Motorola Xoom Tablet Gets Telepresence from Polycom

The Xoom tablet will offer connectivity to Polycom's telepresence platform, allowing users to share content via video.

Motorola Mobility Holdings and unified communications specialist Polycom have teamed up to deliver Polycom high-definition personal telepresence on Motorola's Google Android-powered Xoom tablets, which will be available in the second half of 2011.

The Polycom telepresence video application on the Xoom tablets is designed to deliver improved enterprise collaboration and productivity by enabling users to connect and share content from anywhere via one-to-one or group video experiences. Features include UC Intelligent Core, which allows businesses like Motorola to extend enterprise visual communications to mobile users without additional network configuration, and connection to an estimated ecosystem of 2 million standards-based video room systems in use currently.

"Polycom telepresence provides tremendous value to our business in terms of improved collaboration and productivity between our locations," said Walter F. Oswald, corporate vice president and CIO of Motorola Mobility. "The ability to extend telepresence to mobile workers via Motorola tablets will further enhance collaboration with employees in the field and drive greater value and return on investment for our video investments overall."

The tablet runs a dual-core processor and 10.1-inch widescreen HD display, features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures HD video. Desktop accessories for the Xoom include a standard dock and speaker HD. The Xoom is currently available at Verizon Wireless as a 3G/WiFi-enabled device with a free upgrade to 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) technology for consumers in the second quarter of 2011.

"Polycom is excited to team with Motorola and leverage their innovative device to help enterprise customers expand workforce mobility and drive standards-based telepresence further into the business and mobile markets," said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, Polycom executive vice president and general manager for products and services, and chief development officer. "For Polycom, this collaboration demonstrates continued momentum into the mobile market and furthers our strategy to deliver UC everywhere and drive a network effect and increased value for customers."

Motorola faces an uphill battle against competitors like Apple's popular iPad and iPad 2 tablets. As Apple's recently released iPad 2 flew off shelves at Apple Stores, Best Buy and other retailers around the country, sales of the Xoom have been weak, according to analysts' channel checks.

Jefferies and Co. analyst Peter Misek said on March 11 that Xoom sales have been underwhelming, meaning Motorola Mobility will likely have to cut production if it already has not done so.

Despite Apple's current dominance of the tablet market, sales of Android-powered devices are likely to catch up by 2014, according to a March 4 report from RBC analyst Mike Abramsky. By 2014, Abramsky expects that more than 400 million people will own tablets, with 185 million units shipping in 2014. And while Apple may for now dominate the field-holding more than 90 percent of the worldwide market share, according to ABI Research-Abramsky projects that 40 percent of 2014's sales will be tablets running the Android OS.