A couple of announcements out of Verizon’s camp just popped into our inbox, making some previously rumored devices official. Both Motorola DROID XYBOARD tablets are now official in 10″ and 8.2″ sizes. The white DROID RAZR that we first reported on a few weeks back is as well. All three devices will be made available later this month, although no specific dates were given, we have seen some potential dates as of last Friday.

The DROID XYBOARD tablets will run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, have 1.2GHz dual-core processors, 1GB of RAM, 5MP rear cameras, 1.3MP front cameras, and Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). Both will see an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) in the near future. Motorola’s MotoCast software is also included to give you access to your PC files from anywhere.

Pricing is as we reported back in November:  10″ model – $529 (16GB), $629 (32GB), and $729 (64GB), 8.2″ model – $429 (16GB) and $529 (32GB). Those are on-contract prices; full retail were not mentioned.

The white DROID RAZR is exactly the same as the grey and black RAZR, but has a white edge around it. You can find pictures of it after the break along with two more XYBOARD shots. 

A year ago today, Verizon started the initial deployment of their 4G LTE network across the U.S. Over night, they had turned on 39 markets, giving over 110 million Americans access to lighting fast download speeds that no other carrier could offer. It marked the beginning to their ultimate goal of covering the entire U.S. by the end of 2013. On December 15, Verizon will offer 4G LTE service to 190 markets and more than 200 million people. Quite the feat in just one year’s time, I’d say.

Enough of that though – we noticed a couple of interesting bullet points under an “LTE Facts” section in the press release that accompanied this LTE news. The first is a bullet that reads “Two hot new Xyboard DROID tablets from Motorola coming out this month.” Why is that interesting? Well, neither Verizon nor Motorola have announced these two devices or made them official on any level here in the States. Sure, we saw the CNET folks get their hands on them for a couple of minutes, but the rest of the world has no clue they even exist. OK, that’s not fair – you all know they exist because we saw official accessories arrive for them in stores last week, along with a potential release date of December 12.

The second bullet that caught our eye was the one mentioning “One anxiously awaited GALAXY Nexus smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, from Samsung, coming soon.” It’s not a release date or anything, but you can tell that Verizon is starting to understand the importance of this phone. Calling it an “anxiously awaited” phone gives off the impression that your voice is being heard. Here’s to hoping that this has finally been signed off on and will be in all of our hands by the end of the week.

Press release after the break.  

We have been shying away from “rumored” release dates over the last couple of weeks unless we have photo evidence, but today, we are making an exception. The newest targeted release date list has been made available to our friends at Verizon and we couldn’t help but share. To my knowledge, these could be final.

• Galaxy Nexus – December 9
• DROID 4 – December 22
• DROID RAZR in White – Mid-December
• DROID XYBoard (both models) – December 12

The 9th for the G-Nex sounds odd I know, but the date came up today from two sources that have been spot on in the past. If it’s here on the 8th though, so be it.

We should also point out that stores are picking their SME (subject matter expert) for the Galaxy Nexus. This is essentially the designated rep in the store that will get the device a few days prior to launch to become the expert on it. It usually takes about a week for this to happen, which would put us right about the 9th.

Ahhh, hypebeast.

Cheers ___ and ___!

With DROID XYBoard accessories already making their way to Verizon outlets, then it only makes sense that we start seeing its smaller 8.2″ twin brother pop through the FCC.  From the information that has been released by Motorola, the Media Edition is exactly what you will find with the larger XYBoard but in a more portable and condensed package.  The tablet will have both front and back cameras, 1GB of RAM, and a beastly 1.2GHz dual-core processor.  According to these new FCC diagrams, on-board is Verizon’s 4G LTE which will now make this tablet even more desirable for people looking to have a smaller tablet with 4G LTE speeds anywhere they go.

Via: Engadget

Will the DROID XYBoard (silly name and all) arrive next week at Verizon stores? The most recent MAP list we have suggests so, but also the fact that accessories are now arriving. It makes sense that Moto and Big Red would look to pump out both 8.2″ and 10″ versions before X-mas, especially with the Transformer Prime not landing in the states until the 19th. Anything to get a jump on what should be the hottest non-Kindle Fire Android tablet on the market.

It will be interesting to see if Moto’s second round in the tablet game can be more successful than their first. Both tablets will come equipped with 4G LTE out of the gate, unlike their predecessor who had to wait 7 months before being upgraded. Pricing is another question that will have to be answered, however, we have seen a potential list. The 8.2″ XYBoard will more than likely come in 16GB and 32GB models priced at $429 and $529 on 2-year contract. The bigger 10″ version will have 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models available for $529, $629, and $729 on contract.  

Hey look, the DROID 4! Wonder where we have seen that before? Ahh yes – here (first pictures), here, here and accessories here. It’s a fine lookin’ DROID-branded phone, that will be the first in the franchise to rock out with a physical keyboard and 4G LTE. CNET seems to have had some hands-on time with it in the last couple of days, however, they could not offer any details as far as a launch goes. Actually, they aren’t really mentioning it anywhere aside from the gallery that was included with their DROID XYBoard post.

And speaking of the XYBoard – if you weren’t buying into our report last night that the name is official, maybe the picture below will help confirm it. On the demo unit that was fondled publicly, Moto placed a sticker that reads “XYBoard 10.” If that doesn’t confirm it, then I don’t know what will.  

Verizon is prepping two new 4G LTE tablets for the month of December, an 8-inch and 10.1-inch device both to succeed the Motorola Xoom. CNET recently received some hands-on time with both devices and have confirmed that they will be marketed as the DROID XyBoard. However, both will be known as the Motorola Xoom 2 overseas.

As we have previously seen, both tablets share the same design cues as the DROID RAZR. Rather than the typical rounded edges of other tablets, the XyBoard features oddly sharp corners.

Both devices have a 1.2GHZ dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity and run Android 3.x Honeycomb. Each device also has a 5-megapixel rear-camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing one. The XyBoard is thinner than the original Xoom and features Cornings Gorilla Glass. The 10-inch Xyboard includes a stylus for business orientated users, while the smaller device is considered more media-centric with a 2.1 virtual surround sound system – subwoofer included.

There has been no official word on pricing, however we previously reported that models will start at $429. It is disappointing to see that these two flagship tablets are running last years dual-core technology and operating systems, where is the quad-core and Ice Cream Sandwich?

Via: CNET

In the latest MAP (minimum advertised price) list from Verizon, we get a first look at official on-contract pricing for the new XOOM 2 models that could be in stores during the second week of December. Both the 8″ and 10″ models ranging from 16GB to 64GB are featured at prices starting at $429. The biggest of them all is the 64GB XOOM 2 10″ that will drop in at a whoppin’ $729. Pricing matches up to the current scheme for the 4G LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1, in case you were wondering how we came to the conclusion that these weren’t off-contract.

You will notice that the tablet is being referred to as the “Motorola Tablet” which is a pretty good sign that some last minute changes to the name have occurred and they won’t be going with XOOM 2 here in the states. We are now officially worried that DROID XYBOARD has made the final cut.

And below is the mention we just received concerning the release of the Galaxy Nexus. It looks like 11/28 was indeed one of the original targets, but regions are no longer expecting it to land that day. Over the last few days we have seen evidence that December 8 is the new target, so are we assuming that the 28th is completely out of the picture too?