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A honey-sweet alternative to the Xoom?
Acer announced the April 24 release of its 10-inch Honeycomb tablet, the Iconia Tab A500, priced at a-not-unreasonable $450. With nearly identical hardware specs and $150 cheaper than the pricey Motorola Xoom’s, ZDNet is hailing the A500 as “Xoom Light.” The bad news? It has half the flash storage. Still, not a bad deal if you want to test drive Honeycomb and don’t want to sell your soul to do it.
You can preorder the A500 at Best Buy.
The Iconia Tab A500 at a glance:
- Weight: 1.7 lbs.
- Dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
- 1.0GHz processing speed
- 1GB DDR2 memory
- 16GB eMMC on-board memory
- 4G LTE connectivity
- 2MP front-facing camera
- 5MP rear camera
- HDMI
- Supports microSD up to 32GB
- High-speed USB 2.0 port
HTC and Acer sweet on Honeycomb
Source: Amazon.co.uk
Gigaom is reporting Acer’s Iconia A100, a 7-inch Google Android Honeycomb tablet, has appeared on the UK’s Amazon site for pre-order ahead of its April 20 release date and is priced at around $485 (US dollars), a bit less the Motorola Xoom, which begins at around $600.
The Iconia A100 at a glance:
- 512MB RAM (not KB as on the site)
- 8GB hard drive
- NVIDIA Tegra 250, 1GHz Dual-Core processor
- 1024 x 600 screen resolution
- 5MP auto-focus camera
- 2MP front-facing camera
- Dolby mobile sound enhancement
- 3.5mm audio jack
Meanwhile, HTC tweeted Friday that they’ll be offering Honeycomb upgrades for its HTC Flyer when it’s made available.
@Geekhangover We will be offering a Honeycomb upgrade when it’s made available. What feature are you most excited about?—
HTC (@htc) April 01, 2011
Source: HTC press room
The HTC Flyer at a glance:
- 1.5GHz single-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 32GB flash storage (expandable via microSD card)
- aluminium unibody construction
- 7-inch display
- 1024 x 600 screen resolution
- 5MP rear camera
- 1.3MP front-facing camera
Yahoo News on USA TODAY’s revised strategy
Yahoo News looks at some of USA TODAY’s recent efforts to reinvent itself in as a digital destination, which includes a rollout of mobile applications for devices such as the Apple iPad and the new Motorola Xoom, which is powered by Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
From the story:
USA Today’s applications for mobile devices have been downloaded more than 6 million times, including 1.25 million designed for Apple Inc.’s hot-selling iPad. Mobile applications of The New York Times, another national newspaper that’s trying to gain more readers and make more money on the Web, have been downloaded more than 9 million times.
Motorola Xoom, Android 3.0 can get Flash today
Here’s a little bit of Xoom news from my inbox.
Eweek.com reminds Motorola Xoom adopters can get Flash today as a beta on the Android Market, and CNET is offering its first impressions.
Meanwhile, the folks at Android Community is reporting the Xoom is available for pre-order at Staples and at Costco. Droid Life also notes that Amazon is taking orders, too.
Looking for specs for the WiFi-only Xoom? Click here.
UPDATE 3-21-2011: Business Insider says Flash for Xoom is “lame,” and ZDNet offers a hands-on review of SwiftKey for Tablets, the keyboard app for Honeycomb.
Motorola to release Wi-Fi-only Xoom March 27 for $599
Motorola (NYSE: MMI) announced today the release of the WiFi-only Motorola Xoom in U.S. retail stores March 27!
The MSRP for the WiFi model with 32GB of memory is listed at $599 — which means I have to get another freelance job. Now!
Here are the specs for the Sexy Beast from the fact sheet:
- Runs Honeycomb (obviously)
- Dual-core 1 GHz processor
- 10.1-inch, 1280×800 resolution display
- Battery yields up to 10 hours of video playback
- Connectivity — 3.5mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID
- Network – 802.11n b/g/n
- Messaging and Web apps include Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, POP3/IMAP embedded), WebKit w/ Flash
- 5 MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash/2MP front-facing webcam
- Video – HD capture/playback/streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4
- 32GB on-board user memory, microSD card support after future software update, 1GB DDR2 RAM
The Motorola Xoom WiFi Edition (per press release) will be available at brick-and-mortars Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, select Sam’s Club locations, Staples and Walmart, as well as their online stores and through Amazon.com
UPDATE 3-18-2011: Information for Flash beta and the WiFi-only preorders is here.
Xoom: A return
On the bleeding edge: Android Guys' Sam Herren reviews the Motorola Xoom — Weighed, measured and found wanting. http://bit.ly/gZH2sJ—
Jacqui Barrineau (@JBnotes) March 09, 2011
Xoom vs. iPad2: Business Insider’s Chart of the Day
Business Insider‘s Chart of the Day compares Motorola’s Xoom to Apple’s iPad2.
From the reader comments:
Intentionally or not, the author curiously didn’t mention half a dozen hardware features that the iPad 2 misses or is inferior. Among them:
– SD Card for expandable storage (Xoom has it built in, iPad 2 no)
- USB port (Xoom has it built in, iPad 2 needs a separate connector)
- HDMI output (Xoom has it built in, iPad 2 needs a separate connector)
- RAM Memory (XOOM 1Gb vs 512Mb iPad 2)
Some food for thought.
Also: eMarketer reports shares findings from the NPD Group‘s end-of-2010 study that shows a high satisfaction rates among tablet users.
Xoom-Xoom: Motorola’s Xoom to launch at $800
TabletPCReview.com is reporting Motorola’s Xoom will start at $800 — a price confirmed Wednesday after much speculation. It is the first tablet to run Android 3.0, code-named Honeycomb, and will feature a 10.1-inch screen.
Me likey. Despite $800 price tag.
CNET has more on the sexy beast here.
UPDATE 3-16-2011: Motorola says it’s going to release the WiFi-only XOOM on March 27 for $599.
UPDATE 3-18-2011: Looking for specs for the WiFi-only Xoom? Click here. Information for Flash beta and the WiFi-only preorders is here.
Who’s J?
I am Jane Q. Public: consumer and citizen. As I go, so goes the nation. Sometimes.
(But really, click the link.)
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No, really, who’s J?
Jacqui Barrineau
Editor. Writer. Consultant.
I'm an editor and writer with certifications in public relations and e-Commerce. I also have a background in information technology. (In another life, I was a systems analyst.)
When I'm not editing copy for USA TODAY, I write an occasional short story or poem. My work has appeared in Calliope and the feminist journal So to Speak, and I'm a regular flash-fiction contributor to Paragraph Planet and Doorknobs & Bodypaint. Also on occasion, I interview editors for The Review Review, a comprehensive guide to literary journals and the people who produce them.
My points-of-view are collected on such esteemed outlets as Wordpress, Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed here and elsewhere are mine, not my employers'.
I live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with my husband, Trey, our Shetland Sheepdog, and two unhelpful-but-funny cats.
