Motorola Xoom gets Flash Player 10.2 update ahead of its UK launch

The Motorola Xoom is one of the tablets being tipped to take a bite out of the iPad 2 this year, taking on Apple's device with its Android 3.0 Honeycomb software and beefy specs. News that it didn't run Flash when it launched in the US was worrying, but Motorola says it's now pushing out an update that includes that feature.

The news came in a tweet from the official Motorola account. "Motorola Xoom update rolling out in phases starting tonight & includes required enhancements to support upcoming Adobe Flash Player 10.2," explained the tweet.

It's good news for Brits who are itching to get the Xoom when it goes on sale here. We don't know if the new software update will be preloaded on the UK version of Moto's tablet, but it should at least be downloadable once the device is up and running. The news also presumably means Flash will be available on other upcoming Android tablets in the UK.

Flash is one of the main differences between the new wave of Android tablets and Apple's iPad and iPad 2. How big a deal is it? We'll find out once those Android rivals go on sale, although apps such as Skyfire and iSwifter on the iPad are reducing the gap by making certain kinds of Flash Web content -- videos and games -- accessible on Apple's devices.

News of the Xoom's lack of Flash came first in an online flyer from Verizon Wireless in the US, which said "Adobe Flash expected spring 2011". Adobe then promised that Flash Player 10.2 would be available "within a few weeks" of the debut of Android 3.0, and has seemingly delivered on that promise.

The Xoom is expected to go on sale in the UK in the first week of April, with PC World selling the Wi-Fi only version for £500. Besides Android 3.0 and Flash, it has a 10.1-inch screen, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front-cam, a built-in HDMI port and a slot for SD cards.