Motorola will be showing off its mystery tablet product at CES 2011, according to a teaser video released by the company on Sunday.
It is the first really enticing move from Motorola since co-CEO Sanjay Jha announced the company's intention to make a tablet back in September.
The video, embedded below, goes through a series of tablets from history and lays out one positive aspect and one negative. While much of the content in the video is simply humor, there are a couple of important bits thrown in there to get the public interested.
The most significant part of the teaser is when it mentions the Samsung Galaxy Tab and says "Android OS, but Android OS...for a phone." The camera then sweeps over to a silk-draped platform with Motorola's logo on it, and a bee then begins to buzz around the screen.
This could be a reference to the next Android version reportedly codenamed "Honeycomb." The rumors since last July have guessed that version of Google's mobile OS is being designed specifically for tablet devices. However, there is no assurance that Honeycomb is even the name of the next version of Android, let alone that it will be peculiar to tablets.
The latest version of Android, 2.3, also known as "Gingerbread") adds support for extra large tablet-size screens, so even though it is not a tablet-specific OS, it offers support for larger screens, at the least.
Another rumor has said that Motorola and Verizon are working on a 10" tablet destined for Verizon's FiOS network. The logic behind that rumor is that Motorola makes set top boxes for Verizon's FiOS service, and the tablet could serve as a related in-home communication tool. Unfortunately this rumor is based on an unsound premise, since Verizon and Verizon Wireless are not the same company. Verizon Communications is a U.S. based telecommunications company, and Verizon Wireless is actually an international joint venture with Verizon Communications and Vodafone.
Betanews will be at CES 2011 and will spend time with Motorola to find out more about its upcoming tablet.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
