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Motorola has just announced the Motorola XOOM Family Edition. This isn’t really much more than the original XOOM, internally – it still has a 10.1 inch display, a dual-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, a 5 megapixel 720p HD camera and more.
The “family” part alludes to kid-friendly apps and games as well as security features that will help parents keep their children out of stuff they shouldn’t be in. And it all comes to market Sunday, October 16th for $380 – that’s a decent price for the tablet alone (although we’re pretty sure we’re close to the next generation of the XOOM). Read on for full press details.
Motorola Mobility and Best Buy Announce Motorola XOOM™ Family Edition – For Kids of All Ages
Special edition tablet exclusively for Best Buy customers is built to last and loaded with fun to bring the family together again
Oct. 14, 2011
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Oct. 14, 2011 – Grab the popcorn, hit the lights and cuddle up on the couch with the new Motorola XOOM™ Family Edition, the HD tablet built for your entire family. Available exclusively through Best Buy starting October 16, the Android™ 3.1-powered Motorola XOOM Family Edition will entertain everyone in the house with TV shows, thousands of movies, and fun, educational games for kids of all ages. And with the award-winning Zoodles™ application, parents can rest easy knowing their kids are safe from inappropriate content. It’s an affordable way to bring everyone together into the twenty-first century.
“Nowadays, everyone from mom, dad to the youngest child use the same tablet device. We set out to design a device that’s kid and family-friendly yet versatile enough to handle your business needs,” said Jim Hamilton, corporate vice president, global retail & distribution, Motorola Mobility. “The Motorola XOOM Family Edition offers a world of games, shows and video tools and because it’s from Motorola, you know it’s durable and will last for years to come.”
“Tablets continue to generate excitement and we are thrilled to be able to offer the Motorola XOOM Family Edition to Best Buy customers,” said Scott Wallace, senior director of tablet merchandising at Best Buy. “We think these devices are great for kids and families, and offer something for everyone. At Best Buy, we’ve long stood for choice and are delighted that the new XOOM Family Edition will be part of our selection.”
Motorola XOOM Family Edition comes pre-loaded with almost $40 worth of applications and also features the award-winning Kid Zone™ by Zoodles™ that locks the home button and allows your kids to only access the content you deem acceptable, like educational games and movies. It also sports MotoPack by Motorola, which makes it simple to find and download apps that help you do more-and have more fun-with your tablet. MotoPack by Motorola showcases a selection of high-quality, popular apps that have all been fully tested on Motorola tablets to ensure an exceptional experience. Simply select the apps you want and download them directly from Android Market™. New apps and special promotions will be featured in the MotoPack by Motorola on an ongoing basis, so be sure to check back regularly.
And after the kids fall asleep, Motorola XOOM Family Edition lets you get back to work with email access, document editing capabilities with Quickoffice® Pro HD, and Web surfing that looks just like a PC, with tabbed browsing and Adobe® Flash® Player. Then access more than 250,000 other apps, as well as new cloud services from Google Mobile™ Services, Amazon and more.
Featuring a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display and battery life that lasts through a day of road tripping or a marathon game night, everyone will get a kick out of the entertainment possibilities with the Motorola XOOM Family Edition. Watch videos on YouTube and access millions of books while you hunt down the perfect bedtime story through Android Market™. With 16GB of on-board storage, everyone in the family will have space to store their favorite songs, photos and movies – even Grandma.
With a 5-megapixel rear camera and front-facing webcam, the entire family can video chat with aunts and uncles across the country. Remember the ancient days of camcorders and VHS tapes? Well those days are long-gone when you use Motorola XOOM Family Edition to record family videos and share them in a snap. Forget uploading to a PC-play your videos back on the tablet, view them on your flat-screen TV with HDMI® or post your masterpieces straight to YouTube™, Picasa™, Facebook® and more.
Want the details? Here’s a list of the facts:
Runs on Android 3.1, built specifically for tablets
1GHz dual-core processor for lightning-fast responsiveness
10.1″ HS IPS HD screen display with capacitive multi-touch
5MP back camera with flash, with 720p video webcam
Preloaded with almost $40 worth of applications, plus Zoodles™, the award-winning Kid Mode application
Preloaded with MotoPack by Motorola XOOM (App Downloader by Motorola)
·Preloaded with Quickoffice™ Pro HD for seamless productivity at work
Preloaded with MotoPrint – the application that allows you to print straight from the Web browser
Preloaded with fun games like Asphalt 6 from Gameloft and SIM City Deluxe
16GB built-in memory
Battery lasts up to 10 hours for video playback and Web browsing
Access to more than 250,000 apps in Android Market™Availability and Pricing
Motorola XOOM Family Edition will be available exclusively at all Best Buy stores nationwide and online at BestBuy.com for a limited time value price of $379 starting Oct. 16.
Best Buy is advancing the growth of the tablet and e-reader category by combining an expansive selection with a shopping experience that allows customers to easily try and compare devices. The retailer is committed to delivering superior value and convenience by presenting a full line of accessories with each device, along with exclusive advantages such as tablet selection and connections support from specially trained Best Buy Blue Shirts, financing options, Reward Zone points, and tablet trade-in and Buy Back programs. For more information about these programs and tablets at Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com or www.bestbuy.com/tablets.
Decent price because it’s 16 GB and not 32 GB. And it is outdated. And pointless
What he said.
just ignore it… And don’t say him that additional 32GB card costs $35 (48GB total)
Well true, but stick in a 32gb card in the Micro SD slot and you have a 48Gb tablet. Buy a few extra micro SD cards and you have all the storage I would think most would need. Having a Xoom myself, I see the screen as it’s biggest fault not storage, thickness, ports or processor.
Motorola is undoubtedly trying to get rid of these original Xoom’s as they have likely stopped production on them some time ago and the new Xoom(s) will be announced soon. Expect even bigger discounts, they know it’s going to be hard to even give one away soon.
It’s amazing to think a Device that sold for $800 at the end of Feb will likely be only worth around $150 by the same time next year.
I get what you are saying, but the difference in 16gb and 32gb internal memory is a big thing. Even the iphone has $100 difference between their two models.
When it comes to price, it was expected to drop dramatically. It was the first of its kind (Honeycomb) and being a first in technology always comes with an inflated price tag. It’s the price you pay to have the latest and greatest.
At $150 I’d likely buy one ;)
Speaking of a “family” edition, I really wish Google would implement some kind of profile system… It makes it a lot more family-friendly as a “coffee-table device” if my daughter/wife can pick it up and have all the settings (email, contacts, calendar, etc, etc) scoped to their own profile… hopefully it’s in the queue…
I agree. I have been thinking the same thing. Not only would each person be able to access their own information, the admin profile could also set up appropriate parental restrictions for other profiles without worry of the children being able to circumvent them (This would be useful on phones as well.).
I was just thinking of another cool idea to compliment a profile system. It would be pretty handy if a tablet had a fingerprint reader like the one on the Atrix. When you swipe your finger to unlock it, the reader could identify what profile the print is associated with and automatically switch to it. Then people wouldn’t have to worry about making sure they are in the right profile or worry about somebody else getting access to their accounts or ordering things with their credit card information. The device would just know who you are.
Aye, that would be cool with the fingerprint reader… but now that’s got me thinking about some supposed ICS headtracking/facial recognition… If good enough, that could circumvent the need for a fingerprint scanner :)
So true! I forgot abut that. That would be even better.
I just want sim city from the damn thing.