I am what can be best described as a cautious gadget geek.  I love electronics, and when a

My DROID suspects that my relationship with the XOOM is more than just friendship

new gizmo comes out on the market I can’t wait to get my hands on it.  But the cautious side of me holds me back.  I don’t have the passion (or possibly recklessness) to be an early adopter.  So when smart phones came out, I waited for a couple of years before I acquired a DROID.  Years after I first handled an eReader I finally purchased a NOOK.  And now, unable to restraint myself any longer, I’ve finally laid hands on a tablet.  And what a wonderful experience it’s been.

Apple’s iPad, controlling an estimated 90% of the market, is clearly the king of the tablets. From all I’ve seen, it’s a position that they clearly deserve.  But since I purchased my DROID, I’ve developed a certain loyalty to Motorolla.  Fortunately for me my brother, who is less risk adverse than I in the early-adopter role, jumped on the XOOM shortly after it was released. So I patiently waited for his to explode.  When it didn’t, and after I was finally able to play with it, I made my decision.

The XOOM is amazing. I’ve found that I can do about 90% of what I normally do on my laptop.  Blogging, email, social networking are all easy and easy to master. Once I get my Bluetooth keyboard, I’ll be better positioned to write on it as well.  (Note: if you purchase an App such as QuickOffice you can create and modify Word documents, and if you’re happy with virtual keyboards you can type away.  I like to have my whole screen for writing, so I’ll be investing in a Bluetooth keyboard).

And of course, as a NOOK owner, I was thrilled that I could access all of my NOOK books on my XOOM as well.  To add to that, with the Kindle App, I now have easy access to all of those eBooks that I’ve been wanting to purchase but couldn’t because I didn’t want to read on my laptop.  So now I have expanded what is available to me for reading.  It’s very, very exciting.

I’m not going to go too much into technical details.  The XOOM Wi-Fi comes with a dual core processor (it’s fast), supports video conferencing (which worked surprisingly well the one time I tested it), and the audio chat is pretty cool too.

A common criticism of the XOOM, to which I have no defense, is the cost.  The WiFi version that I purchased runs $499.  After you add on some basic accoutrements (like carry case, screen protector, and charging station), you’ve already busted $700.  So a cautious consumer is placed in a position of buying the world’s leading tablet from Apple, or something that is clearly NOT an iPad. All I can say is that you’re choosing between two quality devices.

So while not the iPad killer that it was originally billed as, the XOOM is a worthy competitor.  I have no sense of “having settled”…quite the opposite.  The XOOM is powerful and versatile, opening a new door of connectivity and productivity for me. Definitely recommended.

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