The Motorola Xoom is the model on which Google bases tablets, and the hardware on which the software that is Honeycomb 3.0 was designed. What that amounts to is the first tablet that competes and beats the iPad on virtually all levels. As we all know when Motorola brings its ball to the court Verizon has its back, this tablet will initially launch with Verizon 3G and be upgraded to 4G LTE in Quarter 2, even for those who have already purchased their device. I can already hear “XOOM” spoken in the Verizon Droid Voice in my head.
Honeycomb
Google spent over a year rethinking Android in the process of creating Honeycomb. From the ground up it was designed to be a master of multitasking, if you like the widgets now they just got raised to a whole new level. The home screen experience is completely optimized and works beautifully in the tablet format. The browsing experience is the same as Chrome on the desktop. It has also brought about the removal of physical buttons so the navigation buttons are wherever you like them to be. Check out this ten minute video for a thorough Android Honeycomb 3.0 introduction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YiXlkiq8Y0&hd=1
Walk Through
Thanks to Phandroid for this look at the Xoom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBYRH6PZOUI&hd=1
| Motorola XOOMTablet | |
| OS | Android 3.0 Honeycomb |
| Differentiation | Larger display in smaller form-factor, 1080p HD support, first tablet with Honeycomb software, dual-core 1GHz processor, and a wide range of docking options |
| Dimensions | 249.1mm (h) x 167.8mm (w) x 12.9mm (d) |
| Display | 10.1″ 1280 — 800 resolution |
| Weight | 730 g |
| Processor | NVIDIA® Tegraâ„¢ 2: 1 GHz dual-core processor |
| Battery | Up to 10 hour video playback |
| Connectivity | 3.5 mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID |
| Network | 3G, 4G LTE upgradeable, 802.11n w/Personal Hotspot |
| Messaging/Web/Apps | Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, POP3/IMAP embedded, Push Email, Yahoo Mail) , WebKit w/ Flash |
| Audio | AAC, AAC+, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, XMF |
| Video | 720p capture/1080p playback/streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4 |
| Camera | 5 MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash/2 MP front-facing camera |
| Memory | 32 GB on board user memory, SD card support after software update, 1 GB DDR2 RAM |
Features
- Android 3.0
- 10.1 inch screen
- Dual-core 1 GHz processor
- Currently 3G, upgradeable to 4G
- Rear 5 MP camera
- Front 2 MP camera
- 720p video recording
- 1080p video playback with HDMI video out
This tablet is going to set a new bar in terms of what tablets can do and how tablets are designed. Honeycomb is the reinvention of Android and the Motorola Xoom exemplifies what it is meant to achieve. The applications have been designed to not get larger but to take full advantage of the extra space with more functionality. The future of Android looks better than ever before. Stay tuned as CES has much more to offer.