New to Android, some questions about the tablet...

[Walter E Kurtz]

Ok so this will be my first android device (I was holding back bc I honestly did not think 2.2 was a stable OS and still a little shaky) Anyways this will also be my first tablet. A couple questions:

1) Does it have an HDMI out? So I can store movies and play them on a TV?
2) Does it have a MicroSD slot?
3) A USB port so I can attach a keyboard?
4) By Quarter 1, what exactly does that mean? When do you think it will release?

I really want a new tablet bc of some of my online college courses (especially Calc II which uses My Math Lab.)

I will not need the 4g. Also, where will it be sold at?

Thank you!

 

[Auzo]

Welcome!

1) Yes it does have HDMI. You can watch movies just fine. You can also clone your screen onto your TV if you would like (whatever you see on your phone you also see on your TV).
2) Yes it does, although it might not be functional at launch until they put out a software fix (I tend to believe it will be fixed by launch though).
3) No it doesn't appear so, but you can connect a bluetooth mouse and keyboard just fine.
4) Apparently Moto said in February at CES, but latest is March.

It will be sold at Verizon stores for sure, and maybe other retailers. Unknown as of now.

 

[Walter E Kurtz]

Wow thanks for the quick reply! Any idea of price? I mean dual core 1ghz gotta' be more than iPad @ $500 right?

Also, what is the outlook for Android games?? Isn't HComb supposed to bring a host of new features specifically for games? Does anyone have previews or know any developers?

And must a data plan be purchased with the Xoom? Can't I just buy the damn tablet?

 

[Auzo]

Price is really up in the air right now. I can only guess what it will be. I would guess $600 ish.

Gaming for Android is going to explode this year. Starting with Gingerbread Google added a lot of elements specifically for game developers. But the best thing that could have happened to Android is frankly Nvidia. They have an amazing developers relation team that gives them an edge. With Tegra 2 being the reference chip for Honeycomb they will be working full force with the deveopers for android gaming. Look into Tegra Zone for a taste of whats to come:
Tegra Zone
http://tegradeveloper.nvidia.com/tegra/

 

[Walter E Kurtz]

Do you think any of the "Playstation phone" games will be available? Also, does Xoom have Flash?

 

[Auzo]

The way that Sony works I would guess not. Yes the Xoom has flash.

Also I would wager that you can buy it straight out off contract without a data plan if you like. The Ipad bundle deal they have is month to month as needed which gives me hope that it will be the same for the Xoom.

From Verizon:
4. Will customers have to sign a service agreement to purchase the iPad and MiFi promotional bundle?

Customers will need to sign a service agreement for the 3G Plans with the MiFi device, but the plans will be available on a month-to-month basis without any termination fee.
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/Equipment/ipad_mifi_bundle.html

 

[Walter E Kurtz]

What do they mean by "Upgradable to 4g"? Does that mean you buy it with 3g then they magically upgrade to 4g?

 

[Auzo]

Not exactly. When it first comes out the Xoom will only support 3G. Then sometime between March and June they will make available a hardware update that will make the Xoom work with 4g. It is still unknown how they will go about implementing it or if it will cost anything. I'm sure we will find out more soon.

To be a bit more clear, you will have to take your Xoom into Verizon where they will either give you a new upgraded Xoom, take your Xoom to the back and upgrade the hardware, or take the Xoom send it in to Moto for the upgrade and you are without it for a bit.

 

[Walter E Kurtz]

Yeah seems about right. But their 4g service is ready... Bah whatever. I'm concerned that I won't be able to get this beast without a data plan. I don't really need it as I usually have Wifi around me.

 

[tntdroid]

From what I read if you want to upgrade to 4g you would send the xoom to someone like moto to upgrade.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[hkklife]

My guess for Xoom pricing will be as follows:

-Release date at the very end of Q1

-$599 unsubsidized price, month to month no commitment data plan (same as Galaxy Tab)

-Wi-fi version will be only for markets outside of North America. VZW knows the early adopters will b**ch and moan but still will pay the $100 "penalty" to get the first real Android tablet. A wi-fi version sold at Amazon, BB, Staples etc would absolutely wipe out most of VZW's sales and they simply will not permit Moto to offer such a device.

-Initial 3G Xooms will straight up be swapped out for a 4G version and the 4G model will gradually make its way into the channel.

--The $499 wi-fi iPad will continue to dominate the tablet market.

I stand firm in my assertion that all of the good Honeycomb tablets will be tied to a carrier in some capacity, at least through most of 2011 in the US market. Besides, Moto doesn't offer much other than BT headsets and docks/chargers as far as end-user sales, so a tablet would be a big ticket CE item and kinda outside their comfort zone anyway.


Ideally,we'd see a wi-fi "Nexus Tablet" at the $500 pricepoint powered purely by Google, much like the Nexus S.

 

[DrWu]

Besides, Moto doesn't offer much other than BT headsets and docks/chargers as far as end-user sales, so a tablet would be a big ticket CE item and kinda outside their comfort zone anyway..

orly?

