Motorola, Samsung, LG others look to knock out iPad

With the Samsung Galaxy Tab posting modest consumer success but ultimately failing to blunt the iPad’s glittering appeal, it now falls to the Motorola Xoom to step into the ring as the tablet world’s next great white hope.

And today has seen the American handset manufacturer officially preparing its corner after it boldly announced that the much talked about Xoom will be coming out swinging when the bell rings on February 24. Emerging from January’s Consumer Electronics Show as winner of CNET’s coveted ‘Best in Show’ award, the Xoom will be the first mobile device powered by version 3.0 of Google’s Android operating system (a.k.a. Honeycomb).

Verizon Wireless will also be the first U.S. telecoms carrier to offer the tablet, pricing it at $599.99 USD alongside a two-year service contract, or $799.99 USD as a contract-free option.

In terms of core specifications, the Xoom will be looking to lure prospective buyers with its 10.1-inch HD display, 1GHz dual-processor, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, rear-facing 5.0 mega-pixel camera, front-facing 2.0 mega-pixel camera (for video chat), and 720p HD video capture.

According to Verizon, the Xoom will also support its high-speed 4G LTE network “at no additional charge” before the close of 2011’s second quarter.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) was held in Barcelona last week, and besides the usual fancy phones on display, an abundance of shiny new Android tablets were unveiled at the event as well. And now that the tablet-specific Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS is in the wild, we can finally get excited about these devices.

HTC Flyer, the diminutive yet distinctive tablet with a 7-inch device is a package that's about the same size as Samsung's Galaxy tab, the Taiwan-based manufacturer has packed in a 1.5 GHz processor (single-core), 32 GB of internal storage, and a 1024×600 pixel display.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, who has been the main iPad competitor on the market, decided that it would start this year bigger and better. Seemingly not satisfied with just seven inches, Samsung raised a few eyebrows at MWC by revealing a 10.1-inch version of its tablet, which matches the screen size of Apple's iPad. It will run Honeycomb on a 1GHz dual-core processor, with the option of either 16 or 32GB of internal storage, and boasts a 1280×800 display.

LG Optimus Pad was in prime position to steal the show in Barcelona with a viral Transformers robot-themed teaser-ad leading up to the launch. With an 8.9-inch display, LG's tablet may have hit that Goldilocks size that's just about right. It will also run Honeycomb on top of a dual-core processor, and comes with 32GB of storage and a 1280×768 display.