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XyBoard tablets to launch Friday at Verizon stores

Verizon will launch Motorola's latest tablets tomorrow, according to stores in the Los Angeles area.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Verizon XyBoard tablets will come in 8.2-inch and 10.1-inch sizes.
Verizon XyBoard tablets will come in 8.2-inch and 10.1-inch sizes. Roger Cheng

XyBoard tablets will launch at Verizon stores on Friday, as Verizon takes another shot at selling Motorola tablets--now sleeker and faster.

Stores contacted in suburban and downtown Los Angeles Thursday night said "live units" will be available for the first time Friday and units should be available for purchase.

Update: A Verizon spokesman said today that the tablets would be in "all stores by Monday, Dec. 12." But he added that some stores have them and are selling them on Friday. Three stores randomly contacted by CNET in Los Angeles have Xyboards on display and available for purchase. Same for stores randomly contacted in Ardmore, PA and North Dartmouth, MA.

The tablets are a fairly radical redesign. The 10.1-incher is iPad 2-thin (about 9mm) and has squared-off corners. While the 8.2-inch design is a first for Motorola.

Xyboard salient specs:

  • Display: both sizes have In-Plane Switching (IPS) displays.
  • 4G: 4G LTE out of the box.
  • Hotspot: Share 4G LTE connection with up to eight Wi-Fi devices.
  • Processor: Faster dual-core Texas Instruments' processor with improved graphics.
  • Display: 5-megapixel rear-facing HD cameras with zoom and LED flash.
  • Remote: tablets double as a universal remote for TVs, Blu-ray players, DVRs.
  • OS: Android 3.2 Honeycomb

The smaller, 8.2-inch model comes with two capacity options, 16GB for $429.99 and 32GB for $529.99. The 10.1-inch version is available in three storage sizes, 16GB ($529.99), 32GB ($629.99), and 64GB ($729.99).

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Verizon could not be reached for comment.

Updated on December 9 at 10:40 a.m. PST: