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AT&T CMO David Christopher talks Android, Atrix pricing

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02...pher-talks-android/?section=magazines_fortune
Author thinks that "[atrix price] seems very agressive". WTF is he smoking?

I wouldn't call it aggressive but I'd call it competitive, given the larger market. They could have asked $299 instead of $199 and they'd have gotten it.
Consider the GalaxyS phones which were still $199 a month ago, and the Atrix is supposed to be more phone (i.e. fingerprint security and a working GPS<G>). Sure, today there are retailers selling the GalaxyS unlocked and off contract for $199 and the cellcos are asking anywhere from a penny to $49...But that's the nature of smoke and mirrors.
I expect, or at least hope, the resellers will be asking $149 to beat AT&T's $199. Not aggressive, but not as piggypiggy as they normally are, either. For an AT&T employee, anything less than "Your firstborn and your wallet" is probably a radical concept.
Remember, they're still trying to convince us that phones which wholesale for $100-200 really cost them $600. (Don't you love the new math?!)

Author thinks that "[atrix price] seems very agressive". WTF is he smoking?[/QUOTE]
He is smoking the highest quality crack rolled up in our hundred dollar bills. "Aggressive"? Yes it's aggressive towards our wallets. If att doesn't straighten out their billing philosophies they will be losing customers like mad. I really hope verizon puts out some cheap unlimited plan and they steal as many iphone users as possible.

I still don't understand the "aggressiveness" over the pricing. $200 is reasonable - it is what I had paid for iPhones every year in the past, and I believe At&t is pricing the Atrix similarly because it is a direct competitor for the iPhone 4.
As far as the laptop dock pricing goes, who cares? The laptop dock is essentially a useless bell/whistle. How many of you own laptops? (most of you probably do) Your laptop is much more powerful than this webtop os. Motorola is just showing what the phone can do. It's an uneccesary extra, especially since the laptop dock requires the tethering plan... when you can just tether to your actual laptop.
Nerds are all up in arms because it's going to cost $500 to showcase their coolness with the latest and greatest piece of redundant technology.
I'm ok with the phone pricing and can't wait for it to come out. I gladly sold and shipped out my iPhone 4 for this beauty. March 6th can't come soon enough.

acPIZZA said:
I still don't understand the "aggressiveness" over the pricing. $200 is reasonable - it is what I had paid for iPhones every year in the past, and I believe At&t is pricing the Atrix similarly because it is a direct competitor for the iPhone 4.
As far as the laptop dock pricing goes, who cares? The laptop dock is essentially a useless bell/whistle. How many of you own laptops? (most of you probably do) Your laptop is much more powerful than this webtop os. Motorola is just showing what the phone can do. It's an uneccesary extra, especially since the laptop dock requires the tethering plan... when you can just tether to your actual laptop.
Nerds are all up in arms because it's going to cost $500 to showcase their coolness with the latest and greatest piece of redundant technology.
I'm ok with the phone pricing and can't wait for it to come out. I gladly sold and shipped out my iPhone 4 for this beauty. March 6th can't come soon enough.
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-_-
Paint with a narrower brush next time. I don't think anyone scrolling through XDA has any ground to call someone a nerd in a derogatory way.

irishtexmex said:
-_-
Paint with a narrower brush next time. I don't think anyone scrolling through XDA has any ground to call someone a nerd in a derogatory way.
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I apologize if it sounded derogatory. I'm a nerd myself - and a huge one at that.
My implications were, that the dock is essentially nothing more than a keyboard and screen, and it seems silly to piss and moan over a $500 price point. Is it overpriced - Yes. Does the tethering plan tack-on make sense - eh, maybe. Do we need this accessory for any reason other than to show it off (assuming you own a laptop/netbook) - absolutely not. To me it seems more like a no-brainer, and if it evokes any response/thought it is that I am almost glad it's $500 - at least I wont be tempted in the store when I go to pick up the Atrix.

acPIZZA said:
I apologize if it sounded derogatory. I'm a nerd myself - and a huge one at that.
My implications were, that the dock is essentially nothing more than a keyboard and screen, and it seems silly to piss and moan over a $500 price point. Is it overpriced - Yes. Does the tethering plan tack-on make sense - eh, maybe. Do we need this accessory for any reason other than to show it off (assuming you own a laptop/netbook) - absolutely not. To me it seems more like a no-brainer, and if it evokes any response/thought it is that I am almost glad it's $500 - at least I wont be tempted in the store when I go to pick up the Atrix.
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I agree. The only thing I might buy is the multimedia dock with keyboard/mouse, that way i can use it to mess around with what (hopefully) can be a full linux distribution on a phone and make it a second comp of sorts that I can have at my desk.

acPIZZA said:
I apologize if it sounded derogatory. I'm a nerd myself - and a huge one at that.
My implications were, that the dock is essentially nothing more than a keyboard and screen, and it seems silly to piss and moan over a $500 price point. Is it overpriced - Yes. Does the tethering plan tack-on make sense - eh, maybe. Do we need this accessory for any reason other than to show it off (assuming you own a laptop/netbook) - absolutely not. To me it seems more like a no-brainer, and if it evokes any response/thought it is that I am almost glad it's $500 - at least I wont be tempted in the store when I go to pick up the Atrix.
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That's what all the pissing and moaning is about though--that just a screen and a keyboard costs $500. However, being quick to dismiss it and its potential use is what I was referring to when I made the "painting with a broad brush" remark. So, apologies for coming off snarky. I don't mean to bring about any conflict here.
However, I ask you what kind of laptop do you have, and what are its primary uses? I have an HP HDX16 which is a 16" 16:9 laptop workhorse that is a nice do-everything machine when it comes to gaming, media, and graphic design. However, one thing it is not great for is internet surfing. My battery lasts 2 hours tops, it's a larger sized laptop, and while I don't consider it heavy, it is certainly much heavier than the Atrix's lapdock. Maybe you need to carry such a machine with you everywhere you go, but I have a ****ton of textbooks I need to carry in my backpack and the only thing I need to use my laptop for on campus is to surf the web and write notes in a word processor. The Atrix nails that, and makes me salivate at the thought of not having to take a charger with me/8 hours of battery life.
I'm just saying that there's more practical uses for it than just surfin' the internet while you poop.

