By 
Although the Motorola XOOM and Motorola ATRIX 4G are fantastic dual-core Tegra 2-enabled devices, it’s no secret that it’s gotten off to a shaky start. Earlier reports told of uninspiring sales for Motorola’s first Android 3.0 tablet and analyst James Faucette from Pacific Crest confirms that the clouds still loom over Motorola and for another one of their devices as well – the Motorola ATRIX 4G.
I’m not terribly surprised to hear that the ATRIX 4G is struggling. Although it’s a great device, it contends with the likes of the iPhone 3GS and HTC’s Inspire 4G which are both priced at $50 on two-year contracts. (And don’t forget about the iPhone 4.)
Faucette added that Motorola would need to ”substantially differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack,” but didn’t offer an opinion on how the company should go about doing this. Recent rumors have been swirling that suggest Motorola is building their own web-based operating system for mobile devices. Motorola naturally declined to confirm or deny it, but instead chose to reiterate its commitment to Android. [via Forbes]
returned mine. Waiting for the asus transformer to drop :)
yup, me too. honeycomb was pretty nice imo, even without a ton of apps. Just didnt dig the hardware. And typing on that thing was next to impossible, I could never hit the interior keys.
Heres to hoping the transformers keyboard makes all the difference.
Duh! A few of us were saying that the Xoom was way over priced compared to the market benchmark. I’m not surprised at all. I’d say that if the Asus rumors are true, they actually know what is going on. (OF course, that remains to be seen.)
Motorola builds pretty good hardware, but their software leaves a lot to be desired, so something like Android is a great fit for them. Unfortunately, their marketing folks are about as savvy as their software folks, so they often miss the mark in pricing and other market related issues. On the Atrix, it is overpriced by a bit, but not too bad. The Laptop Dock was a disaster from a pricing point of view (it’s an accessory, like a case or a battery, not a computer or a smart phone – just an accessory). And then AT&T’s marketing decision to go along with the too high price and then to charge an additional $120 for un-needed tethering (6 months min at $20/month) almost sent me to Verizon and the Thunderbolt. Would have if Verizon had decent coverage at my home, but they don’t. And the price for the Xoom screams that Motorola believes they have first mover advantage, but Apple took that years ago. Get real, Motorola, you are in a highly price competitive market – grow up !!!
Duh…. Can we say price? They aren’t going to be an ipod/ipad killer unless they can offer a superior product and at a LOWER price. Same thing with Galaxy tab–if Sammy said $300 (no contract) for it they would have sold millions.
If Sammy said that I would have one of those too.
Figures…AT&T is too busy licking Steve Jobs butthole instead trying to increase their Android business. Hey AT&T, how about you drop the price of Atrix down to $100 with contract. Heres another thought, turn on your damn HUSPA network already??? Charging people for 4G then turning off the damn network is shady and unethical. No wonder your losing business. Also, stop charging people for tethering. If you charge a customer for 5GB of data, they should be free to use it however they may. How the hell do you get off double charging me for the same data???? These fuckers got the game twisted up. I can’t believe the government has not stepped in on this. Anyways off my rant on ASS T&T.
No no no! When At&t lost their exclusive hold on the iPhone they turned their attention to Android and the upcoming Atrix. They even went as far as to declare it their FLAGSHIP phone; the iPhone is no longer featured prominently on AT&T’s website. Do not try and pin the Atrix’s poor sales on their love affair with Apple because it’s clear that that’s not the case. AT&T had promoted the hell of out the Atrix; people just don’t want it….
I wanted it. I switched to AT&T, in large part, to get the Atrix. Of course, I was comfortable rooting the device (since others had done all the hard work). Without root, Android on AT&T is pretty crippled. Just ask Amazon how their App Store sales are amongst AT&T subscribers…
How exactly are they charging you for 4G? The data plan is the same price for 3G as it is for 4G. And iphone users are supposed to pay extra for tethering too, just like any Android users. I’m not saying that’s right, but it has nothing to do with giving Apple an advantage.
