motorola xoom

motorola xoom:took the wraps off its new Honeycomb-based tablet, the Xoom, yesterday afternoon at its press conference. Just a few hours later, we had the handsome slate in our greedy paws. When the Xoom lands later this year, it will be pushing the just-announced Android 3.0, which is designed specifically for tablets, with a dual core 1Ghz processor and 1GB of RAM. (And all that power is needed to push pixels to the gorgeous 10.1-inch, 1280×800 screen.) When it launches sometime in the first quarter, it’ll be packing 3G and Wi-Fi radios, but come second quarter you’ll be able to send it in for a fancy 4G upgrade for use on Verizon’s LTE network.

Motorola was primarily showing off demo videos on the unit that let us get a look at the new Honeycomb user interface — which is quite stunning — but the final touches are still being put on the software. (The company was understandably not eager to show off the rough edges by running the actual apps.) That didn’t stop us from poking around a bit while the PR person’s back was turned. Basically the only things functioning were the gallery and the app drawer, but opening both and swiping around the home screens was smooth as could be. The device is also deliciously thin and airy. The Xoom is just a smidgen lighter than the iPad, and easily just as svelte. The screen was gorgeous — easily our favorite on a tablet we’ve seen so far at CES — and the soft-touch plastic back felt great in our hands. The Xoom is clearly descended from the Droid X side of the family, rather than the Cliq’s. Check out the gallery below for a sneak peek at our favorite tablet of CES. At least, so far.