The downward momentum of tablet prices is great for consumers. Today, Motorola announced a new version of its Xoom tablet. The Xoom Family Edition is essentially the same tablet as the original Xoom, but it has a new shell, built-in kids apps, parental locking features, and a lower price tag of $380. Oh, and it’s only available at Best Buy.
Motorola isn’t showing the rear of the tablet, but the side has a shinier, more rounded look than the original Xoom. From our best estimation, it is now more plastic than metal. We’re hoping the company moved the power button as well, which sat strangely on the back of the tablet. It appears that the volume key has been moved too. But the specs remain the same. The tablet runs on Android 3.1, and has a 10.1-inch screen, 1GHz dual-core processor, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 16GB of internal storage, and a battery life that lasts “up to 10 hours,” though we’d be extremely surprised if it passes 6-8 hours.
As for the family features, the Xoom comes preloaded with “almost $40 worth of applications” including Kid Zone by Zoodles, which locks the home button and only allows kids to access content parents deem acceptable. Motorola is also including MotoPack, which is a selection of “high-quality, popular apps that have all been fully tested on Motorola tablets to ensure an exceptional experience.” No specific apps are named.
While we don’t have specifics, we can say that the original Xoom continues to be a solid tablet, if a bit bulky and heavy. Hopefully the new model is a bit lighter.
