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We’ve been in touch with Motorola who claim yesterday’s rumor regarding the planned decline and termination of XOOM production by July 2011 is inaccurate. Here is the official response I received:
The Digitimes article is NOT accurate. Motorola Mobility is planning to manufacture and sell the Motorola XOOM beyond the second quarter.
Motorola declined further comment.
If that XOOM rumor has ANY legs I’m guessing it’s a matter of semantics. It’s very possible that someone in the supply chain saw decreasing and then disappearing production of the XOOM SKU in system inventory but this doesn’t prove anything. Motorola could have a new SKU for units shipping with 4G (current XOOMs require a free hardware upgrade) or that another type of refresh simply requires the SKU be slightly different.
Regardless of how those smaller details play out, Motorola wants to make it clear that XOOM sales are doing just fine and production will continue. Business as usual folks, nothing to see here… XOOM along!
FIRSTIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES
Still priced too high.
Still priced too high.
Still priced too high.
Still priced too high.
and…..
Still priced too high.
I agree. Make it cheaper, and I’m all in.
So the article is still true, since stopping production after July IS beyond the second quarter. Do you not just LUV corporate double speak? :);)
Priced same as iPad with better hardware and software. It’s priced well, sorry folks. Tablets just not for you yet.. give it time and the market prices will drop.
Me saying Apple will stop manufacturing and selling iPhone 4’s after July is true too.
Len,
The $600 is decent, but even that is same price as the high end 64gb iPad 2, since to get the Xoom at the same fast flash level of the 64gb version you pay about $100 or so for a fast 32gb card.
The Xoom is overpriced and does not have the HUGE app ecosystem that consumers see with iPad. Geeks are about 10% of a mix, so that will not help sway sales.
People buy the iPad as a conduit to the app store. Until Android has the same rep for apps, they will always be catching up.
I LUV my gTablet, none the less :)
Not surprised.
And for those saying the price is too high, I’d bet you’ll see a sub-400 dollar Honeycomb tablet by summer.
Point is no company can get away with selling a device at the same price and expect to beat iPad. It is all about the apps, except for geeks like us folks.
I agree the price is fine. The fact that the Xoom has better specs than the iPad 2 and can be upgraded to 64GB for a fraction of the cost makes it competitive.
How can people say its overpriced?! Its $600, which is a lot of cash in itself but a very good price for a tablet. Plus, they are available for $539 at Sam’s Club on the 27th, which is when I’m pulling the trigger and getting one.
My dream is a Xoom level quality tablet with USB host for under $500 :)
If Moto had the sense to give the Xoom true USB host function (and needed voltage thresholds to make it work correctly)- I would be getting the wifi only Xoom and donating the gTablet to my wife.
Currentweb,
People buy the iPad due to the app ecosystem. IMO, if the ecosystem did not exist, the iPad would have sold poorly.
I have an iPod 4 64gb and agree the app store is sweet, but I would NEVER get a phone or tablet- Android all the way for those two devices.
@Matt
You’re incorrect. The Tegra 2 underpreforms when compared to the cheaper iPad 2 and its A5 processor. I hate to say it, because I dislike Apple products, but the Tegra 2 is overpriced garbage. Why is every Honeycomb tablet being manufactured with such a crap chipset?
Prices can’t fall much unless the component prices drop. People are acting like these things are free to copy and 100% profit. The parts cost money. Manufacturing them costs money. Profits need to both earn revenue but also recoup development costs. Also, successful products need to be able to cover the cost of less successful products. If you want the variety you get with Android, you have to live with that, otherwise all other makes would just have to go to Apple’s model: they make one product and upgrade it every year or so. Zzzzzzzzz.
I own a Xoom and to be honest, if I wasn’t such a geek, or had more options to choice from to satisfy my need to “play”, I wouldn’t own one. The software is way too early out the gate, in fact, the only reason I didn’t upgrade my iPad to an iPad2 is the non-flash support, that is important to me because of how I use my tablet. Hardware wise, not really impressed either, speakers are in the wrong place and “rattle” if turned up to loud, power button is in the wrong place and I hit it by mistake too often, and it is really too damn heavy. As for the digi article, anyone that believes digi about anything… please contact me, I have this great bridge in a city of your choice for sale.
