Optus to launch the Xoom in June

The news means all three telcos will have a flagship high-end Android tablet to take to the Australian market throughout mid-2011, with Vodafone having already started selling a 10″ version of Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet.

The Xoom is one of the first devices to run Android 3

The Xoom is one of the first devices to run Android 3.0, which has been designed for the tablet form factor. It is supported by a dual-core 1GHz processor, 32GB of memory and 1GB of RAM. It sports a 10.1 inch, 1280×800 widescreen display, a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. Built from anodized aluminum, the Xoom weighs 730 grams.

In terms of the Xoom's battery life, Motorola promises up to 10 hours of video playback, 9 hours web browsing on 3G mobile broadband and a 3.5 hour recharging time.

The 7″ Galaxy Tab

Optus already has several other tablets on sale - the 7″ Galaxy Tab, as so then as its own self-branded My Tab, which is manufactured by Chinese company ZTE. All three telcos as well sell mobile access plans for Apple's iPad, which currently dominates Australia's tablet market.

In terms of pricing, Optus has tended to price its mobile plans and devices slightly cheaper than the same options at Telstra. But, reviews have shown over time that the company's network does not have the speed and coverage offered by Telstra's flagship Straightway G network, allowing Telstra to grab slices of the mobile market through dint of its superior network. Optus' network, on the whole, is not known to have suffered the same level of high-profile faults that have plagued the network of rival Vodafone.

Tension-filled event at the Powerhouse Museum

At a tension-filled event at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, last night the five Australian finalists in the 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup fought for the coveted first place in the national Software Design category of the world's premier student innovation competition.