Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
Motorola to tie up with Verizon for TV tablet
By siliconindia
|
Wednesday, 04 August 2010, 21:34 IST
New York: In an effort to be a strong competitor to Apple's popular iPad, Motorola is developing a digital tablet device that will allow users to watch television on it. The device will operate on Google's Android software and will have a 10-inch screen. It is expected to hit the U.S. market as early as this autumn, reports Kenneth Li and Paul Taylor from Financial Times.
The sources revealed that it was expected to tie closely to Verizon's FiOS digital pay-television service. The tablet market is seen as the next battle ground in the mobile devices war that already has the prominent players like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Research in Motion in action. The Motorola tablet's integration with TV is a key competitive advantage against rival developers.
By working with Verizon Wireless, which owns a 25 percent share of the U.S. television market where it operates and a 29 percent share of broadband customers, Motorola will not be seen as upsetting the lucrative business of pay TV. Like a flood of tablets set to hit the market, Motorola's device aims to address other perceived weaknesses of the iPad.
Chief executive of Motorola's mobile devices business, Sanjay Jha said back in May that the company was exploring tablet options using Google's Android smartphone software. "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.
The new device will support Adobe Flash, the software that underpins some 90 percent of web videos. Motorola's device is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPad and to let users share its wireless data connection with nearby devices. It will be built with two cameras, one for taking photos and the other facing the user for video conferencing. Motorola, Google and Verizon declined to comment on the new developments.
