Motorola is developing an Android-based tablet optimized for watching TV on Verizon’s high-speed FiOS pay TV service.
The device will have a 10-inch screen and could be launched as early as this autumn, FT.com reported, citing sources who had been briefed on the plans.
Apple’s iPad has reignited interest in the tablet format, with shipments of over three million units since its launch in April opening up a new segment for hardware vendors and mobile operators.
Motorola also makes the TV set-top boxes for FiOS, appears to be taking the tablet PC in a new direction by tying it to Verizon’s pay TV service.
Sanjay Jha, chief executive of Motorola’s mobile devices business, said in May Motorola was weighing its tablet options, with Google’s Android the most likely OS.
“We’re very focused on participating in this convergence between mobility and home, and I actually think you will see some products from us in a very short period of time,” FT reported him saying.