I don't think you have any idea how retail sales work.
You are looking at it as a techie not as the average consumer.
No, it doesn't need to be the same price. People can come into a store and a sales rep can tell them that for $499 they can store up to 16gb of apps, music, movies, and pictures on their device, plus whatever space they need if they actually create something (like a travel journal or something) and they have no way to increase it.
If the customer is fine with that, then ok, they can enjoy their new iPad. However, if the customer says, "hmm I'd like more space so I don't handcuff myself with just this entry-level amount", or "16gb doesn't sound like enough storage space, I'd like more", the salesman shows them a 32gb iPad at $599, along with a $599 wifi Xoom (assuming one makes it to market, of course). Now the sales rep discusses the nice upgrade in size to 32gb of built in storage space, but highlights the fact that with the Xoom, the customer has the ability to augment the 32gb of built in storage with an inexpensive microSD memory card (assuming the Xoom gets a functioning SD slot).
Now, the customer may feel that 32gb of built in storage will be more than enough for them over the life of their device, so it comes down to the user experience and the customer either goes iOS or Honeycomb. If, however, the customer thinks they may want more space in the future, they either spend $599 for a 32gb wifi Xoom with the ability to add up to 32gb of additional storage in a microSD card, or the customer can spend $699 right now on a 64gb iPad and again hope they don't ever find themselves with so much media that they are concerned with running out of space.
How does it work on an airplane or with data caps on tablet wireless plans?
I don't think you have any idea how retail sales work.
You are looking at it as a techie not as the average consumer.
Right, because consumers never look at features when buying something. Have you ever shopped for a car? Do you pick the absolute bare-bones one because it's the cheapest, or do you start weighing comforts and cost to add nice features like power windows and doors, heated seats, entertainment system?
If retail sales worked how they do in your world, nobody would make anything but the bare-bones in specs.
Also, sales people exist because different price points and features exist. (Some) Sales people can serve to educate consumers so they can get the features they want and not realize later that they are now stuck with a very basic device that is not satisfying to them because they blindly went with the bare-bones.
Again, why do you think the 3 series is the best selling BMW model?
Why do you think Visio is America's #1 flat panel television maker?
(Hint: It involved the barrier to purchase IE price)
Looks like the sales of the XOOM were underwhelming. Motorola needs multiple tablets at different price points, not many people are gonna shell out $800 for a tablet. Especially if a low end cheap ipad2 is available.
car analogy here
I found the button placement/shape pretty awkward, as far as the OS, I was impressed, although if it's like Android phones, the widgets will burn up battery life.
Battery life on the Xoom was excellent. Beyond excellent, actually -- some of the best performance we've seen on a slate. Running a video on loop with the screen set at 65 percent brightness, we were able to get playback for nearly eight and a half hours (8:20 to be exact). Motorola claims up to ten, so we weren't far off the mark at all. We had a few background tasks going on, and both WiFi and 3G radios were active. We could easily see maximizing this if you're in airplane mode with a slightly lower brightness setting.
Battery life seems to be pretty good on the Xoom. They were probably able to fit a bigger battery in there.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
I don't get the Engadget review of the Xoom.
Pro: Android 3.0
Con: OS Buggy
Which is it guys?
Battery life seems to be pretty good on the Xoom. They were probably able to fit a bigger battery in there.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/motorola-xoom-review/
I don't get the Engadget review of the Xoom.
Pro: Android 3.0
Con: OS Buggy
Which is it guys?
I don't get the Engadget review of the Xoom.
Pro: Android 3.0
Con: OS Buggy
Which is it guys?
Sanjay Jha and various leaks already told us as much, but here's the official word: the WiFi-only Motorola Xoom is launching on March 27th for $599. Retail availability will be truly widespread, with Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Staples and Walmart all offering up the Honeycomb tablet. Other than the omission of the 3G and 4G radios of the original Xoom, you're basically looking at an identical hardware package. That includes a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, and a 10.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution.
$599 is not too bad. Now only if they would release that software update to fix the bugs already.
How much was it at Costco? $599?
Why can't Moto just take a loss and sell at $500? Didn't Microsoft lose money from xboxes?
That or fight an even more entrenched Apple against the iPad 3 next year......