Seriously thinking in return my XOOM wifi. It is a great tablet but not enough apps in the market.
It’s no wonder sales are slow on Xoom. It fails to live up to expectations.Although Honeycomb is much more appealing than IOS, the Xoom is still buggy and unreliable. Both Google and Motorola have been unresponsive. The Xoom even fails to work properly with Facebook of all things. Worst of all for me as a photographer the photo rendering of the Xoom is God awful. I keep an iPad 2 just to present my work because photos on the Xoom are a disgrace. I’ll stick sith Honeycomb and try the Asus and then the Samsung if necessary, but I’m unlikely to try another Motorola after this experience. The way to win customers is to present a finished product and failing that, to correct the issues in a timely manner.
I could definately be called pro Android, but having just brought my Xoom two days ago I would have to agree 100% with Frank. I was never too fond of the motorola Android products, didn’t think they was as smooth as HTC or Samsung. Well now that I finallly own a Motorola, my suspicions have been confirmed. This tablet will be going back, and I will wait out to see what the other tables will bring
Hmm… House note… or unstable, unproven, low app having tablet.
I think the people paid their house note.
I think the Atrix is a great piece of technology. If it wasn’t tied to AT&T or had an unecrypted bootloader I’d have one already
Your 100% right… At&t is the reason for there unfortunate lack of sales. Plus everyone knows that they lock down the devices on there network word travels fast. When and if these products make it to sprint that will help there sales some cause then those devices will be able to be properly used as intended from the manufacturer without carrier confusion.
Hmmm. . .AT&T never kept the iPhone from succeeding.
That’s exactly the problem my friend they are to far up at&t’s …..Motorola will learn from this they would’ve been much better off launching their product on verizon then they would’ve been perfectly fine better off launching that product on Verizon then sales would’ve been
Wow did you actually say something partially nice about verizon? I sometimes enjoy your comments and you sound like a nice enough guy but then there are times (usually a post about how great LTE is or the thunderbolt) and you sound off like a complete nut (then again we have all done that for wonderful android devices we have come to fall in love with). Stay positive my friend and ill do the same (and hopefuly others will follow) ans we can clean phandroid posts up we dont want this to turn into Engadget posts do we lol.
That’s exactly Motorola’s problem. AT&T has historically tried to keep Android phones down by getting only weak Android phones, by not promoting them too much, by disabling sideloading of apps and other stuff like that – all of that so there’s no chance an Android phone would actually affect iPhone sales on their network. The Android phones on their network have been an afterthought, and they’re there just so they can say they have Android phones, too.
A phone like Atrix wth true 4G (LTE) would’ve been much more successful on Verizon. Just look at HTC Thunderbolt which is not even a dual core phone like Atrix, and costs $100 ($250) more and has outsold iPhone 4 in March when it launched.
The Thunderbolt has “outsold” the iPhone 4 in March??? You’re basing that on the fact that some surveyor called 150 out of 2000 total Verizon retail locations??? And fails to account for the fact that Verizon iPhones are also sold at Apple retail stores??? And online via Verizon and Apple websites??? Lol u fandroids are hilarious….
Not True, I would love to hear iphone sales from ATT ever since they cut out the unlimited plan. The reason Atrix 4g is not succeeding is because of the lack of unlimited plan. Thunderbolt despite it’s early problems has outsold iphone 4, it is because 4g LTE unlimited data plan. I jumped on it just because of that.
Put the Atrix 4g on verizon or even sprint, it would sell like a hot cake. Plus Motorola needs to get rid of their ugly widgets. They have hands down the worst looking widgets on any phone.
