While we’re all wondering when will the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer be available for purchase, Maxis has confirmed that the HTC Flyer will be available from them starting May 27.

Earlier Maxis made a joint announcement with HTC to announce the HTC Flyer. At the event, availability was set at May 12 but apparently due to stock issues, the availability date of the flyer had to be delayed.

What is still unclear and is still intriguing to us is the RM199 deal for the HTC Flyer that Maxis says it will be offering. Maxis COO, Jean Pascal Van Overbeke said that the offer is not a gimmick and its something worth looking forward to.

Come May 27, we will all know if this is indeed true. Stay tuned.

Big thanks to commenter Jason for the tip!

[source]

	Android, HTC, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Players on the Field
	Android, Android Tablet, HTC, HTC Flyer, HTC Flyer launch, HTC Flyer launch Malaysia, HTC Flyer Malaysia, HTC Flyer Malaysia price, HTC Flyer Maxis, HTC Flyer price Malaysia, HTC Tablet, Jean Pascal Van Overbeke, launch, Maxis, Maxis Android Tablet, Scribe, Scribe Technology, Tablet

Acer Malaysia has announced via Facebook that the Acer Iconia Tab A500 is launching today. The Iconia Tab A500 is a Android Tablet which runs on the latest Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system.

Specification wise, this 10″ tablet is no slouch with its 1GHz Tegra 2 Dual Core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. If you need more space, you can expand via microSD up to 32GB. It spots a 10.1″ display with resolution of 1280×800 and comes with a 5MP camera with assisted flash at the back and a front facing 2MP camera.

Connectivity wise, it comes with all the bells and whistles you would expect such as micro USB, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and HDMI output with dual display support. It is 13.3mm thick and weights about 765 grams. As comparison, the Motorola Xoom is 13mm thick with 730 grams weight. The full technical specifications can be downloaded here.

The main highlight of the Iconia Tab A500 isn’t just about the hardware or the form factor. With the latest tablet OS and dual-core processor, the Acer Iconia Tab A500 is priced at an astonishing RM1599 outright. Although Acer launch event is today, we’re told that it is already available on retail this week including SenHeng which even offers a 36 months installment plan of RM44.42 a month.

This is serious value for money especially when it is priced the same as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and about RM500 cheaper than the Motorola Xoom. Even when compared to the iPad 2, it is RM200 cheaper than its 32GB WiFi equivalent. We haven’t seen the device yet but hopefully we can get a hands-on to find out its build quality.

Special thanks to Ian and Ken for giving us a heads up in the comments!

Head after the break for the commercial video.

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	Acer, Android, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS
	Acer, Acer Iconia Tab A500, Acer Iconia Tab A500 Malaysia, Acer Malaysia, Android, Android Tablet, Honeycomb

Update: Courts Mammoth is also selling the Xoom for RM2,099. RM400 cheaper than Maxis RRP.

Want to get the Motorola Xoom RM400 cheaper? You best try authorised dealers instead of operators.

Like this one for example.

IMCC is selling the Motorola Xoom for RM2,099, RM400 cheaper that the RRP that Maxis puts out for the device. With the money save, you can get a MiFi device to go with your WiFi Xoom. Settle!

The IMCC website looks a little bit suspect though but they claim that there are an “authorised dealer” of some sort.

You can check IMCC out here. You’ll notice that almost every device they sell is at least RM100 cheaper than most places. Interesting…

[via]

	Mobile Devices, Motorola
	Android, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, google, Honeycomb, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia, Xoom

Maxis has released their latest tablet service plans for the Motorola Xoom and the Dell Streak 5, and here are our observations on what they have to offer.

Motorola Xoom.
There’s not much of a service plan for the Motorola Xoom from Maxis. The Maxis Motorola Xoom plan is in actual fact a “get one free Motorola Defy” promo where you purchase the Xoom for RM2,499 from Maxis and then signup for a 3GB data plan with your choice of Maxis Value Plus plan to get the free Defy.

There is no option to purchase the Xoom with any other Maxis service plan.

Retailing for RM2,499 outright, you can’t deny that the WiFi only, 32GB Motorola Xoom is overpriced. Against it’s closest competitor, the WiFi 32GB iPad 2, priced at RM1,799, the Xoom is RM700 more expensive. In fact, for RM2,499, you can get the “top-of-the-line” 64GB 3G+WiFi iPad 2.

We’re not saying that the Xoom is not a capable tablet but it is really that awesome to command such a high price premium over its closest rival? We don’t think so.

