CES: Motorola challenging Apple's iPad with Android-based Xoom tablet

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
During a press event Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, the newly spun off Motorola Mobility officially unveiled a challenger to the iPad in the form of its Xoom tablet, which will be the first to run Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and showed off new competition for the iPhone in the form of the Atrix 4G Android-based smartphone.



The Motorola tablet was first demoed by Google VP and Android mastermind Andy Rubin in December. Later that month, Motorola released a teaser promotional video that mocked Apple's iPad for being "like a giant iPhone," before hinting that the tablet would be unveiled at CES 2011.



As promised, Motorola revealed the tablet, now called the Motorola Xoom, during its CES keynote, covered by Engadget. Motorola is touting the device as the first to run Google's new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, which has been "designed from the ground up for tablets."



The Xoom sports a dual core processor with each processor running at 1GHz, 32GB of storage, a front-facing 2-megapixel camera and a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera. The 10.1-inch display supports a resolution of 1280 x 800. The device also features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting.







During the event, Motorola executives revealed that "the device is not completely done," but a 3G version will be released in the first quarter of this year. Users will have the option of upgrading the tablet to 4G LTE-capability in the second quarter.







Motorola claims the Xoom will get up to 10 hours of video playback on one charge. Verizon is slated to be the carrier launch partner for the device.



Earlier today, Google briefly posted a video detailing the Android 3.0 Honeycomb update, boasting that it is "built entirely for tablet." The video was quickly removed, but was subsequently posted to YouTube.







In addition to the Xoom, Motorola also unveiled several new smartphones that will compete with Apple's iPhone, including the Motorola Atrix 4G, touted by Motorola as "the world's most powerful smartphone."



Like the Xoom TABLET, the Atrix 4G has a dual core 1 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. The smartphone, which will run Android 2.2, will be offered exclusively by AT&T in the U.S., as well as Bell Canada and Orange UK. Breaking down the barrier between smartphone and laptop, the device's accessories will include an ultra-thin laptop dock that will use the Atrix 4G as the "engine."







Motorola also revealed the Cliq 2 for T-Mobile, which will go on sale on Jan. 19, and the Droid Bionic for Verizon, which will be available early in the second quarter.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 95
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    How much will it cost? Seems like a significant detail.



    Also, if Android 3.0 is built "entirely for the tablet", whither Android for phones? Will Google maintain two versions? Will phone users be encouraged to skip the update? Will there be a 3.1 for phones that tablet users will need to avoid? Or what?
  • Reply 2 of 95
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ... Google briefly posted a video detailing the Android 3.0 Honeycomb update, boasting that it is "built entirely for tablet." ...



    Why do they have to use this "Chingrish" stuff in the ad? I find it kind of offensive.
  • Reply 3 of 95
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,123member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The Xoom sports a dual core processor with each processor running at 1GHz, a front-facing 2-megapixel camera and a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera. The 10.1-inch display supports a resolution of 1280 x 800. The device also features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting.



    During the event, Motorola executives revealed that "the device is not completely done," but a 3G version will be released in the first quarter of this year. Users will have the option of upgrading the tablet to 4G LTE-capability in the second quarter.



    Meaning "we don't any actual product but when when we do, watch out!!!"
  • Reply 4 of 95
    ifailifail Posts: 463member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    How much will it cost? Seems like a significant detail.



    Also, if Android 3.0 is built "entirely for the tablet", whither Android for phones? Will Google maintain two versions? Will phone users be encouraged to skip the update? Will there be a 3.1 for phones that tablet users will need to avoid? Or what?



    Until Google says something its just an unknown. If it said "only for tablets" then i would jump to conclusions.



    Everything i've read and heard that the OS will simply have a UI split and some things are tablet dedicated.
  • Reply 5 of 95
    rfrmacrfrmac Posts: 90member
    Let's see, what does, "Not Completely Done" mean? Did we hear that last year?



    I agree, what does it cost? By the time this thing comes out Apple will have version 2 out.
  • Reply 6 of 95
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    And, as always, Apple introduces a product by talking about the experience of using it, and advertises by showing what you can do with it, then the competition responds by shouting about specs.



    Which is exactly what I predicted would happen, since it's what always happens. The bitching about how the original iPad was a useless toy and just a big iPhone is now conveniently forgotten and all that matters is that other manufacturers can do a credible job of exactly copying the iPad with slighter better specs, or slightly lower cost, or both, at which point such devices are totally awesome and kick the iPad's ass.
  • Reply 7 of 95
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    It looks to have a plastic shell, yet it weighs the same (.73kg) as an iPad?

    Have I missed something?
  • Reply 8 of 95
    So Motorola teased us with vaporware promises, only to deliver slightly better than tupperware mockups, "that aren't completely done". I's also like to know what it is going to cost.
  • Reply 9 of 95
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    And, as always, Apple introduces a product by talking about the experience of using it, and advertises by showing what you can do with it, then the competition responds by shouting about specs.



