Camera Kit For Motorola Xoom Lets You Use Cameras With Your Tablet

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We’ve heard a lot about the Motorola Xoom of late, and while some find it hard-pressed to compete against the iPad 2, it’s just picked up a little extra ammunition against its Apple foe: a $20 camera kit that lets you use most any digital camera with the Motorola Xoom.

While most of us were a little confused by this whole “Picture Transfer Protocol” thing mentioned in the last update, it’s got a very specific purpose: to let this thing exist. What this does is let you hook your camera into the Motorola Xoom and pull your pictures directly off your camera’s SD card and transfer them, from the camera, through the camera connection kit, and into the tablet.

Some have expressed dismay at this, wondering why Motorola would choose to charge $20 for what amounts to a microUSB to USB adapter cable when they can be purchased much, much more inexpensively, but word is the Motorola version will have a feature no replacement cable can offer–it will actually work. Word has emerged saying that the Motorola cable will enable host mode, while other cables won’t.

It does seem a bit low of Motorola to pull this kind of move, but at the same time, it’s a pretty good idea. While the iPad 2 comes with a built-in camera, the Motorola Xoom says it’s not only going to give you onboard cameras, but it will also work with most any camera already on the market or in your hands currently. After all, why would you want to stop using your awesome DSLR just to pick up your iPad instead? Motorola’s approach lets you use the two in concert. Though admittedly, an Eye-Fi mobile card or SD card slot would have done much the same thing, plus given you plenty more utility to boot.

At any rate, if you’ve got a Motorola Xoom and want to use your camera with it, get in touch with Verizon and ask for a MOTMZ600ADPKIT. It’s not actually available on the Verizon website yet, so you’ll have to go through people to lay hands on it.