based site that found the prices in the Phone House Spain's catalog. The Phone House is the European mainland arm of well-known UK retailer The Carphone Warehouse, and its Spanish subsidiary looks all set to launch the Motorola Xoom, LG Optimus Pad, Asus Eee Pad, and Acer Iconia Tab.

PocketNow posted photos of promotional materials for Samsung�s upcoming Galaxy Tab 8.9, which is expected to be revealed any time now. The photos were taken from CTIA trade event, which shows that the tablet computer will run on Samsung�s own interface on top of Android 3.0.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 will feature a customizable Live Panel home screen, an app switcher with live previews of the apps that run in the background, an 8.9-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution, and a dual-core 1GHz processor. The device will measure at 8.6 millimeters thin and will weigh at 470 grams.

ARCHOS is at it again, improving their tablet lineup and pushing the boundaries of slate-style Android computing. While they typically don't get as much hype as the big ticket brands like Motorola and Samsung, ARCHOS has managed to push out a few serviceable Android tablets over the past year, even if build quality has suffered at times. 6GHz dual-core ARM A9 CPU driving the action, which at the time ranks as one of the most powerful processor in an Android portable. ARCHOS is also doing work within the Android software to support hard disk drives, and will feature up to 250GB of storage available in their Gen 9 series.

Just before March ends, RIM has secretly put their long waited PlayBook up for pre-order for a cent less than $500. The 16GB WiFi-only PlayBook is now up for pre-order at BestBuy and is coming to a wide list of other retailers soon.