What kinds of things should I be using my Xoom tablet for?

I don’t have a xoom, but I have a tablet that I use to stream from and control my computer with. See if you have an app called Splashtop HD available for your xoom. It’s pretty awesome! Hears how it works on a Kindle Fire. Just to give you an idea…

People typically use tablets for checking email, surfing the web (it’s not easy to use a site like Fluther on a tablet with a touch-screen keyboard, but it’s better than nothing when you’re away from a “real” computer), reading eBooks, and playing games.

I’d rather have a laptop, or at least a “netbook” for computing on the road.

The Xoom (and tablets in general) can be used for a lot of things. I use my tablet for web surfing (including e-mail), reading books, playing games, watching videos, controlling my PC remotely, and as a nightlight.

I don’t use it much for work since my phone is handier (both my tablet and phone run Android, as does your Xoom) but it’s about half the size of my HP-48G calculator, so I got the app. It also comes in handy for reading Machinery’s Handbook: 29th edition which is nice because the dead-tree edition is 2,800 pages (worse than two Neal Stephenson books!), so having the e-book version saves space.

At home, I have three shelves worth of RPG rulebooks, but I also have PDF versions of them in my tablet. Which would you rather carry; a Xoom, or an entire bookcase?

As for recommended apps, there are very few that I use that have universal appeal. One of the few that does is Lookout because anti-virus programs are a good thing to have on any device, and Lookout is the most well-regarded.

The app I use most is ezPDF Reader Pro, which is THE best PDF reader app available for Android. I’ve tried a lot and they are all slow, unpolished, and lack features compared to this gem. If you plan on reading PDF files, you need this one! You probably already deal with PDF files without even knowing it as that is the format that many places use to present info. Hell, some computer makers no longer print hardcopy manuals; they give you a PDF-file for a manual!.

For viewing videos, I like Meridian for it’s buttonless gesture-based controls, though I am warming up to MoboPlayer, but music is better handled with DoubleTwist.

I find the biggest advantage is that is is smaller and lighter than my laptop. Sometimes my Toshiba is just overkill and not worth carrying around, but my tablet is small/light enough to carry without issue and perfectly sufficient much of the time. I use my tablet every day.

I’ll second the reco of Lookout. It checks each and every app which you download and gives you an immediate message in the notification area if its safe. Its also free. There is a paid option but the primary extras that includes are for recovery and data wiping on a lost or stolen phone. Obviously not too needed for a tablet unlikely to be lost or misplaced.

There is also an app as well as a website which reviews apps with an interface specifically designed for tablets.

Tablified.com

There’s just nothing better than having a tablet with which to browse the web while sitting in the living room or bedroom for pre-sleep reading or music. No need to confine your web surfing to sitting at a desk or hunched over a laptop. You will appreciate the convenience the tablet provides more and more as time goes by.

Its also great to use as an e-reader as well as watching movies. You’ll keep discovering that there is very little of what you do on your regular computer that you can’t do on your tablet.

If you don’t care for the limiting aspects of the mobile interface of many websites, there’s even an alternate free browser app which gives you the option of viewing the desktop version rather than the android (mobile) one. Look for Skyfire in the Market.

@Buttonstc I found Skyfire rather limited and lacking compared to Dolphin Mini, which also has the option to show desktop sites instead of mobile ones. That, and i love gesture controls ;)