With regards to the service plan, we’d rather Maxis offer just data plan with a MiFi device. If they can do it with the WiFi iPad why can’t Maxis do the same for the Xoom? It makes more sense and we’d gladly carry a MiFi — that is lighter, smaller and would probably have a better battery life — over an additional phone which we won’t be using to make calls on anyway.

So the Maxis Motorola Xoom service plan is lacking any appeal for us.

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	Dell, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Motorola, Players on the Field
	Android, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, Dell, Dell Streak, Dell Streak 5, Dell Streak 5 Malaysia, Dell Streak 5 Maxis, google, Honeycomb, Maxis, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Defy, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Maxis, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia, Xoom

Update: Take a closer look at the camera specs stated in the image above. Maxis got it the other way around. Fellow techie Amanz pointed it out.

As a follow up to the April announcement, Maxis has started sending out email reminders to those who’ve signed up for the Motorola Xoom ROI announcing that the device will be available at any Maxis Centres from tomorrow (May 6).

Not much new information has been revealed. The retail selling price for the Xoom will be RM2,499 and customers who subscribe to a 24-months 3GB Maxis data plan will get a Motorola Defy worth RM1,599 for free.

Assuming that you don’t offset the cost of the device with the price of the free Motorola Defy, the RM2,499 Xoom is on the steep side considering that a similarly specced WiFi Xoom retails for US$599 — which is equivalent to about RM1,800 at today’s exchange rates. That is a difference of almost RM700 or about 28% on top of the US price. Also consider that for the same RM2,499 you could get the top of the line 64GB 3G+WiFi iPad 2. This makes the Xoom a bit of a tough sell in our opinion.

The Motorola Xoom is the first tablet in Malaysia to run on Google’s Honeycomb tablet OS and comes in 3G+WiFi or WiFi only versions. Maxis is bringing the WiFi only version at the moment.

As we’ve noted during the earlier announcement, we’d rather Maxis bundle the Xoom with a MiFi rather than a mobile phone as it is more practical considering that connecting the Xoom to the internet with the Defy functioning as portable hotspot will be an issue for the phone’s battery life.

No other details are available at this point in time but we’ll keep you posted if we find anything news.

Thanks @Blaze_edge for calling this in.

	Maxis, Mobile Devices, Motorola, Players on the Field
	Android, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, google, Honeycomb, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Defy, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Maxis, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia

Maxis has announced today the anticipated Android Honeycomb tablet, the Motorola Xoom will be made available from 6th May onwards. We will be getting the WiFi only version as the 3G version is mentioned to be not available outside the US at the moment.

So how do you get connected you might ask? Maxis is offering a bundle of the Motorola Xoom together with the robust Motorola Defy for a combo price of RM2499. The connectivity for the Xoom is supposedly to come from the Motorola Defy through its portable hotspot feature as mentioned via twitter. Although this is workable, having hotspot enabled would be taxing on the smart phone’s battery and isn’t a recommended solution long term. It would be better if you could connect with a proper WiFi router while the Defy’s hotspot feature is used only when it is absolutely necessary. If we can have it our way, we would prefer the Xoom to be paired together with a MiFi device.

There’s no full details on the bundling plans yet but all should be revealed next Friday. To register your interest, head to Maxis Tablet page here.

	Android, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Motorola, Players on the Field
	Android, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, google, Honeycomb, launch, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Defy, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Maxis, Motorola Xoom Maxis launch, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia

It looks like the Motorola Xoom will indeed be launched “just before” the iPad 2.

We’ve just receive a media invitation to the launch of the Motorola Xoom happening on April 28 which serves as confirmation that the tablet will be launched just a day before the iPad 2 in Malaysia.

The Motorola Xoom will be the first tablet in the country to run Android’s tablet only Honeycomb OS. With a 10.1-inch screen, 32GB of on board storage, a 5MP rear camera and a 2MP forward-facing camera, 1GB of RAM with a 1GHz dual-core processor, the Xoom is the iPad 2′s closest competitor and the most competent.

But the next-gen specs on the Motorola Xoom come with a hefty asking price — USD$799 for the 3G version and USD$599 for the WiFi version. For Malaysia, it is almost a certainty that we will be getting the WiFi only version.

The launch partner for the Motorola Xoom is none other than Maxis and it will be interesting to see what sort of plans the telco will introduce considering that the Malaysia-bound Xooms are WiFi only devices which don’t really need a telco plan.

