XOOM Wi-Fi To Be Sold At Best Buy, Carphone Warehouse, Dixons in Europe
If you’re in the UK and eager to get your hands on the Motorola XOOM, it’s just been announced that you’ll be able to grab the Wi-Fi only XOOM from Best Buy, Carphone Warehouse, and Dixon’s retail. No mention of price was made, but Q2 was the timeframe provided, meaning it’ll be available by the end of June at the latest. I would expect a much earlier release.
The XOOM should be a pretty big hit and the Chief Commercial Officer went so far as to say that 2011 will be the year of the tablet. If that’s true, the first three “real” Android Tablets – the XOOM, Optimus Pad, and Galaxy Tab 10.1 – should all enjoy great success.
We’ll keep you posted with specific dates and prices when we get them. For now, Europeans, try to get an off-the-record word from your local retailer and help us put it on the record. Here is the full press release:
BARCELONA – Mobile World Congress 2011 – Feb. 17, 2011 — Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced The Carphone Warehouse, Best Buy and Dixons Retail Plc. (Currys and PC World) in the U.K. as well as Deutsche Telekom A.G. in selected markets will be introducing Motorola XOOM. Motorola XOOM runs on Google’s Android™ 3.0 Honeycomb – the Android operating system designed specifically for tablets. The tablet is being demonstrated at Mobile World Congress at the Motorola booth in Hall 8, Booth No. 8A51.
The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy will launch with Motorola XOOM (3G/Wi-Fi), and Currys and PC World will launch with Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi in Q2 2011. Deutsche Telekom A.G. will introduce Motorola XOOM in selected markets. Motorola Mobility announced the introduction of Motorola XOOM in Europe on the first day of Mobile World Congress.
“We’re excited to be bringing a device as powerful as Motorola XOOM to leading carriers and partners in the U.K.,” said Andrew Morley, vice president of marketing for Motorola Mobility, international markets. “Today’s announcement is testament to how well Motorola XOOM has been received by consumers and carriers alike.”
“2011 will be the year of the tablet,” said Graham Stapleton, chief commercial officer at The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy. “Demand for tablets has already been greater than expected and the next 12 months will see them being adopted by more and more people as new products are unveiled. The Motorola XOOM sets the bar incredibly high – its functionality and ground-breaking features mean it offers one of the richest user experiences I’ve ever seen.”
Commenting on the announcement, Jeremy Fennell, category director at Dixons Retail said: “The tablet market is taking off in a big way. As the leading retailer in this market, we are delighted to be at the forefront again with Motorola and pleased to be able to offer XOOM Wi-Fi to our customers.”
“Motorola XOOM is the first tablet to offer Android 3.0, which has been specifically developed for tablets and brings a whole new computing experience. We are sure the XOOM will delight our customers – enabling them to enjoy benefits such as Internet, gaming, keeping in touch via email and video chat, and the ability to download all the apps that Android tablets provide,” Fennell said.
Motorola XOOM Features
Motorola XOOM delivers a new type of mobile computing experience, including: a widescreen HD display with 1280×800 resolution to support HD video and with HDMI out; a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera for 720p video capture and 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats; and a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting.
A dual-core processor with each core running at 1GHz offers an optimal experience for Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Honeycomb user experience improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization, and also features the latest Google Mobile innovations such as Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction. Video, games and other rich web content play seamlessly with Adobe Flash Player. And with support for Adobe AIRapplications, XOOM users will be first to experience Adobe Content Viewer on Android with its rich and interactive digital magazines and branded publications.
Motorola is also working to jump start the ecosystem expansion that will result from the launch of Motorola XOOM with a new version of the Android operating system. Motorola has been collaborating closely with innovative application partners across a variety of categories, including gaming, entertainment, and business productivity, to optimize their applications for this new category of mobile computing devices.
Motorola XOOM has a 10.1-inch (25.65 cm) widescreen HD display supports up to 10 hours of video playback, and charges in half the time of competitive tablets on the market.
[Via Motorola]