Looking two purchase a tablet today, narrowed down to two models

[sage55]

Hello everyone! I'm the new guy around here and am looking for some advice before I purchase a tablet (hopefully today).

Looking at either the Asus Transformer or the Motorola Xoom.

I love the display, forward speakers, and for sure the dock of the Asus. However on the flip side I like the Xoom for a few hundred more and have access to 3G. I have no idea how much I'd really use it, but it would be nice knowing that I could get a data plan for the month, say if the wife and I are traveling and have data access in the car or where ever.

Those of you with 3G tablets how often do you use the 3G, and those w/o 3G how often do you wish you had it.

I think the Asus has me sold on almost all parts, but just really unsure about not having 3G.

Suggestions?

 

[Walkop]

If you really think you would like 3G, then I would say go with the Xoom; but in my opinion the ASUS Transformer blows it out of the water on quite a few fronts. I personally own one, so I might be biased - but it is a fairly solid piece of tech.

First, screen. The Transformer is supposed to have the most accurate whites of any tablet, and in a comparison of various tablets by DisplayMate the Xoom was rated the worst display, behind the Iconia (the Transformer took a fairly broad third, with the iPad and GTab 10.1 taking second and first respectively).

Secondly, portability. It is fairly lightweight and very slightly thinner than the Xoom. It slants to a thinner point where your hands grasp, also making it seem even thinner than it is. However, to be honest, the Xoom does feel considerably more solid than the TF. It feels well-built; the TF feels slightly cheaper. I like the feel of the Xoom in my hands.

Third, full read-write removable storage support. The Xoom finally got MSD support, but apps still do not have full write permission. You can't use file managers to directly write to the SD card, for example. ASUS provides this built-in, likely through ASUS WaveShare (which is a fairly soft, subtle Honeycomb skin).

Fourth, the Dock, as you mentioned. It boost the battery buy a large margin, adds two USB ports and a full-size SD slot. The Xoom does have an advantage in that it has a full USB port built-in, which is convienient. But you definitely can't beat the ports on the TF dock.

The Xoom does have a dual LED flash on the Camera, which is nice.


I personally just don't think that the Xoom is worth an extra few hundred bucks to get 3G. The non-3G Xoom is also a very nice tablet, considering it is the same price as the 32GB Transformer. However, I wouldn't actually suggest to buy the Transformer or Xoom; but wait a month. It is rumoured that the sequel to the TF is to be released running Ice Cream Sandwich AND the Quad-Core Kal-El processor. It even blows the iPad's A5 out of the water - check this video:



Maybe the TF 2 will be released with a 3G model? Who knows...that would be the perfect blend for you, I would say.

Also;

I love the display, forward speakers, and for sure the dock of the Asus

The Transformer actually has side speakers, likely because it is much better for projecting sound with the dock closed.