With the popularity of Apple’s iPad, and the popularity of Google’s Android OS continuing a steady growth, it was only a matter of time before Android OS tablets began to appear to challenge the iPad in the new tablet market Apple has spawned since last year. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab was the first true competitor to offer a viable alternative to the iPad, and the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) introduced a number of new tablets waiting to make their way to store shelves. Though the Galaxy Tab was a good alternative to the iPad, its lack of an operating system tailored to the tablet form held it back, and its smaller screen size didn’t help either for those looking to use their tablet to watch video on a large screen they could hold in their hands. Enter the Motorola XOOM.

The Motorola XOOM took CES 2011 by storm, winning the Best of Show award, and leaving many to wonder if it could be a true contender to compete with Apple’s iPad on its own turf. Compared to Apple’s latest iPad, the iPad 2, the XOOM is thicker and heavier, coming in closer in size and weight to the first generation iPad. In fact, looking at a first generation iPad and the Motorola XOOM side-by-side the two look strikingly similar, though the XOOM’s button free front face, and narrower screen, hint at a device designed with widescreen video playback in mind, rather than simply bumping up the screen real estate.

Video, indeed, does play back smoothly and crisply on the XOOM, no doubt in large part to its dual-core processor. That same processor also makes navigating on the XOOM easy as well. The touchscreen is responsive, and everything from browsing the Web to opening and closing various apps is handled with ease. Android’s Honeycomb OS is clearly a huge improvement over tablets trying to run Android’s smartphone OS on larger screens. Honeycomb was made for tablets, and handles tablet design and functions very well. Though the learning curve for the Android OS is slightly higher than Apple’s iOS, new Android users, as well as those already familiar with the Android operating system, shouldn’t have any trouble.

For those looking for an alternative to the Apple ecosystem and the iPad, Motorola’s XOOM tablet is hard to beat. Though Apple’s new iPad 2 is thinner and lighter, the XOOM still packs in the features to give the iPad a run for its money. With that said, however, the XOOM is still a bit more expensive than its competitors, and with a number of other tablets preparing to make their debut in the coming months, consumers who don’t have an immediate need for an iPad alternative tablet may want to wait and see what some of the other manufacturers have to offer. Android also doesn’t offer as many apps specifically designed for tablets as a device like the iPad does, but the number of new apps will almost certainly grow over time, as the Android tablet platform is still very new.

Overall, if you’re already an Android user, need a tablet now and, like Apple users, want to keep everything in the same ecosystem, the Motorola XOOM is an excellent tablet choice.