No, it isn't aggressive. I think 200 should be the limit for subsidized phones; hell it costs around that fir them to buy it anyway (from China or wherever it is made).
If it were really aggressive, the laptop dock wouldn't be more than 150 since it is just a screen and a battery; keyboard.
They also wouldn't charge for tethering. That would actually make it a real threat to other phones.
With the pricing now, I can only see business people and maybe small enterprise or serious bloggers picking this up.
Captivate 2.2.1 Paragon

150?
Some of you guys are kidding yourselves regarding the dock. 150 makes little sense. First you have a dock so lets say $60 then a keyboard say $40. Then a HD led screen $150-200 on its own easy. Yes the dock is to expensive, but I would say that it should cost between 200-300 regular. Maybe if ATT was being generous they would make a bundle with the dock costing 150 and the phone 150 with the purchase of the tethering plan. Thats just my .02.

agreed with acPIZZA. I've had a netbook for about a year now. It's nothing special but gets 7-9 hour battery life and allows me to do basic computing tasks on it. Getting the laptop dock would be redundant.

ram8704 said:
Some of you guys are kidding yourselves regarding the dock. 150 makes little sense. First you have a dock so lets say $60 then a keyboard say $40. Then a HD led screen $150-200 on its own easy. Yes the dock is to expensive, but I would say that it should cost between 200-300 regular. Maybe if ATT was being generous they would make a bundle with the dock costing 150 and the phone 150 with the purchase of the tethering plan. Thats just my .02.
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Your pricing is so out of wack I dont' even know where to start.
The laptop dock probably costs them $100 to manufacture. I've put projects like this together, so I'm pretty confident in this cost structure from a CM perspective. This is just them gouging the early adopters. It will probably come down to 2-300 pretty fast, and probably under 200 toward the end.

Squeak22 said:
Your pricing is so out of wack I dont' even know where to start.
The laptop dock probably costs them $100 to manufacture. I've put projects like this together, so I'm pretty confident in this cost structure from a CM perspective. This is just them gouging the early adopters. It will probably come down to 2-300 pretty fast, and probably under 200 toward the end.
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How much does a good laptop battery go for nowadays?
Ultimately, they're here to make money. Of course it's going to be "high" compared to their production price. =/

Milkshakes00 said:
How much does a good laptop battery go for nowadays?
Ultimately, they're here to make money. Of course it's going to be "high" compared to their production price. =/
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I never said it wouldn't be. My point was that the previous poster was putting together consumer products and making an incorrect assumption.

The phone is priced at a steal, the accessories not so much. If you're looking for just the phone this is a great deal.

A good editorial/rant on Motorola and the Xoom

http://briefmobile.com/xoom-officially-priced-at-800-only-one-sku-to-choose-from-a-ranteditorial
A pretty good read.

And dont forget to rant about this:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/06/verizon-locking-wifi-on-motorola-xoom-until-you-buy-one-month-of/
Arcadia310 said:
http://briefmobile.com/xoom-officially-priced-at-800-only-one-sku-to-choose-from-a-ranteditorial
A pretty good read.
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gogol said:
And dont forget to rant about this:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/06/verizon-locking-wifi-on-motorola-xoom-until-you-buy-one-month-of/
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really lame and greedy. Wanted one too. Not anymore.

same here. No way I'll pay $800 for a device that's essentially the same as the Viewsonic Gtab w/ a better OS (and a few other bells and whistles - NOT $400 worth) for DOUBLE the price. Stupid Stupid move on Motorola's part. $500 makes sense, $800 is pure stupidity. I'll keep my fingers crossed for another device that fits the $500 mark, or just wait it out w/ my newly purchased $399 Galaxy Tab for the prices to come down.

Well, this is not wifi-only device.
I don't think you can expect NON wifi-only device for $500 with this kind of spec.
If you are looking for wifi-only device (like the iPad $500 price point), then this is not for you. You need to wait ... until there is that wifi-only version released.
tullywork said:
same here. No way I'll pay $800 for a device that's essentially the same as the Viewsonic Gtab w/ a better OS (and a few other bells and whistles - NOT $400 worth) for DOUBLE the price. Stupid Stupid move on Motorola's part. $500 makes sense, $800 is pure stupidity. I'll keep my fingers crossed for another device that fits the $500 mark, or just wait it out w/ my newly purchased $399 Galaxy Tab for the prices to come down.
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How funny is that. Were in a recession, yet you want to charge 800 for a tablet that's wifi locked and you MUST pay at least one month of Verizons data plan just to unlock the wifi. I call bull****. Lost alot of respect from me.
[G2/HTC Vision]

