Verizon is planning to offer a new iPad-like tablet from Motorola with a 10-inch screen to let FiOS TV customers wirelessly watch TV, the Financial Times reported.
The device could be available “as early as this autumn in the US,” the paper reported. The Moto tablet will run Google’s Android smartphone operating system and support Adobe Flash — which Apple’s iPad doesn’t (see The Latest iMagic Act).
The FT noted that Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility — which merges mobile devices and the Home group — has already told Wall Street the company is developing an Android-based tablet. “We’re very focused on participating in this convergence between mobility and home, and I actually think you will see some products from us in a very short period of time,” he said at a Barclays Capital investor conference in May.
Motorola, obviously, is hoping to duplicate Apple’s magical marketing mojo: Apple sold an impressive 3.27 million iPads in its fiscal quarter ended June 26, after debuting the gadget on April 3.
Compared with the iPad, the Motorola tablet is expected to be “thinner and lighter” and it will be able to share a wireless data connection with nearby devices, according to the FT. In addition, the device will include two cameras, one for taking photos and the other for videoconferencing, the paper reported.
Motorola and Verizon declined to comment on the FT article.
