Motorola is joining Hewlett-Packard and Sprint in debuting a new tablet computer in February. They will launch the Motorola Xoom, a 10.1-inch touchscreen tablet, Feb. 17 that is expected to cost $700, according to documents that were leaked and information from an unnamed Engadget.com source.
The Xoom will work with the Android 3.0 operating system, also called Honeycomb, which is especially made for tablet computers.
This version of the Xoom will feature 32GB of onboard storage, according a picture of the leaked data. By comparison, the 9.7-inch iPad with 3G wireless connectivity that has 32GB of storage can be bought for $729.
Some online blog sites have suggested that you won’t have to sign up for a contract to get the Xoom. It will be sold by Verizon, which already has five tiers of monthly data service for the 7-inch Galaxy Tab and will probably offer something similar for the Xoom service.
Verizon reported at the International Consumer Electronics Show this month that the Xoom would come out in the first quarter and customers would be able to get it in versions offering 3G wireless and Wi-Fi connectivity. Verizon added that users could upgrade to 4G LTE service during the second quarter. Motorola Mobility also reported at CES that a 4G LTE and Wi-Fi version of Xoom would be out in the second quarter.
February is expected to be a busy month for the tablet computer market. Hewlett-Packard is supposed to debut one or two WebOS-based tablet computers Feb. 9, and Sprint may give more information on the BlackBerry PlayBook Feb. 7, according to analysts.
The iPad you mention has 32 GB of storage not 2 GB. Small point, don’t mean to harp.