gogol said:
Well, this is not wifi-only device.
I don't think you can expect NON wifi-only device for $500 with this kind of spec.
If you are looking for wifi-only device (like the iPad $500 price point), then this is not for you. You need to wait ... until there is that wifi-only version released.
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So your saying the cellular portion of these devices costs and/or is worth the extra $300 price tag? I would speculate the additional technology cost would be happily subsidized by any cellular company getting a data plan rate from the consumer and SHOULD keep this device around $500. The profits from the data plans that the cellular companies are getting from $20+ a month?? come on...seriously???
Let's call a spade a spade, Motorola believes that people will pay a premium for the 'FIRST' Android 3.0 device AND wants to ride the 'ipad' wave w/ the cellular providers pushing their wares + data plans. This $800 price tag wont last long. Apple sells the 'Apple' brand (hey look I bought an 'APPLE'), Motorola sells devices (no one is running around going 'hey look I bought a 'Motorola' - who cares???)
This thing will drop in price significantly over the next 6 months as they 1) get past the few people that are willing to throw money away to be 'latest/greatest' at all costs and 2) start to realize that significant sales will only come when the price is reasonable and one is purchasing them at this premium.
iPad prices are sure to drop as the iPad2 is released...WHY would people pay $800 for an 'Android' when they will *likely* be able to purchase the ipad 1 for $400-$600??? you have to compete and Motorola isn't unfortantely able to compete on brand, so it needs to compete for price + technology.
Let's not forget these are 'consumer' devices not computers, sure you can go 'spec for spec' w/ the nerds, but the masses don't really care about all that stuff....and the masses is who your selling your device to, to get 10+million devices in sales...

When the price leaked several weeks ago, any hope I had of getting a Xoom was gone. Even if it had not been shot down then, the new news that the price will be $800 and there will be a CHARGE to activate wifi .... would have done me in.
I made the decision to get the Nook Color. A week later someone had ported a working version/img of HC to the NC from the sdk release. The dang $800 Xoom can showcase it's stuff in a few weeks and I'm happy for people that will get it as I know it will be beautiful. The HC UI is gorgeous, beyond my expectations. I'll sit here happily with my $250 NC reader/table running HC. So far everything my friend with an iPad can do, I can do on my NC. It's 100%stable when running the rooted Eclair or Froyo, and about 80+% (and improving with each release) stable and useable running HC.
I guess Motorola thinks people are going to replace their laptops with a 10 inch tablet? Maybe. imo - doubtful. For $800 I'd sooner replace my laptop than get the Xoom.

Wow... that whole thing read like my thought process in the first few minutes after that Best Buy ad came out, including my decision to hold off buying and see what T-Mobile has in store.

luis86dr said:
How funny is that. Were in a recession, yet you want to charge 800 for a tablet that's wifi locked and you MUST pay at least one month of Verizons data plan just to unlock the wifi. I call bull****. Lost alot of respect from me.
[G2/HTC Vision]
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Exactly. People aren't exactly looking to just throw $800+ out the window on something they don't need. A $500 Wifi iPad is a MUCH better purchase until Honeycomb/the Xoom become established in the market.

Bull****. No such thing as locking Wifi in Android. So stop the lies.
Its just Verizon wanting to push their service.

Really?
$800 is too much?
How much is the price of your cellphone if you bought it without a contract?
Get a grip.

Henchman said:
Really?
$800 is too much?
How much is the price of your cellphone if you bought it without a contract?
Get a grip.
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Thats great, so just because cell phones are outrageously expensive, tablets should be too?
The only thing that expensive tablets will bring is more carrier controlled bull****. This subsidized pricing model lets prices get ridiculously inflated and only screws us.
Don't spend 800 on this thing and do us all a favor.

eallan said:
Thats great, so just because cell phones are outrageously expensive, tablets should be too?
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So, you really expect something 2 to 3 times the size of a cellphone, with much better specs, way larger screen, to be cheaper.
Yep. Makes total sense.
Right.....

tullywork said:
So your saying the cellular portion of these devices costs and/or is worth the extra $300 price tag? I would speculate the additional technology cost would be happily subsidized by any cellular company getting a data plan rate from the consumer and SHOULD keep this device around $500. The profits from the data plans that the cellular companies are getting from $20+ a month?? come on...seriously???
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Well, I don't know the price for that cellular components. But take a look on device that has similar specs (hardware wise) and has cellular capability.
Probably, if you shrink the Xoom display to around 4" like your Android phone, you will get that for $500.
Got that?
tullywork said:
Let's call a spade a spade, Motorola believes that people will pay a premium for the 'FIRST' Android 3.0 device AND wants to ride the 'ipad' wave w/ the cellular providers pushing their wares + data plans. This $800 price tag wont last long. Apple sells the 'Apple' brand (hey look I bought an 'APPLE'), Motorola sells devices (no one is running around going 'hey look I bought a 'Motorola' - who cares???)
This thing will drop in price significantly over the next 6 months as they 1) get past the few people that are willing to throw money away to be 'latest/greatest' at all costs and 2) start to realize that significant sales will only come when the price is reasonable and one is purchasing them at this premium.
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Of course, that's the early/first adopters price. You know that well.
Price will drop, significantly for tech product.
tullywork said:
iPad prices are sure to drop as the iPad2 is released...WHY would people pay $800 for an 'Android' when they will *likely* be able to purchase the ipad 1 for $400-$600??? you have to compete and Motorola isn't unfortantely able to compete on brand, so it needs to compete for price + technology.
Let's not forget these are 'consumer' devices not computers, sure you can go 'spec for spec' w/ the nerds, but the masses don't really care about all that stuff....and the masses is who your selling your device to, to get 10+million devices in sales...
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If they want an iPad, they will buy an iPad, simple
If they don't want to spend more money they will buy iPad 1 instead of iPad 2 anyway.

Henchman said:
So, you really expect something 2 to 3 times the size of a cellphone, with much better specs, way larger screen, to be cheaper.
Yep. Makes total sense.
Right.....
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No contract iPhone 4 16gb is 599. 16Gb 3g ipad is 629. I didn't realize size was the only factor that determined cost. Some big laptops are cheeeeaaaap. Atrix is cheaper than the xoom by 200 dollars. Same specs. Stop excusing awful pricing.

eallan said:
No contract iPhone 4 16gb is 599. 16Gb 3g ipad is 629. I didn't realize size was the only factor that determined cost. Some big laptops are cheeeeaaaap. Atrix is cheaper than the xoom by 200 dollars. Same specs. Stop excusing awful pricing.
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Really? You use yet another phone as a comparison?
What part of "size is a factor " didn't you understand?
You have a screen that is almost three times the size.
Way more RAM
And a much larger battery.
And these are simply the more obvious differences.
A 32gb Class 6 sd card alone runs about $100
The screens aren't cheap either. My guess is that they are at least $200.
And we haven't even talked about development costs, and the other parts.

