Android seems to have given Motorola a new lease of life: its Android smartphones are pretty impressive, and now there's the Motorola Xoom tablet to take on the iPad.
It's one of the most impressive tablets money can buy - but unfortunately you'll need a lot of money to buy it.
The Motorola Xoom price is £720
It is if you buy it from HandTec, anyway: the firm was the first to stick give the Motorola Xoom a UK price, and its initial price tag of £659.99 then rose to a whopping £719.99.
Don't expect to pay much less: the firm's VP of international marketing, Andrew Moreley, says "the Motorola Xoom is clearly a premium device with premium prices inside. This will show in the cost."
He doesn't think the price will stop the Xoom being successful, but then again tech execs don't tend to go around yelling "HOW much? Are we INSANE?"
The Motorola Xoom UK release date is Q2 2011
Motorola has now confirmed that the Xoom UK release date will be Q2 2011. The Xoom tablet is pencilled in for a Q1 release in the US.
The Motorola Xoom tablet software is Android 3.0
The Xoom was the poster child for Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas - and as you'd expect from one of the most powerful Android tablets we've seen to date, it makes Honeycomb look very impressive indeed.
Motorola has also released a statement to say that the MotoBlur overlay won't be coming to the Xoom. Instead, it'll be a pure Android 3.0 device.
The Motorola Xoom specifications include a big screen and HD cameras
As widely predicted, the Motorola Xoom tablet specifications revolve around a dual-core Nvida Tegra 2 processor, capable of pumping out 720p video to its 10.1-inch, 1280x800 display, or sending 1080p full HD to your TV via HDMI.
There's 1GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage that you can supplement with an SD card, twin cameras - 5MP at the back (for 720p video recording) and 2MP at the front - and a choice of 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity. An accelerometer and gyroscope ensure you'll be able to play games by waving it about, and Motorola claims 10 hours of battery life when you're watching videos.
The Motorola Xoom tablet has an SD card slot that doesn't work
As features go, a busted SD card slot isn't a major selling point. The problem is Android, not Motorola: as soon as Honeycomb supports MicroSD slots, the Xoom will too.
The Motorola Xoom will be upgradeable to 4G
The Xoom is a 3G/Wi-Fi device, but an additional module will give US customers 4G connectivity. By 4G Motorola means Verizon's LTE network.
There is a Wi-Fi-only Motorola Xoom too
Motorola is dropping enormous hints that a Wi-Fi-only Xoom tablet is on the cards. "A Wi-Fi only version hasn't been announced… but that will be an interesting development," says the enigmatic Mr Moreley.
The Motorola Xoom video takes a few liberties
The first half of this YouTube video makes the Xoom look like it's ten feet across. It isn't.
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Liked this? Then check out our Hands on: Motorola Xoom review
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