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Motorola has denied it’s planning to kill the Xoom, as tablet manufacturers react to the launch of the Apple iPad 2. But, despite dismissing claims that the Android-powered tablet will no longer be produced by June, Motorola may be planning a new-look Xoom.
The electronics-industry wonks at DigiTimes initially claimed that Motorola would scale back production of the Xoom as soon as April, and stop it entirely in June. If that were true, it would probably be to make way for a new tablet, challenging the iPad 2.
The iPad leads the tablet market, and not just because Apple is perceived as a desirable brand. Apple’s enjoyed a huge head start over the competition, with even the most feature-packed Android tablets still playing catch-up with the original iPad. The Xoom, for example, has barely hit shop shelves and already it’s been trumped by the iPad 2. And, just yesterday, Samsung appeared to sideline the Galaxy Tab 10.1 before it’s even come out, making way for a thinner, iPad 2-challenging tablet with the same name.
Motorola contacted Boy Genius Report to debunk the report, stating that it will continue to make the Xoom. But it’s unclear whether that means the Xoom will continue in its current form, or there’ll be a Xoom Mini, Xoom 2.0 or Xoom Whatever. If the continued success of the iPad is any indicator, consumers don’t necessarily want featured-packed behemoths, so it makes sense for Motorola to split the Xoom brand into different shapes and sizes.
The Xoom was the first tablet to pack Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which now powers a range of other Android tablets, including the LG Optimus Pad and Galaxy Tab 10.1. Honeycomb is a new version of the Android operating system, designed specifically to take advantage of a tablet’s large screen.
Should Motorola release multiple Xooms, as Samsung has with the Galaxy Tab, or should it stick with one flagship product, as Apple has? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Facebook wall.
