Motorolla XOOM GPS Navigation Capabilities

Motorola’s revolutionary XOOM media tablet recently took the crown of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the form of the official sponsor Cnet’s Best of Show award. Features which delivered this award, and many others, include Google’s new Android 3.0 operation system designed specifically for media tablets, dual core processor (2 x 1 GHz) and 10.1 inch widescreen HD (720p) display, 3G/Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS receiver with A-GPS support, Adobe Flash Player, front and rear facing cameras, Google Maps 5, built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting. Honeycomb’s gorgeous new interface improves on Android favourites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization and includes the latest Google Mobile innovations.

Motorola XOOM Media Tablet

The 3G/Wi-Fi XOOM is likely to be available around April 2011 and will be upgradable to lightening fast 4G LTE. The upgrade is likely to occur around July 2011 with the 3G chip being replaced by Motrola’s own 4G chip (including already purchased models). The new Motorola 4G chipset will bring a new contender to the GPS enabled mobile device market. The higher download speeds of 4G should noticeably improve the speed with which GPS satellites are locked in from a cold start through the use of A-GPS to acquire satellite location data from mobile broadband servers.

While the current 3G/GPS chipset has not been identified by Motorola, it’s believed to be sourced from Qualcomm – a Gobi-enabled MDM chipset with GPS receiver onboard.

Introducing Motorola XOOM Video

Introduction to Google Maps 5 with 3D Maps and Compass Mode Video

Having a magnetometer for an electronic compass, the Motorola XOOM is ideally suited to take advantage of Google’s latest Google Maps 5.0 release which adds 3D maps, compass mode and offline caching (no Internet connection required). Maps can now be explored in 3D renderings which include 3D representations of buildings and are automatically aligned (rotated) using the inbuilt compass. Offline caching allows turn-by-turn navigation to continue even when an Internet connection is lost. Google Maps 5.0 proactively caches (stores locally on your tablet) large map areas based on where you spend the most time. Google Maps 5.0 is a free download for Android equipped mobile devices with full features available for Android 2.0 or above.

As mentioned earlier, the Motorola XOOM comes with a build-in barometer which is a feature usually seen only on high end, handheld, outdoor navigation devices. As well as giving a more accurate height, a barometer can warn of incoming storms and perhaps sometime in the future be used to provide more extensive baromter readings for weather forecasters to develop their weather models.

In total, the Motorola XOOM won eight CES 2011 awards including the coveted CNET “Best of Show” award and a string of other awards from IGN, Laptop Magazine, Maximum PC, Mobile PC, Mobile Magazine, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. This media tablet promises to be a runaway commercial success for Motorola.

Read a full review of the Motorola XOOM at our Media Tablet Tek website.