Motorola Xoom provided the highlight of Verizon's keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 6. The Android 3.0 tablet impressed the crowd with its 3D capabilities and refreshed Google applications.
Cutting-edge capabilities from Motorola's Xoom tablet computer captivated
the audience's attention during the opening keynote provided by Xoom carrier
Verizon at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, Jan. 6.
Verizon CEO and chairman Ivan Seidenberg and Verizon president and COO
Lowell McAdam discussed the challenges in bringing voice and video to mobile
devices and home-entertainment systems all over the country.
The audience listened politely to the barrage of statistics and milestones
the No. 1 wireless carrier has reached en route to bringing its 4G LTE network
to fruition last month.
The happening perked up when Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha joined the
executives on stage to show off
Xoom, the Android 3.0 tablet coming from Motorola and partner
Verizon Wireless in February.
The device-powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor promising greater
speed than the existing iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab-will be 4G capable.
The Xoom's new custom widgets, notifications and 3D Google Maps went on
display yesterday, courtesy of a Google video posted to YouTube, and at Motorola's
official press event.
After a brief teaser for the Motorola Droid Bionic smartphone (dual-core,
2GHZ total power, 4.3-inch screen), coming on Verizon's 4G LTE network in the
second quarter, Jha invited Android Product Manager Mike Cleron to provide a
deeper dive.
Cleron showed off several applications and features of the Xoom, whetting
the appetites of consumers who might be mulling whether to buy an iPad or
Android tablet later this year.
For his demo, Cleron showed the various 3D capabilities on the 10.1-inch
display, where information surfaces and disappears based on users' gestures. He
also demo'd the customizable widgets he created for Gmail, YouTube, Google
Calendar and his Web browser.
Cleron then showed off the Google eBookstore and his photo gallery, both of
which have 3D-panning capability. Adding a new widget was as simple as tapping
a plus sign at the top of the screen. Cleron then added a new Google eBooks
widget.
"I have everything at my fingertips and I haven't even launched any
applications yet," Cleron explained. "This shows what you can do with
an operating system that was designed from the ground up to support multitasking."
The new Gmail app provides quick access to all labels on the left-hand side,
with icons for actions across the top. Google Maps for Android 5.0 drew oohs
and ahs from the audience; when Cleron zoomed in and tilted the Xoom, the
buildings on the map raised up in 3D.
Google Talk worked well, too, and Cleron used it to call Android design director
Matias Duarte to chat.
Jha, Cleron and Android weren't the only highlights of the Verizon keynote.
Seidenberg also invited Time Warner CEO and chairman Jeff Bewkes out to
discuss the company's TV Everywhere plan to bring television programming to any
device any time.
While this could one day be an exciting proposition
for the Android tablets, it was clear the Xoom, not talk about content, was the
top draw.
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