Henchman said:
Really?
$800 is too much?
How much is the price of your cellphone if you bought it without a contract?
Get a grip.
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Let's not act like the article doesn't have some good points though. Let's take a look at Apple, and the iPad. You can buy a 16, 32 and 64 gig iPad. You can only buy a 32 gig Xoom. Personally, I do not need a 32 gig device, so I cannot justify throwing out $800 for something I'm not going to fully use.
THAT is where Moto made their mistake if you ask me. Only coming to the table with one option. Now, we've heard rumors of a WiFi ony model waiting in the wings, so maybe they do have an entry level 16 gig Xoom waiting in the wings. BUT, Moto would be much better served releasing it from the get go than holding it back.

You can add SD card with Xoom
Homan13PSU said:
Let's not act like the article doesn't have some good points though. Let's take a look at Apple, and the iPad. You can buy a 16, 32 and 64 gig iPad. You can only buy a 32 gig Xoom. Personally, I do not need a 32 gig device, so I cannot justify throwing out $800 for something I'm not going to fully use.
THAT is where Moto made their mistake if you ask me. Only coming to the table with one option. Now, we've heard rumors of a WiFi ony model waiting in the wings, so maybe they do have an entry level 16 gig Xoom waiting in the wings. BUT, Moto would be much better served releasing it from the get go than holding it back.
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I dont understand posts that say, If you dont wanna pay the premium, go get an iPad! pfffft~!..
Most of us here are fans of android, and want to see it succeed... Over the iPad and iOS devices..
What I'm worried is about the platform itself getting a bad image.. the iPad has a huge lead in user base already.. and apps already get months of early release on the iPad, starting android development only after the iOS version launches.. a device like this will only widen the gap..
Remember Sony and the PS3? "We want our users to work harder and save up for a PS3"... remember what happened? People bought 360's and Wii's...
Sigh.. and I own a ps3.. and I want a Xoom.. I'm just worried about the platform itself.. and since the Xoom was revealed to most of the general public in a high profile Superbowl ad, people will get this impression of the platform as expensive.. and not worth a premium over the iPad.. which is pretty too.. but cheaper.. and made by Apple.. which we all know is wrong.. but the general consumer doesnt..
I was talking w/ some of the people at my school, and people still dont realize that Android has anything to do with Google.. which i think is a mistake also.. people think android is a DROID device.. made by verizon.. some people dont realize that droid is even on other networks.. People trust Apple.. People trust Google.. but people dont know that Android = Google.. this I think is a problem..
And developers and other users follow where the general public user goes.. this is what I think the biggest problem is.

xoom only COSTS Best Buy $550!! WTF.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ps-to-1199-99-but-it-costs-best-buy-just-550/
So this makes me think that the price will be significantly lower than $1200 or $800. If not at Best Buy, someone else who can deal with less than 40% margins will sell this thing in the $6-700 range.
F*** Best Buy and their either 45% or even more obscene 118% markups.

CNET fed Motorolas ego tremendously when they gave the Xoom best of CES award...

legato89 said:
CNET fed Motorolas ego tremendously when they gave the Xoom best of CES award...
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+1 Clearly it did...
They think they can place apple price point/margin(actually even more than apple!) without any track record to proove it... Its ridicules... They clearly want to gouge the first adopters, and a month later i can guarentee they will drop the price by 200$ (especially when ipad 2 is unveiled...)
Its a sad day that im considering and ipad 2 over xoom/other android 3.0 cause of PRICE.

$1,999 is a placeholder price.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/13/motorola-xoom-up-for-pre-order-at-best-buy-for-1-199/
Engadget said:
Update: We've heard rumblings that this is indeed just a place holder -- much like the way other companies price products they don't want to sell at ridiculous levels -- and the final price will indeed be the $800 we've heard most consistently to this point.
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Also, it isn't as if the Xoom will be the only quality Honeycomb device out there. If it cost too much for your taste, wait until cheaper 3.0 tablets arrive. Looking at the trend so far most Honeycomb tablets have almost the exact same specifications anyways.

Botero said:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ps-to-1199-99-but-it-costs-best-buy-just-550/
So this makes me think that the price will be significantly lower than $1200 or $800. If not at Best Buy, someone else who can deal with less than 40% margins will sell this thing in the $6-700 range.
F*** Best Buy and their either 45% or even more obscene 118% markups.
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That's crazy. When I worked at Best Buy a few years back, I found little (if any) markup on almost all laptops. Apparently they've decided that the Xoom is a different story.
I'd like to think that purchasing at a Verizon store will be a different story, but I'm sure there are all kinds of deals in place to keep prices uniform across the industry. It would probably be cheaper getting one shipped from Europe.
Oh well. I'm thinking the Galaxy 10.1 looks better than the Xoom anyway, so maybe I'll stick around to see how it turns out.

Xevilious said:
That's crazy. When I worked at Best Buy a few years back, I found little (if any) markup on almost all laptops. Apparently they've decided that the Xoom is a different story.
I'd like to think that purchasing at a Verizon store will be a different story, but I'm sure there are all kinds of deals in place to keep prices uniform across the industry. It would probably be cheaper getting one shipped from Europe.
Oh well. I'm thinking the Galaxy 10.1 looks better than the Xoom anyway, so maybe I'll stick around to see how it turns out.
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The Galaxy 10.1 doesn't seem to come with a Sd card slot or even Hdmi port...yikes !

