Motorola to take another stab at Apple's iPad with new 7-inch tablet
Following up to the Xoom, which failed to make a a splash after the release of Apple's iPad 2, Motorola is now expected to release another tablet by the end of this year, this time with a smaller 7-inch form factor.
The unnamed tablet from Motorola was pictured in a leaked photo provided to This is my next. It shows a thinner device with slightly angled corners running the tablet-centric "Honeycomb" build of Google's Android mobile operating system.
The hardware is expected to sport micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports and the screen appears to be a 16:9 widescreen orientation. The new tablet is believed to have a 7-inch screen, but it has not yet been publicly confirmed by Motorola.
The hardware maker, which recently announced a deal to be acquired by search giant Google, has publicly stated that it will release a "fun" and portable" 7-inch tablet by year's end.
Motorola's rumored new 7-inch tablet would be nearly three inches smaller than the 9.7-inch display of the iPad. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs panned 7-inch tablets as too small to be functional in a rare appearance on his company's quarterly earnings conference call last October.
"(A 7-inch screen size is) meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to about one quarter of their present size," Jobs said. he revealed that Apple has done extensive research on touchscreen interfaces and what works best for users, which is how the company arrived at a 9.7-inch display for the iPad.
Motorola's first stab at an Android-powered tablet came in February with the 10.1-inch Xoom, a device the company attempted to create hype for with a Super Bowl commercial. But sales of the Xoom were just 440,000, a number well behind the record 9.25 million iPad 2 units Apple sold in the same three-month period.
Rumors that Motorola is working on a successor to the Xoom cropped up as early as March. And in April, it was alleged that sales of the Xoom were lower than some industry watchers expected, prompting other Android device makers to delay their tablets.
Last month it was revealed Apple chose to target the Xoom in a patent infringement lawsuit it filed against Motorola in Europe. The iPad maker hopes to block sales of the Xoom in Germany, as it has done with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Google announced its intention to acquire Motorola and get into the hardware business for tablets and smartphones as part of a $12.5 billion deal in August. While Motorola is a significant manufacturer of Android devices, Google's purchase of the company has been viewed as one largely about intellectual property as the Android platform has come under legal fire.
The unnamed tablet from Motorola was pictured in a leaked photo provided to This is my next. It shows a thinner device with slightly angled corners running the tablet-centric "Honeycomb" build of Google's Android mobile operating system.
The hardware is expected to sport micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports and the screen appears to be a 16:9 widescreen orientation. The new tablet is believed to have a 7-inch screen, but it has not yet been publicly confirmed by Motorola.
The hardware maker, which recently announced a deal to be acquired by search giant Google, has publicly stated that it will release a "fun" and portable" 7-inch tablet by year's end.
Motorola's rumored new 7-inch tablet would be nearly three inches smaller than the 9.7-inch display of the iPad. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs panned 7-inch tablets as too small to be functional in a rare appearance on his company's quarterly earnings conference call last October.
"(A 7-inch screen size is) meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to about one quarter of their present size," Jobs said. he revealed that Apple has done extensive research on touchscreen interfaces and what works best for users, which is how the company arrived at a 9.7-inch display for the iPad.
Motorola's first stab at an Android-powered tablet came in February with the 10.1-inch Xoom, a device the company attempted to create hype for with a Super Bowl commercial. But sales of the Xoom were just 440,000, a number well behind the record 9.25 million iPad 2 units Apple sold in the same three-month period.
Rumors that Motorola is working on a successor to the Xoom cropped up as early as March. And in April, it was alleged that sales of the Xoom were lower than some industry watchers expected, prompting other Android device makers to delay their tablets.
Last month it was revealed Apple chose to target the Xoom in a patent infringement lawsuit it filed against Motorola in Europe. The iPad maker hopes to block sales of the Xoom in Germany, as it has done with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Google announced its intention to acquire Motorola and get into the hardware business for tablets and smartphones as part of a $12.5 billion deal in August. While Motorola is a significant manufacturer of Android devices, Google's purchase of the company has been viewed as one largely about intellectual property as the Android platform has come under legal fire.
Comments
Can't think of one myself. Too busy being incredulous.
