14 DAY TRIAL // The original XOOM didn't really catch on that much, but a perceived failure can turn into a lesson, so Motorola is trying again, one might say twice in one go.
Motorola has officially launched, in time for Christmas, two XOOM tablets, the XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition, in France.
The former has a display size of 10.1 inches, like its predecessor and most other 'common' media tablets.
The latter is a bit smaller, but not by much, measuring 8.2 inches in diagonal, so it isn't exactly an Amazon Kindle Fire competitor.
Then again, its price of 399 Euro ($548) isn't precisely on par with the $299 (217 Euro) of the 7-inch creature either.
Speaking of prices, the XOOM 2, being bigger, has a higher tag as well, the arguably expected 459 Euro (631 Euro).
Both items are powered by dual-core processors with a clock speed of 1.2 GHz, while the Android 3.2 Honeycomb OS (operating system) manages things.
Also, Motorola did not take any chances and used Corning Gorilla Glass, plus a splashguard coating, so that the newcomers may not easily be damaged.
“Tablets are quickly becoming a must-have tool for staying connected, getting work done and having fun at home and on the road,” said Nadia Cappelaere, general manager, Mobile Devices, Motorola Mobility France SAS.
“We are very excited about these two new additions to our tablet portfolio that build on the success of the original Motorola XOOM to now deliver more powerful tablet experiences to the European market.”
WiFi is present on both, along with flash storage (16/32 GB, probably) and the MotoCast 1 app, which streams music, videos, documents and photos between PC/Mac and the tablet without any other tools required.
French stores Darty, FNAC, as well as www.cdiscount.fr and www.surcouf.fr, should list them soon, if they haven't already.