AT&T cut the unlimited data plan BEFORE the iPhone 4 launched. Withe the exception of those who are grandfathered in on their previous unlimited data plan, every iPhone 4 that has been sold by AT&T is on an unlimited plan. And each quarter since it launched, iPhone sales grew for AT&T, with a record 5.2 million sold in the fourth quarter…..sorry that’s not why it isn’t selling
I meant to say “every iPhone 4 that has been sold by AT&T is on a LIMITED plan.”
these kind of things made me grateful that i live outside of the US..
Until you realise you live in a shit hole
Now all the naysayers can watch the Flyer sell more units even though, gasp, it’s on Gingerbread!
Have fun running a phone os
Have fun doing nothing with your xoom when the flyer has useful stylus applications.
Price, price, price!
Have to agree. The cost is prohibitive. Not that the Xoom in it’s current form/specs isn’t priced appropriately, but Motorola would have been wise to release cheaper options like Apple did with the iPad.
I’m really enjoying my Xoom, but I do agree that it costs too much. The Atrix, I’ve heard is a great phone, but also priced itself out of the market.
Being an avid gaming the Xoom offers the best gaming experience I’ve had on a mobile device. I’m going to be sad when I return it.
Price, price, price, price, price, price – Just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab off contract like new with a case & screen protector for $330. Something to tide me over till I drop $499 on the 10″ in June. I still won’t have spent as much as a Xoom off contract!! (okay like $30 more, but counting the $50 case & $20 screen protector – both OEM). I STILL CAN”T BELIEVE WE ARE IN APRIL AND THE ONLY CHOICE FOR A HONEYCOMB TABLET AVAILABLE IS THE XOOM!!!! That’s why there is a lack of apps…
yes, price is what killed it. I cant believe Motorola didnt know this from the get-go.
I passed up on it waiting for the much much cheaper Samsung Galaxy 8.9 or 10.1
its not the price…a device like the xoom has a market, even with a price that hight BUT the people that would pay this much are early adopters (like the once who bought the droid/milestone). But these people are avoiding motorola because of the locked bootloader.
So now they have two chances:
a) drop the price for the “everyone” marked
b) keep the price, but free the bootloader, and commit to it like “we will update this device at least two years with the latest release of android, within two month after it has google has released it”. That might help…but honestly even that would not help too much without freeing the bootloader on other devices, to show that they mean it.
Motorola fails because they are tied to 1 carrier in the US instead of all over the place.
Expensive Atrix webtop that only runs firefox is fail.
Motoblur is fail.
HTC knows what they are doing. They actually think about problems that need to be solved.
HTC just lock their bootloaders and drain your battery with HTC Sense.
And to top the shitcake they put in outdated hardware *errr desire hd*
they have locked what..one, two boot loaders? and what outdated hardware are we getting at….the inspire seems pretty current, not to mention many upcoming phones utilizing similar specs, and if dual core is the next step…it didnt help out the atrix.
HTC is horrible
What are you talking about? HTC has been a major reason Android has been successful! You obviously are clueless!
The Xoom was pretty much rushed to the market, there is no denying that.
But ATRIX 4G, I think it’s not just the pricing. I think that if Motorola would sell in Europe, they’d do really good here.
I don’t know about the otherside of the big pond, but here in the Netherlands specifically Motorola is synonymous with virtually indestructible hardware.
Bad move Motorola XOOM and Motorola Atrix you should have went with all carriers like Samsung did. AT&T is the worst carrier for smartphone period. Burn your contract with AT&T and sign a new one with all the carriers, ALL OF THEM. Other wise pick one that can deliver your expected sale numbers.
But I don’t think you have learned your lesson. So my advice is to stay with AT&T for the duration of your FAILED EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT. Even Apple learned.
i returned my xoom to bestbuy after 1 day. waiting for the 8.9 Galaxy tab or the HTC flyer.
Atrix: Great, truly great phone, although a bit expensive. it should be around 400€ to be a good seller. The accessories are HOPEFULLY overpriced. if you could buy the phone + the laptop dock for 500€, it would be ok I guess
No Xoom for me I guess then. If they bothered to release in Europe in February or Match I would have bought one but they still do not have a confirmed release date. The pcworld price has dropped modestly today (5%) and I expect more to come. They should have made more from being the first Honeycomb tablet. Considering the eee pad transformer now.