Arun01 said:
The Galaxy 10.1 doesn't seem to come with a Sd card slot or even Hdmi port...yikes !
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I hear ya there, SD card slot is a must in my mind for a tablet.
Love the design of the Tab 10.1 though, the backing looks so ergonomic.

If the xoom is locked down to modding like most other motorola stuff, the sd card won't be that big of a draw.
The markup is nuts, hence why I think you may be able to talk bestbuy into doing it out the door for 800, with the mobile service (that you can cancel).
Sent from my EVO using XDA App

Didn't motorola state the SD slot on the Xoom wont work until they patch it at a later date? or am i thinking of another CES tab?

Arun01 said:
The Galaxy 10.1 doesn't seem to come with a Sd card slot or even Hdmi port...yikes !
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Oh... I didn't realize that. Lame. It's a shame, because the device has a nice look to it.

Xevilious said:
That's crazy. When I worked at Best Buy a few years back, I found little (if any) markup on almost all laptops. Apparently they've decided that the Xoom is a different story.
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BB is probably trying to make some margin on the first few suckers (oops, customers). Expect a big price drop in a few months like the Galaxy tab.

jerrykur said:
BB is probably trying to make some margin on the first few suckers (oops, customers). Expect a big price drop in a few months like the Galaxy tab.
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You do realize a tablet like this would be price controlled by Verizon correct? Verizon controls prices of phones, just like ATT, Sprint, and Apple do.
@Xevilious : little margin is still made on laptops

Yeah god forbid companies try and make a profit on the products they make or sell

Old MuckenMire said:
Yeah god forbid companies try and make a profit on the products they make or sell
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Sirchuk said:
If the xoom is locked down to modding like most other motorola stuff, the sd card won't be that big of a draw.
The markup is nuts, hence why I think you may be able to talk bestbuy into doing it out the door for 800, with the mobile service (that you can cancel).
Sent from my EVO using XDA App
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Since when did Best Buy negotiate prices on a product like this?
Old MuckenMire said:
Yeah god forbid companies try and make a profit on the products they make or sell
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I am all for companies making money. But I must say, knowing that the device cost BB 550$.. I am no longer okay with Verizon forcing me to buy unwanted 3g for a month cranking up the already high price an unnecessary, and frankly incredibly expensive 1GB of data.

setite said:
Since when did Best Buy negotiate prices on a product like this?
I am all for companies making money. But I must say, knowing that the device cost BB 550$.. I am no longer okay with Verizon forcing me to buy unwanted 3g for a month cranking up the already high price an unnecessary, and frankly incredibly expensive 1GB of data.
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well you have to take into consideration that BB is probably not going to make a killing on this product. If they were confident that they would sell a lot of Xooms, the price would be less. They would be able to make up for it in volume.
I agree about the mandatory Verizon data but from my understanding you have three days to cancel it and get your money back for that. I myself am going to keep the months worth of data...I've always been with AT&T and am curious about Verizon's service in my area.

setite said:
Since when did Best Buy negotiate prices on a product like this?
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You might be surprised what they will do if there is still profit to be made. You can negotiate on just about all big ticket items, especially at the end of the quarter when they want to increase revenue numbers. Never hurts to ask for something like 5 or 10 percent off. Worked for me on a digital camera I wanted and a stove. They took another $200 off my stove, even beat the internet prices I found.
Sent from my EVO using XDA App

Old MuckenMire said:
well you have to take into consideration that BB is probably not going to make a killing on this product. If they were confident that they would sell a lot of Xooms, the price would be less. They would be able to make up for it in volume.
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As I said earlier pricing is controlled by Verizon
And that employee cost that you see, is not always the price that Best Buy pays for an item. Tablets that require internet activation are in an entire different realm of pricing structures (especially since this is a Verizon tablet).
Sirchuk said:
You might be surprised what they will do if there is still profit to be made. You can negotiate on just about all big ticket items, especially at the end of the quarter when they want to increase revenue numbers. Never hurts to ask for something like 5 or 10 percent off. Worked for me on a digital camera I wanted and a stove. They took another $200 off my stove, even beat the internet prices I found.
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Only way money is coming off the xoom is price matching verizon, which is going to be selling it at the same price

deadpixell said:
As I said earlier pricing is controlled by Verizon
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trust me, BB gives it's opinion to Verizon on what it wants to sell any given item for in their store and Verizon takes that opinion into account when pricing. BB doesn't have to carry any given device.... and Verizon or any other carrier has to work with them on price(as well as many other aspects) if Verizon wants that device in store. You can be sure Verizon's pricing would be different if they anticipated BB would sell tons more of them than they will currently.
All I am saying is this: if this tab was going to sell like the iPad, the price would be less. Verizon nor BB have the luxury of making their profit thru volume with this device.

Old MuckenMire said:
trust me, BB gives it's opinion to Verizon on what it wants to sell any given item for in their store and Verizon takes that opinion into account when pricing. BB doesn't have to carry any given device.... and Verizon or any other carrier has to work with them on price(as well as many other aspects) if Verizon wants that device in store. You can be sure Verizon's pricing would be different if they anticipated BB would sell tons more of them than they will currently.
All I am saying is this: if this tab was going to sell like the iPad, the price would be less. Verizon nor BB have the luxury of making their profit thru volume with this device.
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I know Best buy gives its opinion, but at the end of the day, its out of my hand. There are certain things like I said, that are price controlled regardless of how much Best Buy buys the item from. I'm sure Verizon also wants best buy to sell tons of xooms. During this past holiday I saw more people sold on buying tablets than laptops, sure the initial price is high, relative to what you get, but I'm sure it will come down.
And for what its worth, even though people here are complaining about the high price, this device will be extremely popular.
That being said if I see anything more in best buys system I'll try and post/make note of it

Xoom 3G/4G is in trouble

There are a few reasons that the Xoom 3G/4G is in trouble.
1. Sam's Club is rumored to be selling the price of the wi-fi only for $539
2. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinking of cutting its price when it debut (it may or may not have a better display than the Xoom)
So who would be willing to put out $800 to buy it now...even if you know about the $100 off promo code from Motorola.

id like to point out that some people WANT the data connection. they don't just want wifi.
secondly, its all about the instant gratification.

