The day finally came where the price point and no need for a data plan device stars aligned and I found myself down at the local Costco picking up the Motorola Xoom – Wifi version.

The device was on the shelves 3/27/2011 (and not 3/26 – I stopped in and checked, just in case.)   As a bonus for using Costco, they throw in a free gel case, and dropped the MSRP from $599 to $589.  I got there pretty early, but from what I could tell only one other had been sold at that point.

The Good:

• The build quality is amazing – super sturdy
• The battery life is great (and it was even charged out of the box)
• Honeycomb (Android 3.0) is polished and ready to contend with any tablet OS
• The speed is great, makes my Nexus S seem slow (and it’s not…)
• WiFi is great, even picked up my shoddy WiFi at work all day
• Micro-SD slot!!  Stereo Speakers!! Decent Camera!  Flash!! Camera Flash!!
• The Honeycomb built apps (like Gmail etc. are all so much better than the phone versions, with preview and all kinds of extras.
• Mini-HDMI and USB
• Tethering to my Nexus S was seamless

The Bad:

• This thing is heavy – I thought the same of the original iPad – build quality/battery showing their head?
• Apps – tablet specific apps are in the 50’s as I write this, not thousands like the iPad.  Also, a few apps simply don’t like the layout and hung.
• Probably a setting, but new apps stick icons on your desktop
• I find the power button on the back side to be in a weird spot
• It has a proprietary charger, not the mini USB, so car charging is out for now

With the 90 day return policy I felt confident to pull the trigger on this Moto-offering, and I can tell you I haven’t been anything but pleased in the outcome.  I even ponied up and ordered the dock which comes tomorrow. All I can say is you have to get one of these.  If you have been waiting for the right moment to get in on the tablet bandwagon, now is the time, get yourself a Xoom.