Motorola has boosted its Android offerings with the launch of its Atrix smartphone/netbook and Xoom tablet - one of the first to run the Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" OS optimised for tablets.
The Android army continues to amass this year, with 3.0 Honeycomb delivering tablets which can stand toe-to-toe with the mighty iPad. Motorola's slick 10.1-inch Xoom joins Acer's A500 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1v as Honeycomb's Australian champions.
The Xoom is a stock-standard Honeycomb device, for now it’s really the hardware and accessories which separate it from the competition and I’ll take a closer look at these next week. It’s really Motorola's new Atrix smartphone - running Android 2.2 "Froyo" - shows off the flexibility of the Android platform. Thanks to Motorola innovations such as “webtop” the Atrix can transform into a netbook - courtesy of an optional $449 dock which features an 11-inch screen and keyboard. While docked the Atrix can run a full desktop version of Firefox and other apps, while still offering full access to the phone features.
Exclusive to Telstra, both the Atrix and the Zoom will sell for $840 outright or on 24 month plans. The Atrix will be available on a $59 per month plan, plus $20 per month for the handset. The Xoom will be available on $29 (1GB of data), $49 (7GB) and $79 (12GB) per month plans, plus another $25, $25 and $15 per month respectively in device payments. When you allow for the included data, the plans are certainly comparable with the $599 Acer A500. Business and pre-paid options will also be on offer for the Xoom, with details available closer to launch.
Available May 24, the 10.1-inch Xoom weighs in at 740gm and sports a dual-core 1GHz processor accompanied by 1GB of RAM. It features 2MP/5MP front/rear cameras and 32GB of storage, along with USB, HDMI and 802.11b/g/n (supposedly 2.4GHz and 5GHz but it can't see my 802.11n 5GHz network so I'd question this). SD card support will come via a firmware upgrade.
The Xoom features a 1280x800, 16:10 display and supports 1080p video playback or 720p via the micro-HDMI output. Motorola also offers an optional recharge cradle with a HDMI output for connecting to a television. For now it's really the 1080p video support and dock which help the Xoom stand out from competitors such as Acer’s 10.1-inch A500. Considering the A500’s hit-and-miss video playback, it will be interesting to see how the Xoom performs and I’ll report back on that next week as well.
The Xoom runs Flash 10.2, although it isn't pre-installed and comes as a free download from Android Market. The tablet comes with minimal customisations apart from pre-installed apps to access content from Telstra and Motorola. While Motorola and other handset makers have highly customised Android for smartphones, such things will take time to come to Honeycomb tablets, says Motorola’s local strategic sales director Anthony Petts (formerly of HTC).
Thankfully customers will be able to uninstall the Telstra applications and the tablet will not be as tightly locked to Telstra services as earlier devices, says Telstra Mobile’s Andrew Volard. The move comes after customer complaints about earlier Android devices such as the HTC Desire - on which some services were crippled when connected to a wifi network not hanging off a Telstra Bigpond connection.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/motorola-launches-xoom-and-atrix-on-telstra-20110506-1eauk.html#ixzz1LYDTbtzI
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