The tablet wars are heating up in Australia with Telstra confirming this morning that it will sell the Motorola Xoom on its NextG network from next month.
The news comes as the other main iPad rival, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v, goes on sale through Vodafone this week.
It's unclear if Apple feels troubled by the coming surge of Android rivals but in a sign that it is worried, Apple has filed a patent infringement suit against Samsung, claiming the Galaxy Tab infringes on iPad patents and that the Galaxy S is too similar to the iPhone.
Apple accused Samsung of "blatant copying" of its devices and said in the suit that rather than developing its own technology, "Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and innovative style".
Both the Galaxy Tab 10.1v and the Xoom run Android version 3.0, which was designed specifically for tablets. The Xoom features a 1GHz dual-core processor, 32GB of storage space, 1GB of memory, a 10.1-inch display and front- and rear-facing cameras.
One shortcoming critics have pointed out with the Xoom is that it is heavier than its rivals. The Xoom weighs 730 grams and is 13mm thick, whereas the Galaxy Tab 10.1v weighs 599g and is 10.9mm thin and the iPad 2 weighs 613g and is 8.8mm thick.
Telstra has yet to reveal the price of the Xoom, which will be a critical factor in its success as the iPad 2 starts at $579 and is a tough rival to beat thanks to the depth and range of tablet-optimised apps on its app store (65,000+).
"Motorola Xoom arrives at a time when Australians are embracing both mobile tablets and devices powered by Android in record numbers," said Telstra's executive director of mobility products, Warwick Bray.
Foad Fadaghi, telecommunications analyst at Australian firm Telsyte, said he believed the Xoom signified an increase in competition in the tablet market in Australia but it would face difficulties challenging the iPad's dominance.
He said that while the Xoom had some superior features to competing tabslets, he believed I would be "mostly competing against other Androids rather than seriously impacting iPad's market share".
"There is still some question marks around the stability of Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, however, it is an improvement on the smartphone versions typically used on older Android tablets," said Fadaghi.
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