Motorola Xoom priced at $800 at a minimum, according to Verizon leak

[xune]

Cellphones, Tablet PCs,
Motorola Xoom priced at $800 at a minimum, according to Verizon leak
By Vlad Savov posted Jan 21st 2011 6:41PM

Wow, insider tipsters are getting efficient! Verizon appears to have only just added Minimum Advertised Pricing for the Motorola Xoom to its internal systems, but already it's been leaked out by more than one source. Android Central has the damning evidence, which lists an $800 levy for any prospective owners of the flagship Android Honeycomb device. It's accompanied by a listing of the HTC Thunderbolt at $250, with the logical conclusion being that the Moto tablet will come unsullied by subsidies while the HTC LTE handset will probably cost that much on a two-year deal. That makes plenty of sense to us -- the typical smartphone price is $200 and Verizon can point to the 4G goodness the Thunderbolt brings as justifying its $50 premium, whereas the Xoom's cost seems to be in line with the Galaxy Tab's pricing. Now, how about some launch dates, leaksters?

Motorola Xoom priced at $800 at a minimum, according to Verizon leak -- Engadget

 

[Digikid]

Whoa.....definitely NOT worth it!!!!!

You know the saying.

"A Fool and their money are soon parted"

 

[MattIM]

Ditto that...US$800 for the Motorola Xoom Tablet? It had better be @ least 64Gig and have wifi/3G capability. That is a huge price tag to have freedom to customize, flash capability, front & back cameras, memory expansion slots.

I have an iPad that has been working for me now for over six months. Ive spent every day on this device. It has served me well. While, I am hopeful that the Motorola Xoom succeeds as a worthy competitor to the iPad, but unlike Apple, where you get 6 different models for 6 different prices, an $800 price tag doesn't seem to me like Motorola wants to sell them to everyone.

 

[Djdan]

Engadget went back and saying price point will likely be $700 for 32gb.

 

[xune]

Cnet: Reasons the Motorola Xoom may fall flat

Reasons the Motorola Xoom may fall flat
by Donald Bell

I have a lot of hope for Motorola's Xoom tablet. With its Android 3.0 operating system, 10-inch screen, and 4G network compatibility, it's the most eagerly awaited tablet of the year (for me, at least). Unfortunately, greed will probably screw it all up.

Pessimism isn't an approach I typically take. If anything, I love underdogs to a fault. I'm the guy who owns both a Zune and a Chumby. No joke.
For the record, I think Motorola is going to make a great product. Using a deadly combo of marketing firepower and killer hardware, Motorola fashioned the Droid smartphone into an iPhone-terrorizing antihero. With all the advantages Motorola has (including Google's coveted Android 3.0 blessing), there is little to no chance the Xoom will suck.

Unfortunately, it's exactly this kind of can't-fail thinking that will probably have Motorola and its partners shooting themselves in the foot. Here are all the ways greed may hold the Xoom back from greatness. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Contracts

Quick poll: Raise your hand if you think buying a tablet with a two-year carrier contract makes sense. Seriously? Who are you people?
Unless you work for a cellular company or your ludicrous wealth has somehow escaped the economic slump, I have a hard time understanding why people would buy a contract-strapped tablet and data plan on top of their existing phone plan.

We saw this play out already with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Sure, Samsung claims the Galaxy Tab was met with strong sales (globally, at least), but many comments I've seen from readers are quick to point out the chilling effect of the two-year commitments that came with it (or the premium price for off-contract models).

AT&T's contract-free, month-to-month arrangement with Apple is, arguably, the most successful tablet carrier arrangement yet. So why is it that so few carriers have conceded to mimic this successful approach?
We have yet to see how Verizon will handle contracts and pricing around the Xoom. That said, Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Tab was the most expensive among all the carriers, and the Xoom's high profile and 4G compatibility should provide them with ample excuses for contracts and premium data pricing. Let's hope not.

No Wi-Fi model

Will Motorola sell a low-priced, Wi-Fi-only version of the Xoom? There's reason to be optimistic, but so far, only a 3G version has been announced.
Current rumors are pointing to a $699 to $799 version of the Xoom, fitted with 32GB of storage. It's a price that's comparable with the 3G-equipped iPad--only with better specs, and the promise of 4G.

How important is it for iPad adversaries to offer entry-level, Wi-Fi-only versions of their tablets priced at $499 or less? Again, using the Samsung Galaxy Tab as an example, I've read dozens of reader comments criticizing Samsung for not releasing a competitive, Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab. We know it's coming, but Samsung's purposely delayed release seems oddly anticonsumer.

Not everyone needs their tablet to be a 4G-connected (or even 3G) ultramobile device. Call me crazy, but isn't the broader consumer appeal of tablets to have a simple, efficient device for surfing the Web and checking e-mail from your couch? Sure, there are the jet-setters and captains of industry who demand a speedy, always-on connection to the Internet that travels with them, but what about the rest of us?

Do these companies really think that by not offering a Wi-Fi-only model, consumers will simply shrug and sign up for pricey data plans they don't really want? Whatever the logic is, it seems like a silly game to be playing while Apple walks away with the entire market.

