Motorola's Xoom Family Edition Review: Not Just For The Kids

By Andrew Ku
published

Don't let its name fool you. Motorola's Xoom Family Edition is one of the best values in tablets that we've seen up until now. It offers almost everything we want. If you're in the market for an Android-based tablet, this one deserves your attention.

Image Quality Examined: Front- And Rear-Facing Cameras

Camera Quality: Rear-Facing

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Good Lighting

The Xoom Family Edition's rear-facing camera uses a lower-quality lens than some of the other tablets we've reviewed. White balance isn't that good, though it's admittedly hard to discern a difference unless you compare another tablet's output. It does a decent job compensating for low-light conditions, but again, not as well as the competition. Motorola's real weakness is evident when we use the Xoom's flash, resulting in horrible flare.

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Flash off

In pictures taken farther away, this isn't as pronounced of a problem.

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Max Zoom

Outdoors on a sunny day, this camera performs as well as any budget-oriented point-and-shoot, though it does have a hard time focusing on small objects when we zoom in.

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Camera Quality: Front-Facing

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This is an entry-level tablet, which is why the Xoom Family Edition is equipped with a low resolution (640 x 480) 1.3 MP front-facing camera. In dim lighting, image quality is extremely poor. It's sufficient for VoIP app like Skype, but make sure you're in a well-lit room.

Andrew Ku
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tanjo
    Nice value. Too bad there's no card reader... Do I hear iPad killer?
    Reply
  • tranfire
    @tanjo it has micro SD
    Reply
  • tanjo
    @transfire: Ooops sorry misssed that :p
    No Bluetooth? :(
    Reply
  • onanonanon
    tranfire@tanjo it has micro SDYeah, but for me, one of the best uses of a tablet would be to view photos from a digital camera and yet very few models support an SD or SDHC card.
    Reply
  • cknobman
    Sorry but regardless of price after seeing just how piss poor the screen is (most notably extreme light bleed) and how long the charge times are I dont think the low price justifies its shortcomings.

    Heck its not uncommon to get a Transformer or A500 for $299-$349 these days which blow this tablet out of the water.
    Reply
  • acku
    9523631 said:
    Sorry but regardless of price after seeing just how piss poor the screen is (most notably extreme light bleed) and how long the charge times are I dont think the low price justifies its shortcomings.

    Heck its not uncommon to get a Transformer or A500 for $299-$349 these days which blow this tablet out of the water.
    1. The Transformer also has light bleed.
    2. The 299 price is because of black Friday, cyber Monday, and holiday sales. It's definitely not "normal"
    Reply
  • pyrrocc
    FYI, on the front-face cam, 1.3MP 640x480... Heck 1200x900 (4:3) = ~1MP
    Reply
  • pyrrocc
    Grrr... can't do standard inequality of angled brackets....

    FYI, on the front-face cam, 1.3MP does not equal 640x480... Heck 1200x900 (4:3) = ~1MP
    Reply
  • slabbo
    A500 can be found in practically every Costco I've been in, and for $319 including a leather case.
    Reply
  • The size specs on the Xoom and Xoom Family are not correct. Xoom Family is longer AND wider, not the other way around.
    Reply