According to Nikesh Arora, Google’s chief business officer, the executive was looking for a new and very exciting challenge.

It is a mystery what Woodside is supposed to do for the integration. Basic organizational as well as infrastructure changes are expected, such as establishing what divisions at Motorola and Google report to each other and also providing them with similar IT systems.

Recent details point to substantial work ahead. Initially, Google said that it would keep Motorola at hand and would focus on patents, but has however come to appreciate Motorola for its hardware as well. Some leaks have hinted that Google might emulate an iPhone model and would have a phone completely integrated, with every hardware and software aspect designed by Google, more than on the Nexus S, which is a reference phone.

However, both devices might miss this year entirely. They are said to have bugs that determine crashes and frequent reboots. In the case they do not appear this year, it is possible to see them shipping with Android 4.0 (Ice cream Sandwich) instead.

Motorola is supposed to equip the two tablets with dual-core 1.2GHz processors and also faster RAM. A higher-quality IPS panel, improved color richness and wider viewing angles could accompany at least the Media Edition. The Xoom 2 would be a direct sequel while the Media Edition would be a crossover able to compete with the Amazon Kindle and Nook Color as high-end devices.

According to early benchmarks, these results were not expected, as the Xoom was slower in Quadrant than in 3.0.1, possible due to a lack of optimization.

Earlier mentioned USB support is currently known to work with the mouse, similarly to the trackpad working on the Eee Pad Transformer. Mice that have scroll wheels should be able to use them. It is also possible to resize widgets in more cases than only in Gmail, for example the bookmark widget.

What is still disappointing is the Movies application, which amounts to a management application kicking users to Android Market as soon as they want to rent and either download or stream. Support for microSD card still is not in place, although three months have passed since the Xoom is in stores.

Other Android tablets are expected to get the 3.1 version within a couple of weeks.

Xoom’s shipment figures have never been discussed publicly by Motorola, which might quantify them only with the occasion of its next quarterly results.

Although concrete data is not at hand, these figures are still reflecting a certain lukewarm adoption while supported by Google’s Android numbers, with the 3.0 version at 0.2 percent, much under the 2.5 percent users of a Nexus One or Nexus S with Android 2.3.

Low adoption of the Xoom is partly related to its limited launch. The release on the 24th of February was limited to the 3G edition for Verizon, with the minimum asking price put at $800. Wi-Fi models only appeared in late March, while international releases are just beginning and are represented by launches for Canada. Other countries will follow soon. Compared to the Xoom, Apple shipped its iPad 2 to 25 countries only two weeks after the US launch. Price starts at $500 in the case of the Wi-Fi version, while the 3G model is priced at $630.

Officially, Motorola has turned down Windows Phone but also claimed it would not want to make its own operating system without a full ecosystem. Considering its recent acquisitions, a web-focused operating system is possible, such as web application supporter 280 North and ZumoDrive creator Zecter for the cloud storage. It is also possible that mobile security company 3LM could have a role in preserving its security.

Motorola’s strategy could be a partial blow at Android as well as a worry from the company that it could get too close to Google. Smartphones made by the company are Android-based, while the platform itself contributes to an increasing part of its sales. Any decrease in interest for Android, like that following the Verizon iPhone, could become a problem across the whole company. It is also possible that Microsoft’s lawsuit against Motorola, related to Android patents, had pushed it towards the creation of its own operating system. It would also prevent a worst situation if an eventual trade ban blocked imports of Android-based phones.

Only a few companies have their own operating system, but if they do, like Research in Motion and Apple, they have usually had more success in the phone market.

Motorola declared that Dreampark’s offering will most probably be integrated into the company’s Medios service management software suite. Motorola will make use of the Swedish company’s technology to several connected devices – home-based and portable.

A variant without 3G has been mentioned for quite some time now, but has never been given more than abstract launch targets. Its importance has been rowing in the past days, as many have compared a $800 price for the 3G Xoom at Verizon with the iPad 2. Apple’s tablet is sold under a $730 price tag, for the same 3G and 32GB of space; users can pay only $499 if they don’t care about 3G or can manage with 16GB of storage.

The earlier Sam’s Club leak had set the price at $539, making the tablet as much or more competitive than Apple’s iPad. It is yet unknown if this will include 32GB of storage (it could need to move to 16GB at such a price).

A recent leaked note from the same sources shows that Xoom sales training will start on March 23. Moreover, the same tip also had BlackBerry PlayBook training starting on March 30 (this suggests that RIM was misleading when the company gave a March date; this may not be truly ready until April).

This new deal was initially thought to focus on Android, being supported by mentions of some Moblyng games (for example, Dungeon Quest) or Android-friendly variants of Playdom web games, such as Mobsters.

