Difference Between Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE and Motorola Xoom LTE

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is one of the latest Android tablet devices announced in August 2011. The device is not yet released in the market but expected for release by Quarter Q4 2011. Motorola Xoom is an Android tablet released by Motorola in early 2011. Motorola Xoom LTE (4G version) is actually not a new device but an upgrade to the data connectivity to the already available Motorola Xoom. Following is a review on these two devices supporting high speed data connectivity.

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is one of the latest Android tablet devices announced in August 2011. The device is not yet released in the market but expected for release by Quarter Q4 2011. This super thin Samsung tablet will be released with high-speed LTE connectivity.

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is only 0.34” thick and weighs only 455 g. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is complete with an 8.9” TFT screen with 1280 x 800 resolution and 16M colors. The screen is a multi touch capacitive screen. The device also has an accelerometer for screen auto rotate, a gyroscope, a compass and a light sensor.

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is powered by a 1.5 GHz processor and hardware acceleration for graphics as well. The device reportedly has 1 GB memory and 16 GB and 32 GB versions of storage. The storage can be extended by 32 GB with a micro SD card. The user interface of Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is customized using Samsung TouchWiz UX. The device supports Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth, 3G connectivity, as well. USB support is also included in Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE for data transfer. However, the most important feature in terms of connectivity on Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is the LTE data speed support. This speed transforms the device into an ideal tablet for corporate use.

Unlike phones, tablet devices are not designed for taking photographs. The cameras on these devices are more geared towards conference calling. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE has a rear facing camera with 3 mega pixels, auto focus and LED flash. The camera is also capable of capturing video at 720p. The front facing camera is 2 mega pixels and it is quite sufficient for video conferencing. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is also equipped with a handy image and video editor, which could be useful in editing the captured images if necessary.

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is powered by Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), but doesn’t have the standard Honeycomb user interface. The device is pre loaded with applications such as Organizer, Quickoffice HD editor and viewer and Digital compass. The image and video editor is a new edition added to the latest devices announced by Samsung to compete with the video editing tool available on iPad. Google applications such as Gmail, calendar, Picasa integration, Maps and YouTube are also onboard Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE. Additional applications for Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE can be downloaded from Android market.

The multimedia support on Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is impressive with MP3 /MP4 players coupled with stereo speakers and 3.5 mm audio jack, as well.

With a standard battery with 6100 mAh, users should get by a normal working day with ease; however, it is too early to comment on the performance of the battery since the device is not yet released.

Motorola Xoom LTE

Motorola Xoom is the first Android Honeycomb tablet released by Motorola in early 2011. Motorola Xoom LTE (4G version) is actually not a new device but an upgrade to the data connectivity to the already available Motorola Xoom. Already sold Motorola Xoom 3G devices will be shipped back and a new LTE modem will be installed in the devices enabling to support higher data speeds. After the LTE upgrade there is no harm in calling the Motorola Xoom 3G version as Motorola Xoom LTE.

Motorola Xoom tablet was initially released to the market with Honeycomb (Android 3.0) installed. The Wi-Fi version as well as the Verizon branded versions of the tablet support Android 3.1, making Motorola Xoom one of the very first tablets to run Android 3.1. It is important to note that there is no change to the Wi-Fi versions of the Motorola Xoom tablet.

Motorola Xoom boasts a 10.1 inch light responsive display with 1280 x 800 screen resolution. The Xoom has a multi touch screen, and a virtual keypad is available in Portrait and landscape mode. The Xoom is designed more for landscape mode use. However, both landscape and portrait modes are supported. The screen is impressively responsive. Input can be given as voice commands as well. In addition to all above, Motorola Xoom includes a compass, a gyroscope (to calculate orientation and proximity), a magnetometer (measure strength and direction of magnetic field), a 3 axis accelerometer, a light sensor, and a barometer. Motorola Xoom has a 1 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. The device is powered by 1GHz dual core processor.

With Android 3.0 on board Motorola Xoom provide 5 customizable home screens. All these home screens can be navigated with a touch of a finger, and shortcuts and widgets can be added and removed. Unlike earlier versions of Android, the battery indicator, clock, signal strength indicator and notifications are at the very bottom of the screen. All applications can be accessed using the newly introduced icon at the top right hand corner of the home screen.