This development is bound to make quite a number of iPad 2 would be buyers think twice and adopt a wait and see approach. If the price is right we’re pretty sure that there will be a few that’s going to forgo the iPad 2 and go for the Xoom instead.

What do you think?

	Maxis, Mobile Devices, Motorola, Players on the Field
	Android, Android 2.4, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, google, Honeycomb, launch, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Maxis, Motorola Xoom Maxis launch, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia

Immediately after we posted the iPad 2 Malaysia launch story, a very reliable source has revealed to us that Maxis is planning to launch the Motorola Xoom “just before” the rumoured iPad 2 Malaysia launch date. Earlier last week Maxis opened its registration of interest for the Motorola Xoom.

While the source declined to elaborate what “just before” means exactly it is fairly safe to assume that both tablets will not be launched on the same day. At the very least, the Xoom will make its Malaysia debut a day before the iPad 2 which means April 28 is looking like a very likely date.

At the same time, by revealing this piece of information, the source is indirectly adding credence to the April 29 iPad 2 Malaysia launch rumour.

So, are we looking at the launch of two very exciting tablets next week? Very likely it seems.

	Android, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Motorola
	Android, Android 2.4, Android 3.0, Android Tablet, google, Honeycomb, launch, Maxis Motorola Xoom, MotoPad, Motorola, Motorola Tablet, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia, Motorola Xoom Malaysia launch, Motorola Xoom Malaysia price, Motorola Xoom Maxis, Motorola Xoom Maxis launch, Motorola Xoom Price, Motorola Xoom price Malaysia

HTC is a prolific device manufacturer, that is a fact. Yes, all the HTC devices out there probably all look the same but there’s no denying that there are probably more HTC smartphones in the market then any other manufacturer right now.

But it’s not all quantity with the Taiwan-based manufacturer. Being chosen by Google to built the first Nexus phone, HTC is prominent when it comes to building quality devices too.

So we’ve established that HTC is a pro when it comes to making devices, and when it comes to Android devices, one can argue that HTC makes some of the best of them. But so far it’s been phones, phones and more phones from HTC.

2011 is the year of the tablet. For the first time we will see tablets coming in from more manufacturers than ever before. Aside from the usual suspects, tablet devices will come from HP, Acer, RIM and many others.

While others have been quick to jump on the Android tablet bandwagon, HTC have been taking their own sweet time. So why has HTC taken this long to put out a tablet? Was it to make sure that they have a winner in their hands? Is the HTC Flyer a real contender in the tablet wars? How does it stack up against the iPad 2? Is the stylus and HTC Scribe just a gimmick or does it really bring innovation to offer users an enhancement that they can really appreciate?

Head on over to after the jump to find the answers to these questions and more. This is our first impressions of the HTC Flyer.

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	Android, HTC, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Players on the Field, Video
	Android, Android Tablet, HTC, HTC Flyer, HTC Flyer launch, HTC Flyer launch Malaysia, HTC Flyer Malaysia, HTC Flyer Maxis, HTC Flyer review, HTC Flyer review Malaysia, HTC Tablet, launch, Maxis, Maxis Android Tablet, Scribe, Scribe Technology, Tablet

At the HTC Flyer launch, Maxis revealed that it will offer the RM2,499 RRP device for a ridiculously low RM199 with contract. That is a whopping RM2,399 off the list price or a very generous 90% discount.

Naturally, we posted this right away and immediately the comments and tweets came flooding in. Some said we made a typo, some said Maxis made a typo, others claim that Maxis will offering a high monthly fee to compensate for the low price.

So to settle this once and for all We asked Maxis Chief Operation Officer, Jean Pascal Van Overbeke, what is the catch behind this to-good-to-be-true deal. Was the RM199 price announcement a misprint, did he mention the wrong number during his speech? What about the monthly commitment? Will it be ridiculously high?

Jean Pascal’s answer was frank and straight to the point. “The package will be competitive and interesting, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. We don’t want to have it (the HTC Flyer) stuck you know, we want to sell it.”

He promised to reveal all the details on May 12. Very well, we’ll keep in touch then. To register your interest, head over to Maxis Android Tablet page.

	HTC, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Players on the Field, Video
	Android, Android Tablet, HTC, HTC Flyer, HTC Flyer launch, HTC Flyer launch Malaysia, HTC Flyer Malaysia, HTC Flyer Malaysia price, HTC Flyer Maxis, HTC Flyer price Malaysia, HTC Tablet, Jean Pascal Van Overbeke, launch, Maxis, Maxis Android Tablet, Scribe, Scribe Technology, Tablet