Optus stakes a claim on Motorola Xoom tablet

Telstra to also sell Android tablet

The Motorola Xoom tablet will be available in Australia from Telstra and Optus.

The Motorola Xoom tablet will be available in Australia from Telstra and Optus.

Tablet fans who don’t want to sign up with Telstra when the Motorola Xoom tablet comes to Australia in May have another choice of provider if they are prepared to wait another month.

Telstra announced that it would begin selling the tablet from 24 May onwards, either for $840 outright or by signing up to a monthly plan that includes a data package for mobile Internet browsing.

Telecommunications rival Optus confirmed that it is also planning to sell the Xoom; however, a spokesperson for the company said it would not expect shipments of the device until late June.

“Pricing will be announced closer to the time and we will have some compelling customer offers,” she said.

"The reason for the delay is due to commercial negotiations. Not all carriers launch handsets/tablets at the same time."

The Xoom tablet runs on version 3.0 of Android’s operating system, Honeycomb, which is the first version of Android to be designed for use with tablets; previous versions were optimised for the smaller screens of smartphones.

Optus sells a number of other Motorola devices including the Defy smartphone, which was launched in March 2011, and the Motoblur range of Android-powered “social” smartphones which were launched into the Australian market on 9 April.

The Motorola Dext and Backflip are available for free on $49 and $59 per month (24 months) Optus plans.

Follow Techworld Australia on Twitter: @techworldau

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Tags tabletsTelstraoptusGoogle Androidtablet PCsmotorola xoomAndroid 3.0 Honeycomb

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