Motorola Xoom Has Strengths the iPad Doesn’t

As the largest maker of Android-based smartphones, Motorola
has shown that it can compete against Apple. It and its
upcoming Xoom tablet have several strengths:

- Xoom uses the new tablet version of Android called
Honeycomb, not the older smartphone-centric Android 2.2. It
plays Flash videos, unlike the iPad. Users will be able to
access the Android app store.

-The hardware is powerful: a dual-core processor, hi-res
1,280x800 display and dual cameras.

- From day one it runs on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network and
will soon use the more Internet-friendly 4G network. Unless
Apple pulls a surprise with its next iPad, Motorola will have
the only 4G tablet on the market for a while. The 4G appeal
will depend a lot on Verizon Wireless’ 4G rates.

The Motorola brand name is no Apple, but it’s well known and
creates a positive first impression. And, the company is
willing to spend lots on advertising.

There’s one more factor, and that is tablets frequent use in
the living room while the user is watching TV. Motorola makes
STBs for pay-TV companies. It could convince them, starting
with Verizon FiOS, to stream a subscriber’s pay-TV to the
Xoom. Xoom could also display TV shows’ related metadata and
provide interactive services like voting and responding to TV
commercials. It’s a technology that Yahoo showed at CES and
one that Google with its advertising proclivities is certain
to be developing also.

Motorola already has many of the accessories that iPad lovers
buy in large quantities like a dock and Bluetooth keyboard.

However, Apple still has some significant advantages: its
iTunes download service, the number of apps and a single OS on
all its products. Oh, and Apple controls its OS, unlike every
other tablet maker except HP and RIM.


Third-Party Apps to Get Access to Apple AirPlay

Macworld reports that Apple has released to developers a beta
version of iOS 4.3 beta that allows third-party apps to use
Apple’s AirPlay, which streams from Apple devices to other
Apple devices and to surround sound systems like Denon’s and
Marantz’ that have an AirPlay chip embedded. Currently only
iPad embedded apps like iTunes, Safari and YouTube can use
AirPlay. The publication also said that the iOS 4.3 beta has a
pre-release version of new software for the latest $99 Apple
TV.