Motorola’s anticipated Android-based Xoom tablet has been making a lot of headlines because it’s the first to use Android 3.0 and is upgradeable to a 4G connection. But now it’s making headlines for a less favorable reason.
According to a rumor originally posted on Engadget, the retail price of the Xoom tablet will be $799.99. Ouch. That would put it on track to become the most expensive multimedia tablet on the market.
The ironic part is that Android tablets were supposed to appeal to customers because they could be much cheaper than the iPad. Even at $500, many consumers have avoided the Apple tablet because it’s too expensive. Yet the first big Android device, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, is priced higher than that. And now the Xoom will be at a hard-to-gulp $800.
The rumor reportedly comes from an internal Verizon document leaked to Engadget. Verizon will be the exclusive provider of mobile data service to the device. The rumor also suggests the store to sell the Xoom will be Best Buy, and it’ll be available February 17.
We still expect a lot of eyes to be on the Xoom, mainly because it’s the first to use the revolutionary Android 3.0 software. But now, we won’t really expect to see any sort of big sales numbers. This is going to be a luxury item for the die-hard Android fans. No one’s going to impulse-buy this thing.
The world just isn’t ready for an $800 Android tablet. How can this possibly become a profitable device? Hopefully we’re proved wrong, but we just can’t see it happening. [[Motorola]]