Motorola’s support for HTML5 is, however, unusual, because the company has usually preferred to use Adobe’s Flash when possible. Motorola was one of the first to preload mobile Flash 10 on their Droid 2. Xoom advertisements have also focused heavily on the device’s support for Flash, even if Adobe’s plugin was not yet ready. The phone manufacturer is unlikely to drop Flash in the near future, but it is possible to diversify and use HTML5 as a complement.

Speaking about performance, it is now clear that the gap between Apple’s tablet and its competitors is virtually non-existent. RIM’s PlayBook is no more the faster tablet, since the dual-core processor used by Apple is just as fast. It is not easy to imagine how the A5 chip of the iPad 2 and the PowerVR SGX543 graphics can stack up, but the speed boost and its 1,080-pixel support makes it very competitive. Hewlett Packard claims a faster 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor on its TouchPad, but unfortunately the ship date is in summer, so that its boasting is only on paper so far.

Camera support is a more difficult element to estimate. Apple has now both back and front cameras and therefore has an edge on HP’s TouchPad with its front-only design. However, Apple did not specify what resolution either camera will have, but only said the rear camera would be a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and would shoot 720-pixel video, while the camera situated on the front side would shoot VGA. If things are like this, it would still trail the Xoom and PlayBook on sheer resolution, since both are equipped with five-megapixel back cameras, while the Xoom has a two-megapixel and the PlayBook has a three-megapixel front camera, which are more useful when using front shots. The quality of the image is still to be proved, though, as it seems the cameras of the Xoom are not as refined as the numbers indicate.

Evaluating battery life is also a difficult task, but Apple should have an edge on its competitors, thanks to the iPad’s ten hours of battery. However, Research in Motion promises to outlast the iPad 2, while the TouchPad is too distant to compare. The battery life of the Xoom is mixed, as it can last longer if only browsing the web, but is significantly hurt when playing videos.

Apple’s tablet is not the most portable of all four. The seven-inch PlayBook certainly makes it easier to carry, but the iPad is definitely the lightest for a comparable size, as the others also weigh 1.5 or 1.6 pounds but are thicker.

Ironically, Apple has to struggle harder in software. Apple’s iOS is still one of the most convenient to use and one of the most responsive. Pinch-to-zoom in the browser or a rapid flip through home screens even on the original iPad is not equaled by Android 3.0 tablets, even the fastest one, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The PlayBook is the only one that seems to run as smoothly. However, the current form of iOS 4.3 does not go as deeply. It does not have full multitasking, while this is the strong point for the PlayBook, webOS and Android 3.0. All three also have more detailed and subtler notification systems, with a special mention for Google.

When we come to application policies, it is clear that Apple has the stricter regulation on its mobile application portal and on what third-party applications can do, but neither Android 3.0 or webOS is more open.

None of that is, however, more important than price. With its 32GB of storage and comparable 3G, the iPad 2 is a hardware match for Motorola’s Xoom, but is priced $70 less. It gets even worse if 3G is not needed or 16GB of storage would be enough, as the entry iPad is only $499 and is more affordable as to belong to a totally different category.

Some of Apple’s competitors certainly have to worry. Motorola has an $800 price for its Xoom on Verizon, but now has to explain the extra cost, which will not be an easy task. The company has a Wi-Fi Xoom model in the works, but a release date is still uncertain and therefore the new device could come too late to be helpful. Both Hewlett Packard and Research in Motion have a price limit too.

Hard times are coming for RIM especially. If it does not ship with a native mail client, a price close to $499 may place it out of contention. It would not have 3G or 4G models until much later, too. It will be difficult to justify the same price as an iPad 2 without offering the same performance.

While some genuine advancements in tablets coming from Android, webOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS are really appreciated, competitors like Samsung, LG and others have lost many of their advantages. The best choice for those users who want to have a really independent device may be Android 3.0. However, the iPad 2 might simply be the best balanced device as it has good performance and features that are matched with a very convenient price.

During the presentation, Motorola’s CEO also said that Atrix 4G’s Webtop windowed interface could be out before the end of June. Jha explained that all Motorola high-end phones launched from that point will benefit from the feature. Despite it shipping weeks or even months later, the Droid Bionic for Verizon wasn’t getting the dock-only interface just because this wasn’t ready for the smartphone’s schedule.

A seven-inch tablet currently represents a gamble in the market. Samsung has had little success with the Galaxy Tab. However, the Korean company has been expanding even up to 10 inches thanks to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (the smaller model has been practically orphaned, without any sequel in sight). Smaller frames will soon have the option of an optimized tablet operating system with 3.0. So far, these have had tougher times undercutting larger Apple iPads in price.