Motorola phones and accessories - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA

 

[original00]

I hope you're wrong but I have a sad feeling this is how verizon and other carriers will handle this. I thought it was a bad trend that the lg and moto tablets were both tied to carriers with no mention of a wifi version. Why can't these people learn from the ipad? Why do you release all these phones that have wifi hotspots and tout that as a great feature but believe that I really want to be saddled with another data on a tablet? How is that not crazy???

If samsung would have priced their tabs competitively with a wifi version for $349/399 off contract for the holidays (especially knowing that HC tabs were coming) they would have sold tons.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

orly?

Motorola phones and accessories - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA

A lot of their phones redirect you to the respective carriers website to purchase them. I think he was saying Motorola doesn't offer much outside of accessories that you can buy directly from them.

 

[hkklife]

Thanks, Chris. That's exactly what I meant. You generally do not go into a big-box store and buy something Moto-branded that's along the lines of a notebook, a tablet, a TV etc.

Just thinking of the last time I walked through a Fry's or BB, you don't see much from Moto other than walkie-talkies, BT headsets, some chargers/docks, and some BT headphones.

Entering into the world of selling $600 wi-fi tablets outside of the tightly-controlled environment of carrier-endorsed/supported/subsidized handsets would basically be a new venture for them. I think Moto values their ties (ownership?) with VZW/AT&T etc too much to risk upsetting them by flaunting a wi-fi Xoom, at least within its first 6-8 months on the market.

I remain worried that wi-fi only Android tablets will continue to be the domain of 2nd or 3rd tier manufacturers like Archos, Viewsonic, Coby, Sylvania, Velocity Micro etc. Or they'll stay vaporware like the Adam! Just look at all of the uncertainty around the Android tablets from Asus, Acer etc.

 

[tangomonky]

Just look at all of the uncertainty around the Android tablets from Asus, Acer etc.

What uncertainty? Asus ones sound pretty solid with very specific release dates at this point.

 

[hkklife]

"Uncertainty" relating to around whether or not they would ship with Froyo or Honeycomb.

No doubt these tablets are coming--it's just when they are coming, if they will be delayed due to waiting on Honeycomb and what version of the OS they will be running. The last point then brings into question if these tablets will have full Android Market support or if Asus will have to create their own market ala Archos etc.

At this stage of the game, I'm afraid that no matter how impressive Honeycomb is, Google & their hardware partners will have lost far too much marketshare (not to mention mindshare) to the iPad/iPad 2 juggernaut. That said, I'll still be there in line to snag a Xoom on release day

 

[dsignori]

...

At this stage of the game, I'm afraid that no matter how impressive Honeycomb is, Google & their hardware partners will have lost far too much marketshare (not to mention mindshare) to the iPad/iPad 2 juggernaut. ..

I doubt that to be true. The iPad has a lead for sure, no questioning that. It won't last though. Assuming Honeycomb is a good/great tablet OS, the number of devices using it will explode, just as have Smartphones using Android.

Remember the iPhone had this tremendous lead as well, and at this point all the numbers have Android at or above iOS marketshare, ad impressions, etc, etc, with all predictions leading to Android becoming the dominant world smart phone OS by a year or 2.

iOS is a great OS for a large part of the population, but having it on only a few devices really cements the fact that Android will pass it by on Tablets, just as it is doing now on Smartphones, IMO..

They have to price it right though ...

 

[Maikai.Guy]

Remember the iPhone had this tremendous lead as well, and at this point all the numbers have Android at or above iOS marketshare, ad impressions, etc, etc, with all predictions leading to Android becoming the dominant world smart phone OS by a year or 2.

Android has taken the number two spot behind Blackberry as of this month.

All the buzz back last Spring, when the HTC phones (Incredible and EVO) were being released, was that Android could be the number two platform "within a year or two" and all the Apple/iPhone minions were saying "No way!"

Well, 8 months later, Android is the number two platform and Apple is so worried that they were forced to sign on to Verizon... under Verizon's terms, not Apple's. Make no mistake, Apple had to do this. There was no choice for them. The market not only spoke to them, it screamed.

Imagine a world in which Apple wasn't so greedy and had delivered the iPhone to multiple carriers at first release. We wouldn't be here. Apple would be the slam-dunk dominant player... no contest. There would be no traction for Android.

Apple tried to avoid the same mistake with the iPad by offering it through multiple carriers, but the horse already left the barn. It's iOS versus Android now and Android will be "the platform".

A lot of people will stay Apple-loyal, because they don't know any better and/or think owning something Apple makes them unique or a free thinker in some way (Kudos to Apple marketing for that!).

 

[E_man]

For the person saying the iPad has an indominable market share, it was not so long ago that android phones had the same relationship with the iPhone, and tablets have a head start on the phones in the sense that manufacturers are already jumping on with things like the XOOM and the Asus tablets, and all sorts of others.

As for the iPhone having dominated if all carriers had signed to iPhone, tell that to the countries that have no problem selling android phones while having the iPhone on all or most carriers.