 Hi, I'm Vlad from The Verge taking a look at the Motorola Zoom 2. This 10-inch Android tablet will be known as the Droid Zyboard and sold by Verizon in the US and it also has a smaller sibling, an 8.2-inch Zoom 2 Media Edition with almost identical specs. Speaking of which, the Zoom 2 has a new IPS LCD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The Zyboard in the US will come with LTE connectivity but the Zoom 2 and its Media Edition are both WiFi only. Relative to the original Zoom it replaces, the Zoom 2 is 33% thinner, 10% lighter, which means it matches the measurements of the iPad 2 but it's still a little bit thicker and about 40 grams heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The curved corners of the Zoom have been replaced by a more angular, trimmed-down look which is distinctive but doesn't really improve the ergonomics of the tablet. Build quality is great however, I couldn't get it to creak or flex at all. The aluminum back feels strong and the rubberized sides will protect from bumps. I do have to take issue with the placement of the power button, it sits too close to the volume rocker and is usually a massive pain to find and activate. As with the original Zoom, the display up front is covered by Gorilla Glass. What's new here is that it's an IPS LCD which looks far brighter and more natural. Viewing angles on the Zoom 2 are very good, although the backlight sometimes overwhelms the image when you look at it from the side. It's not quite on the level of the iPad or the iPad 2 but it matches the IPS panels that you can find on Asus' iPad Android tablets. The camera on the Zoom is surprisingly good, it can take great photos in natural light and isn't too horrible in low light situations either. As tablet cameras go, this is one of the best I've seen yet. Video recording is also good, the Zoom 2 does it at 30 frames a second and 720p resolution and usually produces nice and clear results. The real Achilles heel for this tablet, as with most honeycomb tablets, is actually in software. Although its responsiveness on the home screen is improved from the Zoom, I found a lot of lag and stutter in some of the core apps, things like Gmail, the official Twitter client and the browser. Animations on the Zoom 2 aren't anywhere near as fluid as they should be and scrolling in transitions rarely look fluid. That's a let down when you consider how much processing power is at the Zoom 2's disposal, but if you want to look on the bright side, Motorola has already promised an Android 4.0 library for this tablet, so these problems may be only temporary. One very good thing about the Zoom 2 software is Motocast. This app syncs up to your PC and lets you remotely browse and sideload files onto the tablet. You can stream video or music over the internet or you can opt to download those files. Installing is a cinch, all of the files you need are on the tablet already and you just connect it via USB and it works on both PC and Mac. As Motorola's second attempt at building a honeycomb tablet, the Zoom 2 is a vast upgrade over its predecessor, but the limitations of its platform, including a persistent lack of tablet-optimized applications and some sluggish performance of its own, hold it back. The iPad 2 remains the best choice on the tablet market today, but if you have to have an Android tablet, I'd recommend Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 ahead of the Zoom 2.
 Hi, I'm Vlad from The Verge taking a look at the Motorola Zoom 2.
 This 10-inch Android tablet will be known as the Droid Zyboard and sold by Verizon in
 the US and it also has a smaller sibling, an 8.2-inch Zoom 2 Media Edition with almost
 identical specs.
 Speaking of which, the Zoom 2 has a new IPS LCD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor,
 a GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
 The Zyboard in the US will come with LTE connectivity but the Zoom 2 and its Media Edition are both
 WiFi only.
 Relative to the original Zoom it replaces, the Zoom 2 is 33% thinner, 10% lighter, which
 means it matches the measurements of the iPad 2 but it's still a little bit thicker and
 about 40 grams heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
 The curved corners of the Zoom have been replaced by a more angular, trimmed-down look which
 is distinctive but doesn't really improve the ergonomics of the tablet.
 Build quality is great however, I couldn't get it to creak or flex at all.
 The aluminum back feels strong and the rubberized sides will protect from bumps.
 I do have to take issue with the placement of the power button, it sits too close to
 the volume rocker and is usually a massive pain to find and activate.
 As with the original Zoom, the display up front is covered by Gorilla Glass.
 What's new here is that it's an IPS LCD which looks far brighter and more natural.
 Viewing angles on the Zoom 2 are very good, although the backlight sometimes overwhelms
 the image when you look at it from the side.
 It's not quite on the level of the iPad or the iPad 2 but it matches the IPS panels
 that you can find on Asus' iPad Android tablets.
 The camera on the Zoom is surprisingly good, it can take great photos in natural light
 and isn't too horrible in low light situations either.
 As tablet cameras go, this is one of the best I've seen yet.
 Video recording is also good, the Zoom 2 does it at 30 frames a second and 720p resolution
 and usually produces nice and clear results.
 The real Achilles heel for this tablet, as with most honeycomb tablets, is actually in
 software.
 Although its responsiveness on the home screen is improved from the Zoom, I found a lot of
 lag and stutter in some of the core apps, things like Gmail, the official Twitter client
 and the browser.
 Animations on the Zoom 2 aren't anywhere near as fluid as they should be and scrolling in
 transitions rarely look fluid.
 That's a let down when you consider how much processing power is at the Zoom 2's disposal,
 but if you want to look on the bright side, Motorola has already promised an Android 4.0
 library for this tablet, so these problems may be only temporary.
 One very good thing about the Zoom 2 software is Motocast.
 This app syncs up to your PC and lets you remotely browse and sideload files onto the
 tablet.
 You can stream video or music over the internet or you can opt to download those files.
 Installing is a cinch, all of the files you need are on the tablet already and you just
 connect it via USB and it works on both PC and Mac.
 As Motorola's second attempt at building a honeycomb tablet, the Zoom 2 is a vast upgrade
 over its predecessor, but the limitations of its platform, including a persistent lack
 of tablet-optimized applications and some sluggish performance of its own, hold it back.
 The iPad 2 remains the best choice on the tablet market today, but if you have to have
 an Android tablet, I'd recommend Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 ahead of the Zoom 2.