I know why they aren’t selling.
They are both cheap, they are new, they also both have okay technology inside.
So whats the problem? Well, It starts with T and ends with 2, and it sounds like an animal :P
Motorola fails because its a poser company, “aggressively” trying to be something its not
Its obviously trying to be like Apple with their “ya, we know were the shit” attitude, but not the goods. just another pussy-ass company trying to be something they arent. i really hope the get a severe reality-check when people stop buying their bullshit
Motorola has pretty much been innovators for their entire 80+ years of existence; bringing first everythings to market.
They just need better leadership.
You know ever since owning both Droids I really believed in this company (and still do), but you are so right! They are not reading the market and losing their way. They need to fight on both the price and features front and not concentrate on only features.
I also hope the rumors of them creating their own OS is just that, rumors. Because if that’s the case, they are going to be left behind unless they peg it in the first try and I doubt they can pull that off.
I keep hearing people say that the xoom was rushed. What was so horrible about it that made it rushed? I was thinking of getting the wifi version when it drops in canada.
I enjoy my xoom. The lack of apps kinda sucks right now but early adopters should expect it. There are some little buggy things that are easily overlooked if you are a android user you are used to a little buggy IMO. I would suggest finding out bb’s return policy and take it for a test drive. I am keeping mine!
Atrix sales are poor compared to what tho?
But, this is what I was talking about with the Atrix and the Droid advertising on Verizon. The Droid advertising woulda been a huge help IMO.
Unlike the droid ads, which were cool and awesome, the atrix ads focused on their gimmicky webtop dock that nobody wants. Just make a better PHONE. Please.
They woulda sold millions if they made the laptop dock $100
Another stupid analyst. . . 99% of the time analysts are flat out wrong. . . . moving along.
Both devices were DOA. We knew this because everyone laughed at the pricing and they went with it anyways. That plus having bugs doesn’t help. The Atrix isn’t selling because it’s just another Android Phone but with a higher price on a carrier that’s had issues selling any Android phone.
How is it a higher price? The accessories (which don’t have equivalents for other phones) are overpriced. But the phone itself is the same price as the high-end phone on the other networks. I paid $200 for my Droid when it launched and $200 for the Atrix when it launched.
Yes, I have to agree, the price killed it. I was interested in getting it for hubby but then I read a post on motorolaatrixforum similar to this and decided against it. Maybe next time.
Atrix is crap if Motorola is going to lock the bootloader. I’ll stick with the phones that allow the user more freedom. http://www.groubal.com/motorola-lockedencrypted-bootloader-policy/
I love my xoom but then again I’m not poor
I love my xoom but I’m not poor
You may not be poor, but you are still a dozey f***ing bumpkin. Please be so kind as to lock yourself in a cat carrier and limit your trolling to that environment.
Atrix sales would be higher if it weren’t stuck on the AT+T network where they cripple android devices, if the dock was cheaper, and if it didn’t have Blur which I think is great, but has scared a lot of people due to previous upgrade problems.
well. maybe carrier has something to do with it, up here in canada i hear the atrix is doing better…we are not having the same data issues AT&T customers are having here
The problem is the early adopter people who would pay those high prices are smart enough to have found out real quick the tegra 2 is 100% FAIL!
The problems are:
AT&T
Tiered data
Locked bootloader
Motoblur
AT&T restricting loading apps
Price
I’ll pass.
Yep. I would never give AT&T $ for any reason, ever.
Compliments of my Droid X experience I won’t be purchasing anything manufactured by Motorola.
As an Atrix owner I can’t defend it because of the locked bootloader. It ruins the whole phone for me and Motorola is full of shit on the subject.
