Motorola DROID XYBOARD 10.1 Review

The Motorola DROID XYBOARD 10.1 is commonly considered as a successor to the Motorola Xoom, the first Honeycomb device. When the Xoom debuted back in early 2011, as far as Honeycomb devices were concerned, it was the only game in town. Now as we can choose a wide range of tablets in the market, Motorola wants to recapture our attention. XYBOARD’s processor gets a bump to 1.2GHz dual-core processor and it still has the same 1GB of RAM. However, the DROID XYBOARD has one striking difference compared to its predecessor, the updated design.

The tablet has distinctive characteristics of Motorola products; it is weighty, solid, but surprisingly slim. Its rubberized border may not be a head turner, but it would make the tablet really easy to hold on to. Although it is nowhere near as lightweight as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, you’ll immediately feel that it could take a beating and it doesn’t need any protective accessories. Unlike the XOOM, the volume and power buttons are moved to the back and they are within easy reach of your index finger. Also, thanks to the slightly sloped back panel, it’s less likely to accidentally tap these buttons.

Unfortunately, there’s one area the XYBOARD falls short, the card slot for MicroSD card is absent, instead, you can choose between three models; 16, 32 or 64GB. You can still find a standard microUSB port for synching and charging, which is a plus, as some tablets require proprietary cables for these functions.  Included in the package is an active stylus that’s powered by a very small AAAA battery. It’s a nice addition especially if you’re planning to use note-taking apps often, although it doesn’t hold up against Samsung Galaxy Note’s S-Pen, which is much more precise.

It’s quite refreshing to see how the DROID XYBOARD 10.1 turns out to be solid package and despite its lackluster battery life, the tablet is a worthy successor to the Motorola Xoom.