Motorola and Verizon finally offer Xoom owners promised 4G LTE upgrade

By Jeffrey Van Camp Published September 29, 2011

Motorola Xoom — Image used with permission by copyright holder

From the moment the Motorola Xoom was announced in January, we were told that it would launch with 3G support on Verizon, but would be upgradeable to 4G shortly after launch. Then we were told it would come by summer time, then by the end of summer, and so on. It is now almost October and more than seven months after its release, Xoom owners may finally get their 4G LTE upgrade.

Beginning today (Thursday), Xoom owners should receive emails from Motorola and Verizon about upgrading their 3G tablet to LTE. There should be no charge for this upgrade, but users will have to send in their Xoom to Motorola, which will install a new receiver and return it within about a week. The company recommends you back up your data.

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No new smartphone plan is required to take advantage of 4G LTE, but note that Wi-Fi only Xooms are not eligible for this upgrade. You have to be running a 3G Xoom and paying $30 a month for access to Verizon’s network. Verizon’s 4G LTE speeds are impressive, ranging from 5-25 Mbps. If you live in a city, chances are you already have access.

Are you, have you, or will you send your Xoom in? Would you ever pay for a data plan on a tablet?

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Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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