Why argue over any one single factor? It seems perfectly reasonable it’s the combination of every issue mentioned.
Its because the atrix has a locked bootloader and the xoom is way overpriced.
IT’S BECAUSE THE LAPTOP DOCK IS FUCKING 400$. Who would even spend that much money on a dead battery? I already gotten my Atrix 4G don’t care if AT&T haven’t turn on their 4G network. That’s probably one of the reason and the second reason is AT&T NEEDS TO GET THEIR greedy asses together and bring US BACK OUR UNLIMITED DATA then the thing will sell
the atrix has two problems that can’t be fixed which is why it’s sales have tanked. the first is it’s on a crippled att network and was even further crippled by not even being able to reach 3g speeds let alone 4g because hspua was turned off. the second is that it’s made by motorola.
I love my xoom, but its buggy. I prefer having stock ui which is why I broke down and bought it but I am sure will have an HTC tablet sooner than later. Unlike others I will not return it, but devs need to get some apps out and google needs to get the source code out for this thing.
There are more phone consumers than laptop dock or tablet consumers. They marketed both as they banked on the new dock movement. Consider this, people will only buy the phone first then the dock. A phone is ubiquitous, dock’s, tabs, are unbiquitous. Atnt prices are expensive, poor network, and IMO motorola’s undesirable phone experience. plus the ipad 2 is killer right now.
I just wanna say that my experience with motorola zoom has been excellent. In fact I’m posting this comment using the motorola zoom via the voice application. Hence the miss spelling of Xoom lol. I just wanted to say that I feel this tablet has been under rated or even worse poorlyrated. I do agree that the price for the motorola zine is awfully high and there are a lot of apps in the market. However my experience using a tablet has been phenomenal. The fact that I can actually speak to the tablet and have it compose this message is awesome and truly convenient. It also shows how powerful android is and what’s to come in the future. I also like motorola zine because it is stock honeycomb. Therefore any updates will be pushed out to this device first. Yes it may have it share of minor bumps m bruises however that’s nothing I can’t be corrected with future updates
Yeah hommy, I have a 3g xoom also and I don’t know why it’s getting so much bad press. I love mine… it’s what I’m writing this on as well.
For Atrix, I’ll have to say:
– Price (for the phone only) is actually ok. It is a great phone!
– Prices for the accessories are RIDICULOUS. The problem is that this is their selling point… The accessories are cool, the price is not.
– Moto is WAY to slow in rolling this device (and the Xoom as well) out in more markets. If they were selling it in Europe and Asia at the same time, I am sure sales would be just fine.
For the Xoom, I cannot comment really… the price is the same as iPad2, and they are concentrating on US again, their marketing for this one may not be up to par… dunno.
xoom and atrix must be somewhat popular because half of the reviews for Amazon’s backbreaker are xoom/atrix and downgrading the game.
Att doesn’t care about android products, they still got an apple hard on and until it changes, att won’t competitively price the atrix or xoom. Flip side, motorola needs to get.their ish together with their products and improve them
You know why? because of the dam price… $599 is way to dam expensive.. seriously.. even the ipad at $499 is a lot.. if these things were cheaper… I think more people would buy them…. I’m just not about to drop that much for a tablet… but hey, thats just me.
locked bootloader.
Unlocking boot loaders and stock android would be a start. Some better marketing wouldn’t hurt.
I’m still enjoying my Atrix 4G. The only problem is greedy ASS AT&T needs to bring back OUR UNLIMITED DATA! If they do that more people would be crawling along to buy the phone. SINCE AT&T TO DUMB THICK HEADED COUNTING THEIR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS they won’t sell any phones at all, unless they BRING BACK TO US THE CONSUMERS UNLIMITED DATA then the phone will sell like lots.
I just got back from my local AT&T store where I almost bought an Atrix. The sales guy actually talked me OUT of it because so many people had been returning theirs. Apparently people were fed up with Motoblur…they complained that it made the phone really laggy.