Because Motorola wouldnt drop the price when it actually releases the wifi-only version right?
Seriously guys, Motorola got it's flagship Xoom to market as quickly as it could with the price it wanted to sell to early adopters at. They aren't going to drop MSRP just because of competitor announcements, internet rumors, internet forum crybabies, or fuzzy pictures of fake displays in a random Sam's Club location.

No offense but I am a little tired of forum thread after forum thread about this. Most phones off contract now a days cost between 550-600 dollars. So why the hell wouldn't a tablet with 3G, WiFi, and a free upgrade to 4G be anything less than what it cost. If you don't want to pay 800 off contract then luckily you have options. 599 on contract which I woldnt do but that's just me, or wait for the price to come down or the WiFi one to come out. I cannot believe how many people are *****ing about the price. It is the worlds first Android 3.0 tablet and for as far back as I can remember you pay a heftyprice if you want to be an early adopter. I bought the 800 Xoom and I am happy with my purchse especially when I will get LTE on it. I see know need it buying a gimped tablet with only WiFi as I need my mobile devices to be well mobile.
All this *****ing over 150-200 dollars is rediculous. All I hear about the Xoom is the price and the endless comparison to the lowest priced Ipad. They are not even in the same ballpark. If you spend 499 you get a wifi only, 16 gb, 512 ram, not as good cameras front and back and most of all it is apple and their walled garden. Why do people keep comparing these? You need to compae with at least similarly speced items like the 32 gb with 3G.
If people don't want to buy the 800 Xoom, then so be it but lets stop *****ing about it it gets us no where. It is worth everypennyof 800 for what you get ans it is only going to get better and lower priced as more tablets hit the market. Either way the Xoom will catch on and no it isn't in trouble because of the ipad and samsung rethnking the pricing if you read the entire article you would see that they had planned to charge more than the galaxy tab which would of more than likely been 800 or more as I believe the galaxy tab was 699 at launch. No one is forcing youto buy a Xoom so stop with the price comparisons ans if you want one then for gods sake stop *****ing about 150-200 more when you are already dropping 599 for the thing. Look at what you get for that extra 200. More ram, more internal space, expandable memory (when. It launches), 3G upgradeable to 4G, a btter screen, android 3.0, a better camera front and back, better hardware (in my opinion), the wonderful devs here on xda will have this thing do everything thanks to be unlockable (thanks moto), and best of all we aren't stuck dealing with apple. On another note it still has better specs than any tablet that is going to launch that has been announced. So please stop whining.

angermeans said:
No offense but I am a little tired of forum thread after forum thread about this. Most phones off contract now a days cost between 550-600 dollars. So why the hell wouldn't a tablet with 3G, WiFi, and a free upgrade to 4G be anything less than what it cost. If you don't want to pay 800 off contract then luckily you have options. 599 on contract which I woldnt do but that's just me, or wait for the price to come down or the WiFi one to come out. I cannot believe how many people are *****ing about the price. It is the worlds first Android 3.0 tablet and for as far back as I can remember you pay a heftyprice if you want to be an early adopter. I bought the 800 Xoom and I am happy with my purchse especially when I will get LTE on it. I see know need it buying a gimped tablet with only WiFi as I need my mobile devices to be well mobile.
All this *****ing over 150-200 dollars is rediculous. All I hear about the Xoom is the price and the endless comparison to the lowest priced Ipad. They are not even in the same ballpark. If you spend 499 you get a wifi only, 16 gb, 512 ram, not as good cameras front and back and most of all it is apple and their walled garden. Why do people keep comparing these? You need to compae with at least similarly speced items like the 32 gb with 3G.
If people don't want to buy the 800 Xoom, then so be it but lets stop *****ing about it it gets us no where. It is worth everypennyof 800 for what you get ans it is only going to get better and lower priced as more tablets hit the market. Either way the Xoom will catch on and no it isn't in trouble because of the ipad and samsung rethnking the pricing if you read the entire article you would see that they had planned to charge more than the galaxy tab which would of more than likely been 800 or more as I believe the galaxy tab was 699 at launch. No one is forcing youto buy a Xoom so stop with the price comparisons ans if you want one then for gods sake stop *****ing about 150-200 more when you are already dropping 599 for the thing. Look at what you get for that extra 200. More ram, more internal space, expandable memory (when. It launches), 3G upgradeable to 4G, a btter screen, android 3.0, a better camera front and back, better hardware (in my opinion), the wonderful devs here on xda will have this thing do everything thanks to be unlockable (thanks moto), and best of all we aren't stuck dealing with apple. On another note it still has better specs than any tablet that is going to launch that has been announced. So please stop whining.
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This was awesome.

