Motorola Planning 7-Inch Tablet, Webtop Expansion

Echoing the announcement made at a 2010 Credit Suisse conference, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha confirmed that his company has a 7-inch tablet in the works.

Jha made the announcement at the Morgan Stanley Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco. His comments come less than a week after the release of its Xoom tablet, sales for which Jha said have started well. A smaller tablet would be a part of a tiered tablet strategy and wouldn't replace the Xoom. Jha said that Motorola would release other tablets before the end of 2011.

At 7-inches, Motorola's future tablet would enter into a field populated by offerings from multiple competitors. RIM's Blackberry Playbook, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, the HTC Flyer, and the Dell Streak 7 all populate the 7-inch tablet market.

Jha also announced that future Motorola devices would sport the Webtop application currently available in its Atrix smartphone. Webtop allows smartphones like the Atrix, when placed in special dock accessories, to mimic the look and feel of a desktop computer. Jha said that all of Motorola's high-end phones, with the exception of the DROID Bionic, would feature the Webtop software.

Reception to Motorola's current dock peripheral has been mixed. While many reviewers applauded the docking functionality and Webtop software, the $500 price tag attached to the dock has not enjoyed the same level of enthusiasm.

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