Motorola Droid Xyboard tablets getting Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update

If you're still rocking a Motorola Droid Xyboard tablet almost two years on from the ill-fated slates' release, then good news — Verizon has announced that both the 8.2 and 10.1-inch versions will soon receive updates to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. With its cringeworthy name and Android 3.2 Honeycomb out of the box, the Xyboards were Motorola's last attempt at an Android-powered tablet, brought to market in late 2011.

Jelly Bean's arrival for the tablets comes more than a year after the Xyboards got their last update, to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, in October 2012. And given their relatively meek hardware — a dual-core OMAP 4430 CPU and 1GB of RAM — Jelly Bean's "project butter" enhancements should significantly improve performance on the tablets. The 4.1.2 update will also introduce Google Now, as well as a redesigned camera app.

No word yet on when this update will hit the international versions of the Xyboard, which were sold under the "Xoom 2" brand, but we're not holding our breath. It's a stark contrast to the situation with Moto's latest products, which have been among the first to get the new Android 4.4 KitKat.

Source: Verizon (2)