Bloatware

Sigh. Verizon just loves cramming its software onto the products it sells. Whether it's the VCast Music Store, VCast App store, Verizon Navigation, or their partnership with Blockbuster's video-streaming app, the carrier just can't leave well enough alone. In some cases, Verizon's apps can't even be deleted from the device (though they can be hidden out of the way).

Sure, there are worse things than having a company deliberately muck up your product with bloatware, but there really should be a product price threshold where Verizon agrees to keep their greedy mitts off the thing.
Presumably, Google's expert team of software engineers and user interface designers spent months sweating the details and software services that will define the Android 3.0 experience. For Verizon to step in at the last minute and slap a VCast app onto the home screen would just be tacky.

Furthermore, these kinds of carrier maneuverings are just the sort of thing Google should be guarding itself against. Competing with iOS means competing with iTunes, and you don't want the end user thinking the best you can offer is VCast, Blockbuster, and preinstalled game demos.

Honeycomb exclusivity

Through an exclusive deal, Motorola will be the first manufacturer to offer a tablet running Google's tablet-optimized Android Honeycomb OS. Eventually, this exclusivity will run its course and Android 3.0 will trickle out to hundreds of eager tablet manufacturers waiting in the wings.

Until then, however, Motorola and Verizon have the enviable position of being the only game in town when it comes to Honeycomb. Paradoxically, it's a distinction that may hurt them as much as it helps.

Everyone is eager to see what Android Honeycomb can do, and how it performs on Motorola's high-end hardware. That said, until the tablet-specific OS becomes broadly available to manufacturers and developers, savvy consumers are left waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Manufacturers such as Toshiba and LG already have Honeycomb tablets ready and waiting once Motorola's exclusivity breaks. Would it be foolish to snap up Motorola's tablet (and the contracts and data plans that may come with it) before the competition even has a chance? Ask someone who bought the T-Mobile G1.

The Motorola Xoom may turn out to be the best Honeycomb tablet we see all year, but until device manufacturers are given a chance to compete, consumers are right to take a wait-and-see position.

Reasons the Motorola Xoom may fall flat | Crave - CNET

 

[MattIM]

Thanks Xune For Posting

Thank you for this article. I hope Motorola heeds these wise comments and not fall into the greed trap. It is ironic that many Android fans who have posted such glowing comments of the freedom to do what you like with this product would end up with a standard bearer that would only be available to the elite. If only a few people can afford it, would that not be the ultimate close end operating system?

 

[Digikid]

Engadget went back and saying price point will likely be $700 for 32gb.

STILL too expensive.

 

[DaveSt]

Yeah, I think if I can sum up why the Xoom will suck in one word: Verizon. That's pretty much all that needs to be said.

 

[Superbike81]

You guys do realize that the tech specs of the Xoom are much better than the iPad and it's $20 cheaper than the 32GB 3G iPad right? So you should also say the iPad is too expensive. Also, the $700 price is unsubsidized, if you get a data plan the price is expected to be $299. Also the Wi-Fi version will be cheaper as well.



How will Verizon make it suck? They have already said it will be a stock Android OS and not skinned by Verizon. If you are talking about the service, AT&T is MUCH worse than Verizon.

 

[DaveSt]

I do think the price is competitive although I personally feel both tablets are overpriced given the hardware inside. I would have liked to see Motorola come in with a little lower price, but considering what 3G enabled iPad models retail for this price seems to be on the mark.

 

[MsJoanne]

Yeah, but it does have those things

Ditto that...US$800 for the Motorola Xoom Tablet? It had better be @ least 64Gig and have wifi/3G capability. That is a huge price tag to have freedom to customize, flash capability, front & back cameras, memory expansion slots.

I have an iPad that has been working for me now for over six months. Ive spent every day on this device. It has served me well. While, I am hopeful that the Motorola Xoom succeeds as a worthy competitor to the iPad, but unlike Apple, where you get 6 different models for 6 different prices, an $800 price tag doesn't seem to me like Motorola wants to sell them to everyone.

I have an iPad and mostly love it, but not having Flash is huge. There are entire websites developed in Flash, not just videos.

The price for the Xoom is not that far off of what I paid for my iPad (in either of it's guesstimated price points). The problem is, and why I am married to Apple and AT&T is the unlimited data plan, which is month-to-month (not that I am looking to cancel it, but that unlimited and non-comitted data plan forces me to keep the iPad). At that point, I will probably give up my iPhone, too, and go to something else.

I am sure the frustration I feel of having a fraction of the internet available to me is going to make me sever those ties eventually. Perhaps, the hotels I stay at in my way too many business trips will actually get wifi that functions and I can blow off a data plan completely. Until that happens, I am stuck.

And I hate it. As a consumer, I do not have choices, unless I want to pay a fortune.

Ah, love that free market. None of this feels free at all.

 

[iChuckNorris]

Even though I recently purchased an iPad, I am looking forward to the Xoom since it will be the real first Android-based iPad competitor. I have an Android phone and love it, but I'm more interested in real competition in the tablet market.

 

[Superbike81]

I'm hoping we hear some news on the Wi-Fi only version here pretty soon. I've already got my rooted Android phone with wireless tethering, so I don't need another data device. The Wi-Fi only version will be perfect.