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Xoom $800?
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I wouldn't be so sure of that. They've been working on it for nearly a year now and don't forget that it is actually based on stable, working software (Android itself!) so the bulk of the changes would have been made to the UI, rather than the OS itself.
I know they were a bit cagey about showing it off on the Xoom but that could have been for any number of reasons. They have a lot of changes to the Android ecosystem in the works (music store, changes to the market and other apps and so on), maybe they just weren't ready to show them off yet.
Besides, it seemed to work just fine during the live demo at the Verizon keynote.
Really? 4g,32GB,10.1" screen, USB, HDMI, 2 camera's,1GB ram,Gyroscoop, barometer,microSDHC , dual core CPU,faster GPU
The Ipad 3G 32 GB is 699
add 40$ for 32GB of microSDHC
Ipad 3g 64GB is 799 or almost the same price but the xoom has a lot more the ipad lacks.
I would say the Xoom is the better deal hardware wise.
Perhaps, yet I have problems with my iphone and ipod touch 4g (both of wich were refused to be repaired under warranty) but my ancient nokia and acer pda still run without problems.
$800 is steep if this will be the only model they will offer. You can't take control of the tablet market at that price point. They need to replicate Apple with a few tiers of models at different price points. If one model is their game plan, then $800 is only going to appeal to those that really care about specs.
If you compare it to the iPad's current most expensive model, I think it is worth the extra few bucks since you'll be able to expand it's memory via SD slot. Not only that, but I'm sure the file system will be like Android phones so dragging/dropping will be a big plus.
Even at that price, I'm still excited to see how it does in the wild. I'd be willing to pick one up if Honeycomb is all that is cracked up to be and the battery life is comparable to the iPad.
If you compare it to the iPad's current most expensive model, I think it is worth the extra few bucks since you'll be able to expand it's memory via SD slot. Not only that, but I'm sure the file system will be like Android phones so dragging/dropping will be a big plus.
Even at that price, I'm still excited to see how it does in the wild. I'd be willing to pick one up if Honeycomb is all that is cracked up to be and the battery life is comparable to the iPad.
I believe it's $700 now. However, perhaps you may be missing one very important point.
You quite rightly say they need to offer more than just the one $700/$800 model. But you see, they don't.
This is the potentially colossal advantage the whole Android/Honeycomb platform has over Apple. It's not only Motorola who are going to make a tablet like this.
They can very easily choose to take the high end ground, like perhaps Sony would with aluminium cases etc. You can then have Asus, and a dozen other companies all with compatible tablets running the same OS, all at different price points.
Unlike Apple one company does not have to cover all the bases by itself. There would be room for $199 and $1199 versions if the build/specs reflect the price being asked.
Some people may only want a poor rear camera, other people may want a 8 megapixel rear camera with a flash unit. Some may want a little memory, some may want 128GB memory, some may be happy with a plastic case, others demanding satin aluminium.
The market could be very wide once it starts growing, just like it is for PC's, Laptops etc.
However there lies the $64,000 question: will consumers consider a Motorola tablet or Asus tablet to be worth paying more than the Apple tablets? We know the answer for the laptop market where consumers generally conceive Apple products to be the "upper end" and the vast majority of $1000+ laptops sold are the Apple ones.
Not only that, when the competitors tried to beat Apple with their own high end products, they usually failed to beat Apple's pricing in significant ways. Dell, Sony, HP, Samsung, Cowon, iRiver, etc, they all couldn't bring the price down enough with their premium-quality computers or MP3s. Instead they tried to compete by packing in more features, which is exactly what we're seeing with Motorola's Xoom as well.
Even Sony, once the highest regarded premium brand, couldn't beat out Apple in the high end game and most of their high end portable products have been either relegated to the very small niche market or pushed down to the lower end. I'm curious to see if the tablet market is any different, but my current guess is it probably isn't.
Right, but this thread isn't "Honeycomb platform". It's about the Xoom, which will soon sell poorly at this price point.
Oh I agree, it will of course only sell to those who want a high spec'd Tablet.
Of course, it's still tricky to know the real perceived value/worth of the Zoom until we know the specs and price of the iPad2.
The Xoom could look very expensive compared against a similar spec iPad2
Or the Xoom could look quite reasonable as it may only cost a little more than the iPad2 with 3G and same memory, but other specs may be much much higher which will appeal to some.
Until we know all the facts we are of course just guessing.
.......
yeah right. i'd rather have an ipad than a broken android tablet. and i don't think there's anything to add about the motorola quality (or the lack of it).
Right. So we make a comparison between a tech product that's been on the market for nearly a year and one that's almost a month away from being released.
HTC Hero: (July 2009)
320 × 480 px
528 MHz ARM11 CPU
288 MB RAM
256 MB Flash
Apple iPhone 4: (June 2010)
640 x 960 px
800 MHz Cortex A8 CPU with PowerVR 535
512 MB RAM
16 GB Flash
Sounds good. It would be nice if we actually knew what the iPad2 had in store for us.
I run down that list and I see:
Xoom Pros: 2 (RAM, Processor)
Xoom Cons: 3 (Screen size, Android OS, extra Ports)
Don't care: 8
RAM and CPU are nice, but I think iPad2 will address these.