Honeycomb in Motorola Xoom also includes productivity applications such as calendar, calculator, clock and etc. many applications can be downloaded from Android market place as well. QuickOffice Viewer also comes installed with Motorola Xoom allowing users to view documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

A completely re-designed Gmail client is available with Motorola Xoom. The interface is loaded with many UI components, and it’s far from simple. However, users can also configure Email accounts based on POP, IMAP. Google talk is available as the instant messaging application for Motorola Xoom. Though, the video quality of the Google talk video chat is not of the best quality, the traffic is well managed.

Motorola Xoom includes the Music application redesigned for Honeycomb. The interface is aligned with the 3D feel of the android version. Music can be categorized by artist and album. Navigation through albums is easy and very interactive.

Motorola Xoom supports up to 720p video play back. The tablet reports an average 9 hour battery life, while looping a video and browsing web. A native YouTube application is also available with Motorola Xoom. A 3D effect with a wall of videos is presented to users. Android Honeycomb finally presents video editing software named “Movie Studio”. Though, many are not very impressed with the performance of the software it was a much needed addition to the tablet OS. Motorola Xoom has a 5 mega pixel camera with an LED flash at the back of the device. The camera gives good quality images and video. The front facing 2 mega pixel camera can be used as a web cam and gives standard quality images for its specifications. Adobe Flash player 10 comes installed with Android.

The web browser available with Motorola Xoom is reportedly good in performance. It allows tabbed browsing, chrome bookmark sync and incognito mode. Web pages will be loaded and quickly and efficiently. But there will be occasions the browser will be recognized as an Android Phone.

After the LTE upgrade on the 3G version, Motorola Xoom will be able to obtain data speeds much faster than 3G. It would be advisable to wait for LTE upgrade and the device comes to the market as Motorola Xoom LTE. The battery life on Motorola Xoom 3G will be affected by this LTE upgrade but it’s too early to comment on how little or big it will be affected.

What is the difference between Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE and Motorola Xoom LTE?

Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is one of the latest Android tablet devices announced in August 2011, but the release is expected by Quarter Q4 2011. Motorola Xoom is an Android tablet released by Motorola in early 2011. The 3G version of the device will be getting its LTE upgrade in a few days and then the device can be called Motorola Xoom LTE. However, Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE will have LTE capability when it is released. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is complete with an 8.9” TFT screen and Motorola Xoom LTE will have a 10.1 inch light responsive display. Both displays have 1280 x 800 screen resolution. Both screens are multi touch and have sensors such as accelerometer, compass and gyroscope. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is powered by a 1.5 GHz processor and Motorola Xoom LTE is powered by 1GHz dual core processor. Among the two devices Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE has the better processing power. Both Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE and Motorola Xoom LTE have 1 GB memory. In terms of storage Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE has 32 GB and 16 GB versions and Motorola Xoom LTE is only available as a 32 GB version. Considering connectivity options both devices support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. With the support of LTE connectivity both devices will turn out to be ideal devices for corporate use. However, Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE will be more portable with the 8.9” screen size. Both devices have USB support. When released Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE will be running on Android 3.2, while Motorola Xoom LTE will be running on Android 3.1. As a result, applications for both devices will be available mainly via Android market and many 3rd party android markets. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE has a rear facing camera with 3 mega pixels, auto focus and LED flash with video capture at 720 P. The front facing camera on Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE is 2 mega pixels and it is quite sufficient for video conferencing. Motorola Xoom LTE has a 5 mega pixel rear facing camera with LED flash. A front facing 2 mega pixel camera is also available on Motorola Xoom LTE.

Among the many applications on both devices the image and video editor on Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE stands out. A similar application is not available on Motorola Xoom LTE. Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE comes with 6100 mAh battery and Motorola Xoom LTE comes with two 3250 mAh batteries. However the battery value will be counted as 3250 mAh. In terms of battery life Samsung Galaxy 8.9 LTE stands out. Battery life will be an important factor since both these devices have LTE support. Devices which support higher data speeds need to have good batteries.