angermeans said:
No offense but I am a little tired of forum thread after forum thread about this. Most phones off contract now a days cost between 550-600 dollars. So why the hell wouldn't a tablet with 3G, WiFi, and a free upgrade to 4G be anything less than what it cost. If you don't want to pay 800 off contract then luckily you have options. 599 on contract which I woldnt do but that's just me, or wait for the price to come down or the WiFi one to come out. I cannot believe how many people are *****ing about the price. It is the worlds first Android 3.0 tablet and for as far back as I can remember you pay a heftyprice if you want to be an early adopter. I bought the 800 Xoom and I am happy with my purchse especially when I will get LTE on it. I see know need it buying a gimped tablet with only WiFi as I need my mobile devices to be well mobile.
All this *****ing over 150-200 dollars is rediculous. All I hear about the Xoom is the price and the endless comparison to the lowest priced Ipad. They are not even in the same ballpark. If you spend 499 you get a wifi only, 16 gb, 512 ram, not as good cameras front and back and most of all it is apple and their walled garden. Why do people keep comparing these? You need to compae with at least similarly speced items like the 32 gb with 3G.
If people don't want to buy the 800 Xoom, then so be it but lets stop *****ing about it it gets us no where. It is worth everypennyof 800 for what you get ans it is only going to get better and lower priced as more tablets hit the market. Either way the Xoom will catch on and no it isn't in trouble because of the ipad and samsung rethnking the pricing if you read the entire article you would see that they had planned to charge more than the galaxy tab which would of more than likely been 800 or more as I believe the galaxy tab was 699 at launch. No one is forcing youto buy a Xoom so stop with the price comparisons ans if you want one then for gods sake stop *****ing about 150-200 more when you are already dropping 599 for the thing. Look at what you get for that extra 200. More ram, more internal space, expandable memory (when. It launches), 3G upgradeable to 4G, a btter screen, android 3.0, a better camera front and back, better hardware (in my opinion), the wonderful devs here on xda will have this thing do everything thanks to be unlockable (thanks moto), and best of all we aren't stuck dealing with apple. On another note it still has better specs than any tablet that is going to launch that has been announced. So please stop whining.
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Wow do I agree with you so much. $800 is justified. Motorola only has one price point which competes with Apple's equivalent. I wish people would stop complaining about the price.

Amen, brother.
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It's mainly about options bro, with the xoom there's only one; very expensive one.
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calin75 said:
It's mainly about options bro, with the xoom there's only one; very expensive one.
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There are several options "bro", the problem is that too many here choose the one involving complaining incessantly on the internet.

calin75 said:
It's mainly about options bro, with the xoom there's only one; very expensive one.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App
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This is where I think everyone has the wrong mentality.
With the iPad and iPad2 ONLY APPLE manufactures and sells this product. The options are limited by them.
With ANY android tablet the options are not just "1 xoom". The options are:
Archos 101 Internet Tablet
Motorola Xoom
Galaxy Tab
etc..
the list goes on... so you see... you are NOT stuck with one option unless you continue to limit yourself to one manufacturer.
iOS: Only 1 device can run it
Android: Completely open - anyone is welcome to make a device for it.
It means more competition, more product diversity and more choices for us.

It may be true that $800 is comparable to the high end ipad. However, we are talking about the general population and take into account their spending potential. Not everyone has the money to spend $800 on a tablet.
So if they see a bargain, they will go to it. Again, we are talking about the general population as a whole. Not someone who can easily afford the $800 tablet and can take the time to rationale the justifiable price point.
Just take a look at the ipad versions. Which of the 6 versions do you think sell the most?

Dawg, the only option we have right now with the xoom is whether to buy it full price or get $200 off and get raped by Verizon for 2 years. Why is Apple releasing all models at and carriers at the same time? the xoom is the first HC tablet in the market and not to offer a WiFi model from the beginning is nothing more than pure blasphemy.
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Why would Motorola undercut it's own flagship product's sales by releasing a cheaper limited version when it doesnt have to? Why squander the lead the Xoom has on Samsung, HTC, RIM, HP, etc?
Something tells me the VZW-Motorola Xoom contract has a part to play in this as well. It's squarely in VZW's interest to have exclusivity on the only android 3.0 tablet on the market for as long as possible, a wifi-only version cuts into their market saturation directly.

angermeans said:
Most phones off contract now a days cost between 550-600 dollars. So why the hell wouldn't a tablet with 3G, WiFi, and a free upgrade to 4G be anything less than what it cost.
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so you're really ok with a phone being $550-$600?? what the pricing tells me is that the phones are far overpriced.

mazz0310 said:
Wow do I agree with you so much. $800 is justified. Motorola only has one price point which competes with Apple's equivalent. I wish people would stop complaining about the price.
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By the time I left the Verizon store the day after launch I was out over $1,000. For the Xoom, the gel case, charging stand, keyboard, etc... The Xoom has barely left my side in the last week and is in constant use (just like my gtab and q1 ultra before it). Since I use it for work, I will easily extract $200 of value from it every month this year. The Xoom is awesome and will only get better. Great value in my opinion.

Earthbrain said:
It may be true that $800 is comparable to the high end ipad. However, we are talking about the general population and take into account their spending potential. Not everyone has the money to spend $800 on a tablet.
So if they see a bargain, they will go to it. Again, we are talking about the general population as a whole. Not someone who can easily afford the $800 tablet and can take the time to rationale the justifiable price point.
Just take a look at the ipad versions. Which of the 6 versions do you think sell the most?
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Your right in a way but we are not talking about the "general public" here. We are talking about the hundreds of posts like this one that complain incently that the Xoom is overpriced as all they look at is the 499 ipad that is inferior to the Xoom in every way. Who cares if the Xoom won't sell as many as the ipad it is targeted to an audience that wants something different. All it needs to do is compete not sell 15 million like the ipad. I am talking about people that write posts like this and just ***** about the price. They'll pay 500 no problem but will ***** and moan about 150-200 more dollars even tho they are getting many many many more features. If you don't want the Xoom than get the Ipad we don't need assumptions like the OP made saying that the Xoom will fail because they failed to meet a certain price point. Not to mention that the Xoom is the first and o can guarentee that we will see a price drop and a wifi only version but they dont want to wait for that they want to ***** and bring up the ipad.
By the way this is in no way targete at you as I partly agree with your posts I am just sick of these posts " the Xoom will fail as it is not as cheap as the. Wifi only 16gb Ipad. They are in no way the same product so lets move on. This is a site of early adopters that pay good hard earned money and get the most out of their products. We are in every way the opposite of what apple and its iphone and ipad stand for so why are we *****ing about wanting that price point. We are the same people that gladly dropped 529 for the google nexus one without even using the product and was happy to do so and most have probably had multiple phones over this past year. Lets all grow up and get over what motorola and verizon feel this Xoom is worth. Get it or don't but shut up in the process.

