> Honeycomb is the first version of Android designed for tablets and is eagerly anticipated. Motorola’s Xoom tablet will launch on Thursday as the first to run the software, but initial versions won’t come with Flash support. Verizon, which is putting the device on sale, previously said Flash would be available in “spring 2011.”
>
> The vague time reference had people fearing Flash wouldn’t be available until the end of the season, but a posting on Adobe’s blog points to a slightly earlier release.
>
> “Consumers are clearly asking for Flash support on tablet devices and the good news is that they won’t have to wait long. We are aware of over 50 tablets that will ship in 2011 supporting a full web experience (including Flash support) and Xoom users will be among the first to enjoy this benefit,” wrote Matt Rozen, on Adobe’s Flash Platform Blog.
via [macworld.com](http://www.macworld.com/article/158056/2011/02/honeycomb_flash.html)
I have to agree with [John Gruber](http://www.daringfireball.net "Daring Fireball") on this one. The most likely reason why Motorola is shipping this thing without Flash installed is that they want the reviews to reflect “pre-Flash” battery life. Just hold off on shipping Flash by a few weeks, and the reviewers will most likely mention that Flash is “coming” but fail to report on the effect Flash will have on the battery, which is bound to be pretty big. Makes perfect sense to me.
And it ranks right up there with charging for a month of 3G data if you want to use WiFi. Some pretty desperate and slimy sales tactics on Motorola’s part.
When is somebody just going to build a legitimate device to compete with the iPad, instead of having to skirt around these tech spec lists and the fine print on price?
