Motorola is developing a digital tablet device that will allow users to watch television, joining other technology companies seeking to break into a market pioneered by Apple's wildly popular iPad tablet computer.
The device, which will have a 10-inch screen and run Google's Android operating system software, could launch in the US as early as this autumn.
The device is expected to be closely tied to Verizon's FiOS digital pay-TV service, according to people briefed on the matter.
MOTOROLA also makes TV set-top boxes for the FiOS TV service.
The tablet market is seen as the next battleground In the battle for mobile devices, with many device makers and Microsoft, Google and Research In Motion taking on Apple in the battle.
The iPad has been a hugely successful product for Apple, lifting the company from seventh to third place in the global market for notebooks and other portable computers, according to Deutsche Bank.
MOTOROLA's combination of a tablet and a TV is a key competitive advantage over other developers.
In spite of strong sales of Apple's tablets and phones, devices running Google's Android operating system took a 27 per cent market share in the US in the first six months of this year, ahead of the iPhone's 23 per cent market share, according to audience tracker Nielsen.
Like many tablets expected to hit the market, MOTOROLA's tablet aims to address other perceived shortcomings of the iPad.
It will support Adobe Flash, the software that powers about 90 percent of web video. Apple supports a different format, HTML 5, on its iPhone and iPad devices.
MOTOROLA's device is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPad, allowing users to share their wireless data connection with nearby devices. It will have two built-in cameras.
MOTOROLA and Google declined to comment. Verizon Wireless could not immediately be reached.
Translator/Li Yu