Motorola to take another stab at the tablet market with new 7-inch tablet
iPad is cool, but not the only thing Motorola will have to contend with. Oh wait, this is AI, in your world it really is
Let me fix that for you:
Motorola to take another stab at the tablet market with new 7-inch tablet
iPad is cool, but not the only thing Motorola will have to contend with. Oh wait, this is AI, in your world it really is
However convenient it may be for AI, the fact remains that the iPad IS the tablet market at this moment in time.
Shit, meet Wall.
"But Apple needs competition" rehash from a fandroid in 3,2,1...
Scenario:
I have a task I need to perform. I have my smart phone in my pocket. My 7" tablet is in my bag/car/bedroom.
Under what circumstances would I think to myself 'this would be a lot easier on my 7" tablet, I won't just make do with my smart phone and I won't open up my laptop. No, the 7" tablet is clearly the choice here'?
The iPad is all the advantages of a smart phone without the inherent downside of having to be small enough to fit in a pocket. Once you decide it doesn't have to fit in a pocket, why on earth would you stop at 7"? The only limits a tablet should come up against are weight and the size of an average bag.
Isn't this utterly obvious?
"But Apple needs competition" rehash from a fandroid in 3,2,1...
Either that or someone will start quoting the specs of the new tablet and proclaiming how much better they are versus the iPad.
Let me fix that for you:
Motorola to take another stab at the tablet market with new 7-inch tablet
iPad is cool, but not the only thing Motorola will have to contend with. Oh wait, this is AI, in your world it really is
Actually, the headline is correct... Googorola will start cranking out tablets to compete with the iPad. All their other partners have failed them, so Google has to step up to the plate to take a swing at Apple.
Are these guys just hoping that if they throw together enough different tablets then eventually one of them will catch on?
No, they are hoping to capitalize on the fact that one size doesn't fit all. iPad can't be everything to everyone, so that is where the other guys come in. Maybe someone only wants a 7" tablet. Or, maybe someone wants something that only works 50% of the time. Maybe people like frozen tablets and rebooting all the time!
You have to think about the wants of others!
Does anybody want a 7" tablet? I simply do not understand the reasoning behind this form factor. The Dell Steak was a disaster, and was always going to be.
My kids have 7" tablets... I load them up with iCarly videos, and it works for them. They watch while laying in bed or riding in the car.
Beyond the kid market, the 7" form factor just feels like an oversized smartphone/undersized tablet to me.
Either that or someone will start quoting the specs of the new tablet and proclaiming how much better they are versus the iPad.
"Where I work there are 3 Motorola pads for every iPad."
Does anybody want a 7" tablet? I simply do not understand the reasoning behind this form factor. The Dell Steak was a disaster, and was always going to be.
Scenario:
I have a task I need to perform. I have my smart phone in my pocket. My 7" tablet is in my bag/car/bedroom.
Under what circumstances would I think to myself 'this would be a lot easier on my 7" tablet, I won't just make do with my smart phone and I won't open up my laptop. No, the 7" tablet is clearly the choice here'?
The iPad is all the advantages of a smart phone without the inherent downside of having to be small enough to fit in a pocket. Once you decide it doesn't have to fit in a pocket, why on earth would you stop at 7"? The only limits a tablet should come up against are weight and the size of an average bag.
Isn't this utterly obvious?
You'd think that it is so obvious that it should be (have been) co-obvious
"Where I work there are 3 Motorola pads for every iPad."
At Motorola?
My kids have 7" tablets... I load them up with iCarly videos, and it works for them. They watch while laying in bed or riding in the car.
Beyond the kid market, the 7" form factor just feels like an oversized smartphone/undersized tablet to me.
It looks like Motorola is going to supply a bunch more cheap 7" pads for the kids. $49 by January. At this rate you'll be able to upgrade fairly often for a decent price.
At Motorola?
There's only 2 Moto pads for every iPad at Motorola.
"(A 7-inch screen size is) meaningless unless your tablet also includes sandpaper, so that the user can sand down their fingers to about one quarter of their present size," Jobs said. he revealed that Apple has done extensive research on touchscreen interfaces and what works best for users, which is how the company arrived at a 9.7-inch display for the iPad.
Makes you wonder how people use iPhones and iPod Touches!
Those things must be downright useless!