Mobile phone maker Motorola went official during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, with its plans to have the Motorola XOOM tablet PC available for purchase in various European markets via select retailers.

According to the company, the device should be released in the not too far future in the UK via The Carphone Warehouse, Best Buy and Dixons Retail Plc. (Currys and PC World), and would arrive at Deutsche Telekom A.G. in selected markets.

Motorola XOOM was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early 2011 as the first tablet PC that Motorola would bring to shelves.

The device runs under Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS flavor, which was designed specifically for tablets.

In the UK, The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy will put on sale the 3G/Wi-Fi flavor of the Motorola XOOM, while Currys and PC World should sell the Wi-Fi-only version of the device, in Q2 2011.

According to the handset vendor, Deutsche Telekom A.G. will launch Motorola XOOM in selected markets, but no specific info was unveiled at the moment.

“We’re excited to be bringing a device as powerful as Motorola XOOM to leading carriers and partners in the U.K.,” said Andrew Morley, vice president of marketing for Motorola Mobility, international markets.

“Today’s announcement is testament to how well Motorola XOOM has been received by consumers and carriers alike.”

Motorola XOOM sports a 10-inch HD display with 1280x800 resolution, 5-megapixel camera for 720p video capture and 2MP front-facing camera, gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer, GPS receiver (Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction), Adobe Flash Player, and more.

“2011 will be the year of the tablet. Demand for tablets has already been greater than expected and the next 12 months will see them being adopted by more and more people as new products are unveiled,” said Graham Stapleton, chief commercial officer at The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy.

“The Motorola XOOM sets the bar incredibly high – its functionality and ground-breaking features mean it offers one of the richest user experiences I’ve ever seen.”