2010 was the year of the tablet – mostly because Apple realised there was a market for a large touchscreen computing device. 2011 is set to be the year of the Android tablet, with the first three Honeycomb powered devices either available now or soon to hit shelves. Let’s compare specs, shall we?
As you can see from the table above, there aren’t too many differences between the three maiden Honeycomb tablets to launch in Australia. The Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v and the Acer Iconia A500 all have a 10.1-inch screen with a 1280×800 resolution, all boast 1GHz dual core processors and all feature HDMI and USB connectivity.
On purely a spec based comparison, the main difference comes in the shape of the 10.1v from Samsung, which boasts a single, higher capacity battery compared and is also significantly lighter. It also houses a higher resolution, 8MP camera in the back. The other major difference is in storage capacities, with the Samsung only coming in the single 16GB variety, whereas the others come in sizes up to 32GB.
Specs only tell part of the story though – we’ll be getting our hands on the Xoom and Iconia over the coming weeks to put them through their paces. Anybody have any questions?
mick
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 11:40 AMIt says the Xoom doesn’t support expandable memory? I thought there was a microSD slot? Or is that still not supported by Honeycomb yet? Or has it been removed?
Andrew
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 11:56 AMWhy is there so much *glasses* focus… on the camers in tablet reviews? It’s not like people are ever going to use them more than once in a blue moon.
Hw
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:05 PMValue for money?
Ease and reliability of user interface?
Compared to ipad2?
Ash
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 8:41 AMWTF, really?
“The Australian Honeycomb Tablet Spec Showdown”
and you blab on about the fricken iFad?
olearymo
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:40 AMOh, haha, how clever! I see what you did there! iFad! Made by Crapple, yeah? Ohohoho, what a clever one you are! Goodness, that’s even more intelligent and witty than ‘Winblows’ and ‘Micro$oft!’
Seriously, go back into the nursery, this is a grown-ups’ site.
Chris
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:17 AMOh grow up yourself.
luthur
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:11 PManychance we might be getting the asus eee transformer pad as well?
Ipad User
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:39 PMWhat are performance speeds compared to the ipad 2, in tasks other than website loading speed.
Ganesh
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:49 PMI guess this is kind of the obvious question but what I’d really like to know is:
How do any of these tablets compare to the iPad2? Both in hardware and in Honeycomb vs iOS ness.
My last encounter with Android was back in 1.6 days so I’m sure things are very different now. I’d really like to see some day to day tasks like emailing, reading, media consumption, web browsing, “multitasking”, etc… done on each platform and then get the run down on things like:
- How did it feel to use. Responsive? Intuitive?
- How did the battery hold up?
- Did it struggle with any particular tasks?
- Were there any tasks which one tablet really excelled at?
- How was it to use on the train, in the car, in a cafe etc…
I know, I know that’s seriously more than one question but it would make a Kick Ass review!
Ward Paterson
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7:13 PMThe only tablet that comes close to the iPad 2 in speed is the Blackberry Playbook. I have a 64Gb one, and while it bares no where near the number of Android or iOS apps (yet), geez its silky smooth & quick!
Nathan
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:51 PMThis comparison appears to be wrong regarding connections, as far as I know, the Galaxy Tab 10.1v only has 3 ports:
1. A headphone socket
2. A slot for a SIM card
3. A 30-pin charging port
There’s no HDMI or USB host.
Rick Gainsmith
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:10 PMCan you buy music or movies on these devices?
If you already have an iTunes movie library will these devices play them?
I know the answers, just pointing out the challenge it’s going to be to get off the apple train…
wsDK_II
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 8:00 AMprobably should not have gotten on that train in the first place – having all your eggs in one basket is never a good thing :(
Adrian Cascun-Valencic
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 9:46 AMhttp://www.winamp.com/android
Many media players can play and manage iTunes files. Winamp has been my preference for a long time now, and I’d imagine the above application would work for Honeycomb as well as 2.x ‘droids.
OzDJ
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:33 PMUp to yesterday, I would have argued that the Asus Eee Transformer was the one notable omission from your comparison table. Indeed, it was the one Android tablet I was most interested in.
Well, that was until I heard about the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet on Monday morning. http://thisismynext.com/2011/04/24/lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-honeycomb-optional-stylus-hit-summer/ Keyboard dock, 10.1-inch 1280×800 capacitive IPS touchscreen, optional stylus (read: dual-digitiser!) and more.
It’s going to be another great year for gadgeteers! Let’s just hope that the local distributors remember sharpen their pricing pencils.
Mic Cullen
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:39 PMSurely “expandable memory” deserves a run in the text.
cam
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:42 PMThe 10.1v doesn’t have HDMI.(I wish you were right though)
Braycen Jackwitz
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:54 PMWhat’s the difference between the Acer Iconia and the Acer Picasso? http://www.lasoo.com.au/offer/ipads-tablets/acer-picasso-a500-tablet/4masomwjg.html
buzzliteyear
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 2:08 PMThe Acer has a mini USB AND a full USB port, the table above only includes 1.
Stephen Weir
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 2:23 PMyeah one quick question… can i come play with them too???
Joe C
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 2:33 PMDo any have slots for other memory card types such as MicroSd etc?
I have also heard rumors of significant performance lag on the XOOM compared to the ipad2. Can you see if this is for real? Thanks
dmag87
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 2:44 PMNot exactly sure where you got your info from, but I’ve been looking into the Galaxy Tab 10.1v, and everything I’ve seen shows it doesn’t have USB or HDMI connections. It’s probably worth mentioning this as the lack of support will surely turn off some buyers.
Michael
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 10:53 PMThe Galaxy doesn’t have a hdmi port but does have hdmi output via a cable to the I/O connector. The docking station does have a proper hdmi port.
danny
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 4:10 PMWhat about the Asus Eee Pad?
NotoriousR
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 5:15 PM> Anybody have any questions?
Have any prices and release dates been announced for any of these tablets?
Tyson
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 6:57 PMDoes anyone no if Australia is getting the HTC Flyer?
Seamus Byrne
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 10:21 PMno idea yet.
Jay B.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 5:03 AMI am about to buy a tablet and I could use a comparison with ipad2. What about micro USB ports on these? And last one, which would you recommend for daily in-business usage ?
Craig Harvey
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 9:57 AMI bought an Acer Iconia A500 in Australia a few days ago. I’ve blogged about my experience – good, bad and ugly in case anyone is interested: http://blog.craigharvey.me/index.php/2011/04/26/acer-iconia-a500-review/
Regards,
Craig
Matt
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:31 AMNot having the Transformer on the list is a big omission, agreed.
PhilH
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:17 PMOne thing that’s turning me off the 10.1 inch tablets is that they all seem to use proprietary power supply connectors. Apparently they need more than 5V to charge them, so they’re not compatible with micro-USB chargers.
Seren
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 10:57 PMBattery life info, please!
And, if they all have USB, how do they deal with external storage? (Not that I can imagine needing much more than 16GB on a tablet, in my case, however).
Robert Mark Bram
Friday, April 29, 2011 at 3:42 PMHow about prices – and where can we buy these? Can they be bought outright?