Rushmore how can geeks not care about apps? I’m a geek who thinks apps are what can actually take advantage of the touch tablet interface. Not sure if you’ve really compared a good tablet app with a non-tablet app, they take advantage of the bigger screen by having font sizes that are bigger, drawings are also more hd/less pixilated, once you have a screen 2/3 times the size of a phone screen, you can optimize the app to take advantage of the size when designing the layout etc, also the touch optimization let you click on links much easier since some websites (not zoomed in) have small or thin links so it leaves room for improvement. Tablet optimized apps are what differentiates tablets from just a big android phone/iphone.
If any of you are interested, Brian Tong just had a prize fight video release between this Xoom and the iPad 2. I won’t spoil the outcome, but as much as I love Android, iOS just feels better on a tablet and I can customize (via appstore) my tablet however I please.
Sorry Xoom/Moto, but Android needs more time to get its act together before it can compete with Apple’s iPad. I am looking forward to the HP TouchPad with WebOS though. Now THAT might truly compete with the iPad on terms of usability and even possibly apps if enough devs jump on board.
Just sayin’…
Yea I forgot about the 4G thing. Maybe what someone noticed is the current XOOM that needs 4G added being decreased. I do remember something about later XOOMs would have 4G already added.
Lets not forgot all the “Incredible discontinued!!” rumors that turned out to be the Incredible changing SKU’s based on SD cards. Same thing might be happening for XOOM’s with 4G already installed.
And I still dont see how the XOOM is priced too high. Its not like its a $300 between it and the iPad 2. If the upcoming Samsung tablets will have removable storage too, then maybe I can see some saying its too high. Not really too high, just the Samsung is priced lower.
Even then, 16GB + a 32GB SD card is 48GB for the Samsung tablet. The XOOM doesnt have different size models. The 32GB Samsung is $569. Wow…a whole $30 difference between the it and XOOM…
Really, price point vs. price point the XOOM isnt too expensive. It may cost a lil more but its not too expensive. Its just that the XOOM doesnt have a 16GB model. Thats all. I know good n well the 16GB iPad isnt the only model that sold last year.
1. Geeks luv apps too, but the point is most folks buy the iPads, etc for the app store- the device as long s works good is secondary.
2. Tegra 2 plays Flash and all PSX and N64 games very smooth, plus gets great battery life with wifi on all the time. Not sure how folks can say it sux. A5 is better, but not by a huge amount.
Heck, the A4 is better than all single core chipsets, including the newer 8255/8655 Snaps.
Tegra 2 works GREAT for a passive cooled chipset.
The amount of apps isn’t the only thing that makes the iPad more appealing. I think the thinness/lightness stuff is overblown. (A few ounces lighter isn’t that big of a deal in my opinion.) However, with the iPad, it is the overall experience that is just better.
Open the browsers side by side. In iOS, scrolling is 100% smooth. Every time. No “oh the page hasn’t loaded yet” bullshit. iOS Pinch-to-zoom feels effortless and satisfying, while Android 3.0 still glitches with missed swipes, lag and accidental clicks (though admittedly still an improvement over 2.x).
I’m not saying this because I’m an Apple Fanboy. I’m saying it because it’s true and has been true for too long. I’m getting tired of Android’s shortcomings in UX and Google’s apparent apathy to it.
@Jouten
So, if Android 2.2 was on the XOOM, what would you say about the XOOM vs. iPad? Would you still say the iPad feels better on a tablet?
I’m sorry but after looking at that prize fight… Honeycomb brings something different to the table that many ppl complained about last year. Android UI is redesigned, looks better and its a bad thing? Is it really that complicated that one cant pick up and use it?
Cuz Android can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. It cant be that different from 2.2 to 3.0, can it? Maybe I should just go and play with a XOOM or get one and see for myself. Is Honeycomb that different that its more complicated than 2.2?