    Which is exactly what I predicted would happen, since it's what always happens. The bitching about how the original iPad was a useless toy and just a big iPhone is now conveniently forgotten and all that matters is that other manufacturers can do a credible job of exactly copying the iPad with slighter better specs, or slightly lower cost, or both, at which point such devices are totally awesome and kick the iPad's ass.



    I wonder what those who thought an iPad with a rear-facing camera was stupid think of the rear-facing camera on the Xoom.
  • Reply 10 of 95
    ifailifail Posts: 463member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    And, as always, Apple introduces a product by talking about the experience of using it, and advertises by showing what you can do with it, then the competition responds by shouting about specs.



    Which is exactly what I predicted would happen, since it's what always happens. The bitching about how the original iPad was a useless toy and just a big iPhone is now conveniently forgotten and all that matters is that other manufacturers can do a credible job of exactly copying the iPad with slighter better specs, or slightly lower cost, or both, at which point such devices are totally awesome and kick the iPad's ass.



    Most every tablet is packing the same stuff, trying to be the "iPad experience"



    Motorola on the other hand has just completely outdone i believe every tablet, but only if it uses their new WebTop with the dock for the Xoom like they've shown with the Atrix.



    The Atrix has probably been the most exciting thing to come out of CES thus far, its literally a computer when you want it to be.
  • Reply 11 of 95
    wurm5150wurm5150 Posts: 763member
    Ok. It's good and I think it's better than the iPad. But it'll be competing with iPad 2, so let's see if iPad 2 can one up this tablet.
  • Reply 12 of 95
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    How much will it cost? Seems like a significant detail.



    Or what kind of display panel. Asus was quick to state they are using IPS displays for all 4 of their tablets. I say this is a requirement for any decent tablet.



    They also state up to 10 hours for video playback, but I don?t think that?s a great stat for 2011. Apple did that for "surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music? in 2010 and everything about Cortex-A9 tells me that it would be hardly working for video playback of an assumed HW accelerated video. How much for web surfing over WiFi or 3G?



    Of course, we?ll have to take a look at the battery size to know how efficient this device is.
  • Reply 13 of 95
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by quinney View Post


    I wonder what those who thought an iPad with a rear-facing camera was stupid think of the rear-facing camera on the Xoom.



    I certainly think a camera on the back of a tablet is probably one of the worse features to tout.
  • Reply 14 of 95
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    During a press event Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, the newly spun off Motorola Mobility officially unveiled a credible challenger to the iPad in the form of its Xoom tablet, which will be the first to run Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb.



    Who decided that this is a "credible challenger"? It's still vaporware!



    More importantly, is this term being supplied by Motorola or AppleInsider? If it's Motorola, it should have quotes around it. If it's AppleInsider, then shame on them for leaping to such an unsubstantiated conclusion.
  • Reply 15 of 95
    I think the addition of a barometer is interesting. What types of interesting apps can exploit that?
  • Reply 16 of 95
    Hardware wise the tablet seems pretty good.



    The new UI has some merit. There are some things I definitely hope to see in the next revision of iOS for iPad. A similar form of widget support would be nice. The Dashboard concept from OS X seems like it would shine on the iPad, even if just for the lock screen (it just seems so spartan right now)... just need to make it work without killing the battery life. The maps program looks great; iOS desperately needs an update to the stock Maps program. I hope Apple is using their acquisitions in this area to bring a worthy update to their devices. The browser tabs are nice as well.



    However, there are some things that just lack polish for this kind of unveiling. The tiled books on the home screen look kind of ugly... and then the coverflow-like book list seems awkward. The whole bottom black bar is a complete eyesore. It is a petty thing to pick on, but it's just hideous. Finally, I don't see anything third-party in terms of applications. Where are the big-name developers showcasing the capabilities of the new APIs for this major release ala Apple's iPad event? And what I see of the core applications looks like it was lifted from other implementations... pretty heavily in fact. I'm not expecting every new competitor to revolutionize the industry, but I don't think it has the same "wow" factor for me that it has for some of the Apple haters.



    Can't wait to see what Apple releases next. If it has the following features it will squash any interest I have for Android 3.0: widget support, multiple apps viewable, better notifications, and an easier means of sharing data/files between apps (I know... this flies in the face of the secure sandbox approach but I can only imagine how something resembling a non-itunes-or-photo-media filesystem would be useful).
  • Reply 17 of 95
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Such a slim bezel, how is one supposed to hold the device?
  • Reply 18 of 95
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StillOwn128kMac View Post


    I think the addition of a barometer is interesting. What types of interesting apps can exploit that?



    You could boil the tablet and calculate the altitude
  • Reply 19 of 95
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by StillOwn128kMac View Post


    I think the addition of a barometer is interesting. What types of interesting apps can exploit that?



    Might be useful as a slate under water on scuba safety stops...



    ...won't suffer too bad from shorting out, I imagine...
  • Reply 20 of 95
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rfrmac View Post


    Let's see, what does, "Not Completely Done" mean?



    It means buy it anyway and don't complain 'cause we warned you.
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