Motorola, Verizon TV tablet rumors abound

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iPad, BlackPad, PalmPad, Cisco pad – the tablet craze shows no signs of letting up any time soon, and with popular handset maker Motorola Inc. joining the fray with its own offering, the space looks likely to heat up even further over the coming months.
According to the Financial Times, Motorola’s tablet – like all of its smart phones – will use Google Inc.’s Android software, but will be geared at TV-watching consumers.
Sporting a 10-inch screen, the tablet is rumored to run Verizon Communications Inc.’s FiOS digital pay-television service, which, without wanting to state the obvious, would likely mean it will be launching on Verizon Wireless’ network. Verizon Communications owns 25% of the U.S. television market and a 29% share of broadband customers. And seeing as Motorola already made some FiOS set-top boxes, a tablet is not such a stretch.
The television angle will also be a key differentiator for Motorola against its competitors, which are either more focused on apps, enterprise or Internet.
The FT says Apple’s attempts to woo TV programmers to sell their wares cheap (or cheap-ish) on the iPad failed, whereas Motorola’s attempt could well succeed by leveraging FiOS.
Motorola’s rumored tablet, due out in fall, is also said to support Adobe Flash – something Apple’s offerings do not – and be both thinner and lighter than the iPad.
The rumor mill is also buzzing about the tablet sporting two cameras – one front facing and one in the rear – and having hub capability, meaning it can share its data connection with other devices.
Of course, none of the companies involved would comment on “rumors and speculation.”