Andre Yoskowitz
3 Aug 2010 18:43
Motorola and Verizon will soon unveil a new tablet with a FiOS digital pay-TV service included, trying a new method to differentiate itself from the growing number of tablets expected to hit shelves this year.
The 10-inch device will run Android 2.x and can launch as early as "this autumn."
Motorola is a long-time partner of Verizon, creating TV set-top boxes for the FiOS service.
Market leader Apple has sold over 3 million iPad tablets since launch in early April, but HP, RIM, Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo and LG have all promised tablets by the end of the year, running either BlackBerry, WebOS, Windows 7 or Android operating systems.
None of those devices, however, has promised TV integration.
Verizon has 25 percent share of the U.S. TV market, and 29 percent of the broadband market.
Taking another shot directly at the iPad, the upcoming Motorola tablet will also support Adobe Flash, the standard used by over 85 percent of videos on the Web but blocked by Apple.