I'm assuming screen size means the Xoom size is larger, so I put it in negative. Otherwise it would move to don't care. I've yet to see an Android OS that I'd want to use daily, and it'll connect to app store of crap so that neg is built into the OS. Ports just take away from the sleekness of the device and give dust and dirt a place to gather. I won't use them.
The list of don't care items is lengthy. I won't use cameras, record video, etc with any tablet. 1080p is useless to me too, since my videos are either 720p via iTunes today, or they are straight Blu rips which I doubt the Xoom can handle anyways due to bitrate. So these get streamed.
They succeeded in putting together a list that demonstrates features for sure, but ones that do not matter (to me). The other unseen negative is that moving away from Apple's ecosystem means you lose out on a high quality app store, iTunes, etc. If you aren't invested in these then it won't matter. If you are, then it wouldn't make any sense to move away unless the product and price were simply amazing for the competition.
Xoom Pros: 2 (RAM, Processor)
Xoom Cons: 3 (Screen size, Android OS, extra Ports)
Don't care: 8
RAM and CPU are nice, but I think iPad2 will address these.
I'm assuming screen size means the Xoom size is larger, so I put it in negative. Otherwise it would move to don't care. I've yet to see an Android OS that I'd want to use daily, and it'll connect to app store of crap so that neg is built into the OS. Ports just take away from the sleekness of the device and give dust and dirt a place to gather. I won't use them.
The list of don't care items is lengthy. I won't use cameras, record video, etc with any tablet. 1080p is useless to me too, since my videos are either 720p via iTunes today, or they are straight Blu rips which I doubt the Xoom can handle anyways due to bitrate. So these get streamed.
They succeeded in putting together a list that demonstrates features for sure, but ones that do not matter (to me). The other unseen negative is that moving away from Apple's ecosystem means you lose out on a high quality app store, iTunes, etc. If you aren't invested in these then it won't matter. If you are, then it wouldn't make any sense to move away unless the product and price were simply amazing for the competition.
No need to get all uptight about it. I simply posted the comparison so people could see the specs side by side.
Apple currently only offers the current generation of iPad. Come February, they will both be the most current versions on the market for both the Xoom and the iPad. It is hard to compare it the iPad2 since nobody knows the specs.
I'm not getting uptight over this. I just found it very amusing that an Android site would put up something like that. I mean, who in the world compares a tech product 10-11 months apart? It'll have to be compared to the Playbook and the Adam, not the iPad 1. But they wouldn't put up that comparison there because the Xoom doesn't look as good compared to the contemporary devices who all have similar hardware.
So if the iPad screen is larger.....screen size is no longer an issue?
FYI....the Xoom is 6mm taller. The iPad is 13mm wider. And they are the same thickness.
You don't see that as a problem? Limiting yourself to one manufacturer and one OS. At least with an Android device you have the ability to shop different tablet manufacturers and phone manufacturers.
It is clearly obvious Apple's way of doing things is really working to their advantage. Trap your customers so they don't want to leave since they have everything invested in you.
I'm not getting uptight over this. I just found it very amusing that an Android site would put up something like that. I mean, who in the world compares a tech product 10-11 months apart? It'll have to be compared to the Playbook and the Adam, not the iPad 1. But they wouldn't put up that comparison there because the Xoom doesn't look as good compared to the contemporary devices who all have similar hardware.
I'm sure you can find comparisons between any/all devices online. I simply posted this since (A) this in an iPad forum and (B) we are discussing the Xoom. People with a quarter of a brain could figure out this would be a good place to post it.
As opposed to everything being centered around a Google account and Google services including its market? (I use an Android phone BTW) Currently there's nothing more "trapping" about iOS than the Android at all unless you make your own apps.
I was talking to the comment I quoted. He said it doesn't make sense to move away from Apple's "ecosystem" if you are invested in it. People are making excuses for being trapped by Apple.
I too use a Android phone and don't base my purchases simply on what I have invested in one company or one OS. I just like toys and will try a competitor if the offering looks good. I won't sit back and defend the current product I have or the company that makes it.
No I mean that both have ecosystems and are trying to trap their customers. Google is trying to keep their customers within the "Google world" by offering their OS for free and providing free services with Google account attached to them. Yes there are different hardwares but at the end you're all tied to Google services in some ways. Ditto for BlackBerry in a different way with their BBM, BES, and the market. Everybody has their own ecosystem and Android apps do not run in iOS or in Blackberrys or vice versa.
My main question is this: if everyone has an ecosystem it comes down to who has the best ecosystem. If Apple's ecosystem has the best apps, why wouldn't you want to stick there? Likewise, if you find Google's apps the best, you'd want to stick there and it's a very valid reason. With Google it's just not as obvious because they have less number of paid-for apps that are considered "must haves" and Android's "must have" apps are mainly the Google services which are free. If Google wants to "free" the "trapped" iOS users, they simply have to offer the same quality and quantity of apps. It's a cross platform issue that have always existed, not because Apple is especially devious.
You're talking about shopping for the hardware itself? Most consumers will be doing that once every two years. If Apple continues to make high quality hardware that's been optimized for their OS and applications, then that's a good thing.
And besides, once someone invests $200+ in Android tablet apps, will they necessarily want to abandon that software and leave for iOS? What's the diff?
Bingo. Apple doesn't "trap" their users anymore than Android "traps" their users with their own apps or IBM PCs "trapped" users from going to Mac with their office applications. It's a simple matter of which platform offers the best native applications for users and has always been there in the computing world.