Motorola Xoom 2 and why Android tablet makers still don’t get it

Motorola which had the distinction of being the third tablet by a major manufacturer to the market and made a  cheesy ad about it, is now launching an ‘improved’ version of its not so famous Xoom tablet. Motorola Xoom 2 as it is called is a brand new Android tablet from Motorola which runs on Android Honeycomb, not Ice Cream Sandwich.

Let’s look at Motorola Xoom 2’s hardware specifications. After all that’s what we like to boast about.

Motorola Xoom 2 runs a 1.2 GHz processor, has a 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front camera, 1 GB RAM and 16 GB storage.

Xoom 2 is 10% lighter and 33% thinner than Xoom.

Oh! and one more thing.

There is a smaller Xoom 2 available which sports 8.2 inch screen and slightly weaker battery.

It’s Deja Vu all over again, except that it is not from Apple but from Motorola.

When Apple announced iPad 2, it was the numero uno tablet. Making a successful tablet faster and lighter is appealing. With Xoom 2, not only it is not appealing but also it is redundant and boring.

In order to distinguish itself from the rest, Xoom 2 sports some chopped off edges. Just like Steve Jobs is obsessed with rounded rectangles, someone at Motorola is obsessed with cutting off the edges.

They just don’t get it

That’s about all there is with Motorola Xoom 2. Sure it might even have a barometer and other goodies but I didn’t bother to check. Because, Android tablet makers are not getting it. I expected Motorola to get it especially after its Razr launch and its Google relationship, but boy was I wrong.

Firstly, Motorola Xoom 2 should be coming with Ice Cream Sandwich, Android’s most enchanting OS revision ever. What’s the big rush to push a tablet with slightly better specs when your predecessor sold just 100,000 pieces in a quarter?

Secondly, Motorola should have added something extra, just like it did with MotoCast and SmartActions on Motorola Razr. I haven’t found any of that.

Thirdly, iPad has 140,00 apps to itself. How many does Android have? Right now it’s all trial and error and Android’s own confused software revision strategy is making matters worse. May be that will change with Ice Cream Sandwich as it is purported to be a unifying OS.

Motorola Xoom 2 should be running Ice Cream Sandwich even before a first sale is made.