I can bet my entire paycheck if iOS gets totally redesigned it wont be seen as a bad thing by the foklks that did that prize fight.
@Bizzle
But the thing is, its not like its running Android 1.6 and this is the G1. Yea Android might not be as smooth as iOS but its not so bad that its a deal breaker. If we was talking about Android 1.6 vs. whats on the iPad now I would totally agree.
If smoothness was a deal breaker, we all need to get WP7 phones and if they will be on tablets get that too. Cuz WP7 phones are smoother than both Android and iOS.
When you say overall experience and mention the browser, the fact that Flash is supported by default on Android isnt considered a better overall experience compared to the iPad? Some of us downplay it on phones, but I cant see it being downplayed on tablets.
And when ppl mention Skyfire, Frash or whatever new Flash app or hack that popped up recently, I try to remind ppl that Skyfire is nice but its not the same thing as full Flash. Skyfire doesnt work for all Flash things.
if there is an app for iOS that allows FULL Flash then I stand corrected.
To me Flash support should be included in overall experience.
The XOOM is 4G capable…that doesnt count in overall experience?
Overall experience is more than smooth pinch to zoom and scrolling. Android and iOS arent worlds apart in scrolling that it should make a difference in the buying decision. If one prefers iOS and the scrolling on it, fine. Buts lets not make it like its comparing an Atari 2600 to a PS3 or 360. If anything its more like comparing a PS1 or 2, Xbox 1 to a PS3 and 360.
I’m not saying the XOOM is better than the iPad, its whatever one wants to get that will make it better.
I’m just saying the XOOM cant be that bad compared to the Ipad.
Why does the media try to paint everything android related, or competitive to apple in a negative light?
Rebut? As in a re-debut? or is that supposed to be rebutt? I thought rebut would be kind of clever.
@jroc
I didn’t mean to imply that smoothness was a “deal breaker”, thought admittedly, it is one of my biggest pet peeves with Android. I used the browser as an example to illustrate an obvious symptom of Android’s deficiency in the UX department. This deficiency propagates throughout the entire honeycomb OS. (Open the App drawer on the Xoom and 50% time… lag)
Regarding Flash, 4G, etc yes, it’s nice to have. However, I think of them more as features than an experience highlight. Flash video plays like crap on the Xoom. It’s generally a bad experience (especially if you try to scroll). Go to ESPN.com on a Xoom, wait for the Flash to load, and enjoy the lag, poor fps and lower quality video. On an iPad, the HTML5 video loads instantly with excellent quality. No lag, no choppy scrolling. Just a good experience.
Apple has made a decision to put UX first and to never compromise it. Google just throws more and more “features” on an already jittery OS… Or so it seems to me.
iOS feels so effortless on the iPad2. On the Xoom, it still feels like you’re fighting it to do what you want. It’s a hard sell to most people why the Xoom is worth $100 MORE than an established, entry level iPad.
Tablets are over hyped. I’m not convinced the tablet market is as big as everybody thinks it is. In fact I bet that netbooks outsell tablets by a comfortable margin. I don’t know anyonw who owns a tablet. I think companies like Motorola see Apples early limited success and are panicking and releasing crappy product before they’re ready or even needed.
If it had a lower price tag I’d own a Xoom. Glad to hear they’ll continue production (even if I continue not to be willing to pay for it)
Tablets = sheep = Baaaaa! Content consumption only, too big to carry everywhere so no replacement for a phone. Tablet sales are a bubble through 2012, then drop to a “gadget in the middle” level.
Flash plays bad on Xoom? Plays amazing on the gTablet and I am not the only one saying it does. Xoom has same chipset, so should play the same.
The xoom is too heavy and too thick its a brick.
You said all that needs to be said rush…
Motorola XOOM size same like iPAD.
The price is fine. Cough it up, cheapskates.
TOO EXPENSIVE
Does anyone know if it is possible to run Smart Notebook software on a Xoom? Thanks