The Google Honeycomb-based Motorola Xoom tablet, which is being touted as the first notable challenger of the Apple iPad, will actually be similar to the iPad in one aspect – its lack of Abode Flash compatibility in the foreseeable future!

According to reports, the Xoom, which is scheduled to hit the US market on Thursday, February 24, will not feature Adobe’s Flash compatibility at least in the beginning. Early adopters of the Xoom will likely have to wait until ‘Spring 2011’ for full Flash credentials to arrive on the tablet.

The initial lack of Abode Flash on Xoom apparently results from the fact that Motorola is waiting for the release of Flash 10.2 for Mobile - a rumored update specifically for the Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ version. It is being speculated that the update will deliver stronger video quality and frame rates, though with a much lesser use of processing power and memory.

In addition, the Flash 10.2 update will also boast dual-core support as well as reduced CPU usage during video perusal, gameplay and animation playback.

However, even though the early Xoom owners will neither have Flash on their tablets nor will they be able to download Flash via the Android Market, the move will not dent the market adoption of Abode. Going by the company's most recent figures from the 2011 Mobile World Congress, over 20 million smartphones have either shipped with the Flash Player 10.1 software or have been upgraded to it.