There she is. The Motorola Xoom is hitting the market at a whooping $800 sans any carrier subsidize for the 3G version with the WiFi model fetching $600. The Moto’s CEO failed to state in the Reuters report when the Honeycomb tablets will go on sale — or pre-order for that matter — although it could be as early tomorrow. He also failed to address the nagging little disclaimer found in the Best Buy circular indicating that the WiFi will be locked without one month of VZW’s pricey data.
This pricing puts the 32GB Xoom nearly on par with the 32GB iPad. Both tablets ask $600 for the WiFi-only version while the 32GB 3G iPad is just slightly less at $730. Of course that’s for the first gen iPad, with things likely being slightly different for the iPad 2. Apple’s price points could stay very similar to the current model, but the storage level could increase, which would make the Xoom appear in a different tier altogether. It would still sell, though.
Much like the Samsung Galaxy Tab from 2010, the pricing along won’t determine the fate of tablet. This is the first Honeycomb tablet and in many regards, the first proper Android tablet. It’s going to sell because people want it regardless of the price. The Sammy Tab was without question the 2nd most popular tablet from last year. It didn’t have to outsell the iPad to be successful.
The same goes for the Xoom. It looks and feels the part of a proper iPad killer, but there’s more than enough room in the tablet scene for multiple successful products and platforms — not six, though.
All Moto, LG, and all the other makers outing Honeycomb tablets can do is produce a quality product. Their main competitor is going to outsell them no matter what. Sure, the Xoom might sell a few more units if it was priced under the current iPad. But the iPad would still outsell it many times over. $600 for the 32GB WiFi sounds just about right to me.