Android Phone Tips And Tutorial

The Xoom, the first device to run Google’s Android Honeycomb OS for tablets, works on Verizon’s 3G network and became available on Thursday. When Motorola announced the tablet last month, it said users would be able to upgrade it for use on Verizon's 4G LTE network. The Xoom costs US$600 with a two-year Verizon data contract, or $800 without. 

Previous tablets have used older versions of Android that were designed primarily for smartphones. One of the things we first noticed when we got the Motorola Xoom into the PCMag labs was that the 4G LTE radio, which would let the Xoom connect to the super-fast Verizon LTE network, was missing. Essentially, here's how the (purely optional) upgrade process is going to work.

approximately 90 days after the Xoom ships (which would be about May 26 or so), Motorola will tell all Xoom owners that the 4G LTE upgrade is ready. Then, all these Xoom owners will put their device in a box and mail it back to Motorola. Motorola will upgrade the hardware and the software on the device so that it can support 4G LTE. 

Verizon's leaked page makes no mention of an in-store option for upgrading. "Until [the] Defendants' adoption of the Xoom brand without authorization from Xoom, Xoom to its knowledge was the only entity using the name or mark for online product offerings." 

According to the lawsuit, the use of XOOM will obviously cause confusion among those who are familiar with Xoom Corp. and its products. Xoom Corp. claims that it registered the xoom.com domain back in 2003, and then registered the Xoom trademark on December 14, 2004. The lawsuit even states that Motorola purchased the Xoom keyword for online searches, causing even more confusion for those looking for Xoom Corp. products and services.