> right now it’s a small island in a sea of phone titles — and the majority of those titles do not look right on a 10.1-inch screen at this resolution. Funny, I don’t remember anyone saying this last year when the iPad was released. Oh yeah, that’s because there were thousands of titles available at launch that were native. Because Apple released the SDK to developers long enough before the iPad shipped. Honeycomb is just getting to developers now.

But aside from the obvious lack of software, reviewers seem to be on the whole favorable towards the Xoom. And, as Gruber predicted, none that I’ve seen so far are mentioning the lack of Flash as something that could be helping the battery life on the review units.

And, it looks like the Android tablets will share at least one thing in common with Android phones: Every few months there will be a new one that makes the previous one look like a turd. Good way to build brand loyalty.

Prediction: few will be writing articles in defense of 7-inch tablets, now that this thing is out.

> People familiar with the company’s retail plans revealed that Apple employees on Monday were asked to sign non-disclosure forms. Those who did not sign are said to be excluded from the next employee meeting, expected to be held in the next week. Any employee of Apple Retail signs an NDA when accepting the job offer. There would be no reason for them sign any additional NDA for any special event. And no one would be blocked from a “secret meeting” for not signing their NDA. They’d be terminated. Immediately.

It’s a condition of working for most companies, not just Apple.

> 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. 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?

> Analysts Vincent Chen and Alison Chen with Taiwan-based research firm Yuanta Securities Co. issued the report, *Bloomberg* said on Monday. > > “Our checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production and it is taking time to resolve them,” said Chen. “As a number of Android 3.0 tablets are being launched in April and May, the delay in iPad 2 shipments may give the Android camp a brief window of opportunity.” > > According to the analysts, design changes made before the Chinese [Lunar New Year](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/01/25/overseas_manufacturers_earn_holiday_triple_pay_to_meet_apples_schedule.html) holiday earlier this month have caused the delay. A June launch would also likely coincide with the release of the next-generation iPhone, which has typically occurred [every June](http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/07/apple_unveils_redesigned_thinner_iphone_4_with_two_cameras.html). NEVER EVER, EVER trust a rumor source who just happens to point out how the consequences of said rumor may help out the competition. That quote about this giving Android a “brief window of opportunity” reeks of Android Fanboy wishful thinking. Or someone who really, really HOPES that the iPad 2 is delayed, rather than KNOWING that it’s delayed.

Does anyone know who Yuanta Securities is? Anyone want to bet that they’re connected to some company that will be shipping an Android tablet in the next month or two?

> Hot on the heels of Apple’s subscription service announcement, Google has lifted the curtain on its own offering that will allow publishers to set a price for recurring content delivered via your Google login. The payment system is called “[One Pass](http://www.google.com/landing/onepass/),” and it allows publishers to offer not only subscriptions, but also metered access, “freemium” content, and even individual articles. So far, One Pass seems more flexible than [Apple’s offering](http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/02/apples-in-app-subscriptions-if-we-bring-in-subscribers-we-deserve-a-cut.ars), and the company will likely take a much smaller cut from publishers than Apple will. This new “One Pass” offering is a classic example of Google following the old school Microsoft business strategy. Favor big business over the consumer, the thinking goes, and you win, because you’ll get all the content deals and Apple will have nothing. The consumer won’t have a choice but to go where the content is.

The problem with that thinking in 2011 is that today’s consumer is much more spoiled than he or she used to be. Devices like the iPod and iPhone have taught consumers that a pleasant computer experience is possible. So they’ve started to demand it. And Apple’s ability to keep its prices in line with competitors means that they don’t have to pay a premium for it, either.

So siding with publishers instead of customers is not going to help Google out any more than Plays for Sure worked out for Microsoft in the music business. The content will go where the people are, not the other way around.

Ultimately, the publishers will go where they will make more money, and, 30-percent cut or not, they’re more likely to make money with Apple right now. Because Apple is the only one selling any tablets.

Until the competition can significantly beat Apple on price, nothing is going to change this.

The only thing that can stop Apple from getting away with this new publishing policy is a “good enough” $200 – $300 tablet. So far, that doesn’t exist.