Motorola’s Droid may soon have a plus-sized cousin.
Motorola is looking at developing a new tablet-style product that could run Google’s Android operating system, a company exec recently revealed. Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha was answering questions at a conference when the topic came up.
Motorola Android Tablet Talk
The conference, an investor-driven event in New York City, took place on Thursday. After spending some time talking about Motorola’s focus on Android — “nearly all” of Motorola’s energy is being spent on Android these days, Jha divulged — the conversation shifted to Motorola’s plans for mobile devices outside of the smartphone arena.
“I think that a companion 7- to 10-inch device in a home will become very important, [both] as an augmentation to your TV experience [and] also as a way of walking around the house and streaming TV to that device,” Jha said. “I think we’re very focused in participating in this convergence that’s coming between mobility and home, and I think you will actually see some products from us in a very short period of time.”
Jha went on to say he could easily see such a device running the Android operating system.
Motorola’s Other Droid Developments
The Motorola Android tablet talk comes alongside reports that the company has two new high-end Droid phones in the works. According to a story published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Verizon Wireless is planning to debut the Android smartphones sometime in July. The paper says Motorola struck a deal with Verizon to make sure the devices would be “heavily promoted.”
Could one of those devices be the oft-discussed “Motorola Shadow” — you know, the phone found in a gym earlier this week? It certainly seems plausible. (I even read a rumor that Verizon was planning a massive ad campaign to compare that leak to the now-infamous iPhone-at-a-bar debacle, though I’m not sure I trust the source.)
Either way, it appears the next phase of the Android invasion is about to shift into high gear. Hang onto your hats, kiddos — it oughta be an interesting summer.
JR Raphael frequently covers mobile technology for both PCWorld and eSarcasm, his geek-humor getaway. He’s on Facebook: facebook.com/The.JR.Raphael