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You have to remember that the Xoom is only the very first of many devices that will run Android 3.0 ("Honeycomb")--as such it's almost a "beta" system since no one else has such a device yet. But once the other devices running Android 3.0 start to hit the retail channel later this year I expect it to get a lot better.

The Xoom is not a beta product. Companies don't release $800 beta products. In its desperation to imitate Apple, Motorola rushed a very inferior product to market. Companies are really desperate to imitate Apple.

I think you have to remember that when the iPad first came out in April 2010, people noted at once it felt like an iPod touch writ large, complete with the limitations of the version of iOS at the time (3.2 I believe). The iPad didn't really start to get useful until iOS 4.2.1 became available in November 2010.

Everyone I talked to who bought the iPad during its first month of release had this to say about it: "I love it". And I talked to quite a few. In fact I talked to everyone I saw with one.

There are persistent rumors that Apple may preview iOS 5.0 very soon

Apple was the first to market and are way ahead of the others. It will remain that way for some time to come as companies rush in desperation to imitate Apple.

A couple of comments:

1) When I first tried out the original iPad in May 2010, while I liked the bigger display it still felt like playing with a "writ large" version of an iPod touch. It wasn't until iOS 4.2.1 became available that the iPad finally lived up to its promises, especially the ability to safely run more than one app at a time.

2) As for iOS 5.0 (which we may see a developer beta probably as early as April 2011), from the rumors I've read they cleaned up the interface and also made it easier to use. I really do like to see Apple offer some improvements on the iOS interface to keep it ahead of the latest Android version.