[Eee Pad Transformer General] 03stage2:
I posted this in the stock thread but feel it would be better placed in its own thread to help those who have a xoom and are considering making the jump to the Transformer.

Got my phone order in to TD yesterday and the transformer showed up today!

Screen: Simply looks better however my finger doesnt seem to "glide" as easy as the xoom. However on the flip side I have already noticed less fingerprints.

Audio: not sure where the speakers are but the sound seems more like its coming at you as opposed to the xoom where the speakers were in back facing away from you, much improved.

Responsiveness: Maybe im crazy but the overall response time seems improved, especially when switching orientation. I also especially notice this in angry birds, when I restarted a level on the Xoom there would be a half second pause while it reloaded the level. On the transformer it restarts the level RIGHT NOW. I thought the Xoom lagged a bit because of all the apps I had installed but I have all the same apps on the transformer and have not noticed any lag whatsoever.

Weight: I knew it was lighter but didnt think I would notice. I was wrong, I noticed the first moment I picked it up. Granted I had the 4G Xoom so maybe the cellular radio made it heavier however it is very refreshing to have a lighter tablet.

Camera: This is the one place where the xoom wins, well kind of. Low light enviroments make a low light shot. The Xooms ability to have flash give it the advantage here. However I will say when there is enough light the transformers pictures seem to be a bit more "crisp". Video is the one area where the transformer falls down. The video is laggy (choppy) and I have a feeling this may be something that firmware can fix (Im still on the original factory firmware).

Wi-Fi: I am in the same location as where I had my Xoom tied into my office wifi. The xoom always read 3 out of 4 bars where the Transformer gets 4 out of 4 bars all over the entire building. I really think the Transformer gets better wi-fi reception.

GPS: The GPS radio in the Transformer is just as good as the one in the Xoom. It pickes me up spot on in a building where we have two steel roofs.

On Screen keyboard: I love the transformers on screen keyboard. Its like they actually put some thought into it. Its button placement is much more refined then the xoom. At first I didnt think i would like it but after 20 minutes of use I found myself being much more productive with the new layout.

Market: Both Droid market and Amazon App store immediately downloaded all my old apps so making the switch was cake. I was concerned I would have to individually re-download all my old apps but both app stores did a fantastic job of getting all my old apps.

The basic feel and operation of Honeycomb seems to be exactly the same. I LOVE the floating ice cube wallpaper and noticed on the Xoom whenever I had an animated background it slowed down the tab. This is NOT the case with the transformer, everything still seems fluid even with the animated background. It is not my intent to bash the Xoom but I paid $800 for it and spent half on this device and it honestly feels like a step forward. Granted I dont have verizon access anymore but found I always used wifi regardless.

Add all of this up and then take into factor you can use a dock that will give you full size USB, keyboard, mouse, a Micro SD card slot that actually works right out of the package and you have a no brainer. Absolutely thrilled I made the switch!

EDIT: added info after one full night of playing with it;

Well after a full night of playing with the transformer (as well as doing the firmware upgrade) I did come up with some more input

Audio: As others have stated the overall sound quality from the Xoom speakers are superior. Yesterday when i was playing with the device I was at work and couldnt really turn it up all the way. When you do hit max volume it is not very loud and is very distorted. At normal volume levels I think it sounds better simply because the speakers arent facing away from you. Now since I rarely run the tablet at max volume this shouldnt be an issue

Video recording: Yes the firmware did help significantly but it did not cure the problem entirely. The video now only slightly studders, which is somewhat tolerable. However my Xoom from day 1 took stellar video and never had an issue. Hopefully future updates will eliminate all studdering but for now the Xoom has the clear advantage in this area.

Battery life: Keep in mind I dont have the dock yet but the battery life on the Xoom is definately better. Not by leaps and bounds but it is noticeable. I played on the TF for 4 hours last night doing everything from video to firmware updated and I dropped to 40%. I did this same process when I got my Xoom for approximately the same amount of time and only went down to 60%. Perhaps its the floating ice cube background? Who knows, but for now the Xoom definately has the edge for now.

On screen keyboard: Yes I like the layout better on the TF but the input is slightly slower then the Xoom. Overall the TF seems more responsive but in this department the Xoom wins out. Again, hopefully this is something that is fixed in future updates.

Im trying to be as fair and honest as possible here so that I can help people make wise decisions. From my original post im still sold on the transformer over the Xoom but there are definately things the Xoom does better and vice versa.

Happy Hunting!