Xoom

Let's see, it's 5:00 and the cable guy was supposed to show up at 1:00. And, oh yeah, where's my Android update?

I hear Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) is great. I've been hearing how great ICS is since October (when it was released).

Which is about the same time I got my Motorola Xyboard (aka, Xoom 2) -- with Honeycomb. You know, Android 3.0, the old version of Android.

Think about it. Motorola announced a brand-new tablet design just as ICS was coming out but saddled it with Honeycomb.

So, I'… Read more

Online retailer giant Amazon is quickly becoming a device heavyweight.

Amazon's Kindle Fire grabbed a 54.5 percent share in February, almost doubling its share in the past two months and "already establishing itself as the leading Android tablet by a wide margin," according to ComScore (see chart below).

ComScore said its methodology "measures unique devices accessing the Web during the time period noted, including home, enterprise and secondary devices across all age groups."

Samsung's Galaxy Tab was a distant runner-up with a 15.4 percent share in February, followed by the Motorola Xoom … Read more

New reports hitting the Iinternet today indicate that Verizon is ready to serve up Android 4.0 updates to a pair of their products. According to details passed to Droid Life, both the Motorola Xoom and HTC Rezound should see Ice Cream Sandwich over the next two to three weeks. … Read more

Hulu Plus, the subscription video service chasing Netflix, said today the service is now available on seven Android tablets.

Hulu is the company backed by NBC Universal, News Corp., and Disney that is trying to become as ubiquitous on popular hardware devices as Netflix, the top player in providing premium Web video.

Hulu said that the Android-equipped tablets that now support Hulu Plus are Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola Xoom, Motorola XYBoard 10.1, Toshiba Thrive, Acer Iconia, and LG G-Slate.

The company said that it also rolled out "the new Hulu Plus app on Android, … Read more

Apple unveiled a new iPad today, resetting the goal line again even as competitors scramble to catch up in the burgeoning market for tablets.

The new iPad--not the "iPad HD" or "iPad 3" as previously rumored--offers a higher-resolution Retina Display similar to that of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. It offers a resolution of 2,048x1,536--or 3.1 million pixels. It also features an updated processor--which the company boasted was four times as fast as the nearest competition--as well as a 4G connection.

Apple also cut the price of two models of the iPad 2 in an effort to stay competitive with lower-priced options.

The new iPad debuts at a time when rivals have flooded the market with competing tablets--with varying levels of success. A year ago, Apple had essentially lapped most of the competition when it launched the second iteration of its iPad, allowing it to dominate the market.

A year later, and it's a different scene.

… Read more

The Motorola Xyboard got a much-needed update, improving the experience substantially for me.

Last week, I wrote how Motorola's 10.1-inch tablet (aka, Xoom 2) was driving me up a wall. In short, the stock browser--where I spend most of my time--was sluggish when refreshing pages, and simple tasks, like inputting text into a search box, could be glacial (among other issues).

After speaking with Motorola about this on Monday, they told me that an update was imminent. In fact, it had already arrived. Within an hour after hanging up, I had updated the Xyboard to Android 3.2.… Read more

Comparing Apple's iPad 2 with Motorola's XyBoard and Amazon's Kindle Fire is fraught with peril. But here goes anyway.

Let me preface my review by saying that a few overzealous readers (I'm being charitable with that description) almost invariably call the writer (me) an idiot for not being as savvy and/or perceptive as they claim to be. That's par for the course. But let's get a few things straight here.

First, this isn't an official review. Like the kind you would find at CNET Reviews. Second, I don't favor one manufacturer … Read more

Ice Cream Sandwich is finally providing some flavor to Motorola Xoom tablets.

A Motorola representative confirmed to CNET today that the company has deployed the Ice Cream Sandwich update, aka Android 4.0, to a small number of Xoom users for testing. The company has promised to confirm additional details when the upgrade is more broadly available, added the rep.

Motorola initially seems to have teased the update, without specifically mentioning ICS, in the following e-mail sent to select Xoom owners yesterday, according to tech blogging site AndroidCentral:

Comcast has just launched a new, free service for subscribers who want to watch live TV on their iPads.

Dubbed AnyPlay, the service is currently available only to customers in Nashville and Denver and only for iPad users. But Comcast is promising to add more markets in the coming months and kick in support for the Motorola Xoom.

Latching onto the Xfinity TV app for the iPad, AnyPlay will let Comcast subscribers to both its TV and Internet services watch any channel or program already available through their regular TV lineup. The service will also allow a customer to watch … Read more