Motorola Xoom To Hit US Stores Mid February

Motorola’s answer to the iPad, the Android 3.0 Honeycomb running Xoom tablet is to be launched from Best Buy stores in North America from 17 February.

Engadget, which said the device will ship with 32GB of onboard storage, scored the scoop via an internal Best Buy document posted here.

The news comes after Android Central reported the minimum price for the Xoom from Verizon Wireless would be $799 (£501), likely without a contract.

Pricier Than Galaxy Tab

That’s $300 (£188) more than Verizon’s $499 (£313) price point for the unsubsidised Samsung Galaxy Tab. Verizon began selling the Tab, equipped with the older Android 2.2 build, for $599 (£375) last year.

Powered by the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and sporting a 10.1-inch screen, the Xoom has the freshest Android build, which is optimised for tablets. The tablet supports several 3D capabilities, such as the Google Maps 5.0 application for Android.

Google Android developer Mike Cleron showed off these capabilities during Verizon’s keynote at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show 6 January to some applause.

The front-facing, 2-megapixel camera enables video chats over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G LTE, while the back-facing camera is 5MP and captures video in 720p HD.

Verizon will initially support the Xoom, which is also Wi-Fi-equipped, with its 3G network.