You guys are silly. What reason could you have for defending the high price other than feeling dumb for spending too much or having moto sign your paycheck.
I bought a xoom too. At least I know it was too much.
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I totally agree with you great investment in my opinion

madsquabbles said:
so you're really ok with a phone being $550-$600?? what the pricing tells me is that the phones are far overpriced.
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I agree they def are but the more features we get the more these phones will cost. You cant tell me you didn't know that is what they cost and I don't see anyone saying "but apple is cheaper" because they are 650 and 750 off contract for their iPhones. The point is phones are overpriced but you can see why tablets cost this much when compared to phones.

angermeans said:
Your right in a way but we are not talking about the "general public" here. We are talking about the hundreds of posts like this one that complain incently that the Xoom is overpriced as all they look at is the 499 ipad that is inferior to the Xoom in every way. Who cares if the Xoom won't sell as many as the ipad it is targeted to an audience that wants something different. All it needs to do is compete not sell 15 million like the ipad. I am talking about people that write posts like this and just ***** about the price. They'll pay 500 no problem but will ***** and moan about 150-200 more dollars even tho they are getting many many many more features. If you don't want the Xoom than get the Ipad we don't need assumptions like the OP made saying that the Xoom will fail because they failed to meet a certain price point. Not to mention that the Xoom is the first and o can guarentee that we will see a price drop and a wifi only version but they dont want to wait for that they want to ***** and bring up the ipad.
By the way this is in no way targete at you as I partly agree with your posts I am just sick of these posts " the Xoom will fail as it is not as cheap as the. Wifi only 16gb Ipad. They are in no way the same product so lets move on. This is a site of early adopters that pay good hard earned money and get the most out of their products. We are in every way the opposite of what apple and its iphone and ipad stand for so why are we *****ing about wanting that price point. We are the same people that gladly dropped 529 for the google nexus one without even using the product and was happy to do so and most have probably had multiple phones over this past year. Lets all grow up and get over what motorola and verizon feel this Xoom is worth. Get it or don't but shut up in the process.
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First, from the title, it does not that the Xoom 3G/4G "will fail." It says that it is in trouble....meaning that it will not sale as many as it had anticipated. If the rumor of the Sam's price and the possible lowered price of the Samsung tab did not exist, then the number of the 3G/4G would probably be bigger.
Also, I did not whine about the $800 being expensive on its own. It is being expensive "relative" to the alternatives. Do you think that if the Sam's club rumor was true of being $539....do you think that just having 3G/4G itself is worth $800-$539 = $261? Do you think that the 10.1 Samsung tab with almost identical specs with its lower price point (if true) would not sway others from getting the Samsung instead?
Of course you could argue that you pay a higher price for being an early adopter...which I agree is true. However, some would have the patience to wait it out. But the bottom line is that the 3G/4G is now "in trouble" because it would change some consumers' mind and would affect its sale number.

[Q] Pricing - throw in your wild speculation here

So as hawk2k8 has posted about, the Motorola site doesn't have the 'Buy Now' on their website right now (at least temporarily) and the speculation goes... it could be a price change, out of stock, or revamping the listing to add Flash and 4G info. So let's play out the price change part of it for a little fun!
My thoughts are that it seems a bit odd that they have the 3G/4G price at $800 and will put out the wifi version a full $200 below. I just can't imagine a vendor having that large of a separation between the models. And yes, I know their rep said it would be around the $600-ish mark, not debating that, just saying its a big difference for having 3G/4G. It would be an even bigger difference if the wifi sold at $539 as that 'Android 2.0 Homeycomb' sign showed.
So, what IF! What if they dropped the price of 3G to $599. Then the wifi model at $539 wouldn't sound so odd. Then maybe they give the early adopter buyers a $100 rebate so the pain of buying early wasn't so bad. Those that bought from stores like Costco would likely return it if the window was large enough and the wifi version came out during their return window. But my guess is most will be in the 14-30 day window and not return it. Or maybe Motorola will not give a rebate and just say that you paid for the experience of the XOOM as an early adopter.. who knows..
So let's stir up some fun speculation. I said FUN! Let's hear it! What's your wild speculation if they did change the price?

I'm certainly no marketing expert but I know my friends that have Apple products and those that have Android products are pretty much different when it comes to technology. Apple, its like no thinking involved, you want a movie or song plug it in and iTunes does all the work. Xoom, not so easy. Motorola/Google/Android really need something that simple. Apple, you don't think about encoding settings, and for the masses thats great. With the Xoom, there is so much confusion with "experts" trying to decide how to encode a movie; I don't use mine for movies so I don't follow it closely.
To answer your question with my two cents, if they want to compete with the iconic iPad, a great device (I have one), they need to get an iTunes like program. If they don't have that they'll never appeal to the average consumer with this type of device and will be on the fringes of the tablet market. Motorola Media Link got pretty good reviews (I never tried it with my Droid or DX) and why this isn't ready for the Xoom, Jha should hang his head in shame.
If you're shopping in Best Buy for a tablet, the ipad 2 is $600, what would it take to even consider the Xoom? I think the Xoom would have to be at least $75 south of a similar spec'd ipad to get someone that wants a tablet to take a good look at it.

So to be sure I stem the potential... I don't want this be an ipad v. xoom controversy. As they say, let's keep it to the facts m'am. Just want to hear ideas about pricing speculation. =)

@OP
I think Moto will stick to the original MSRP, at least for a while. Until April, the Xoom will still be the only HC tab in town.
Part of the high pricing is to establish brand position (i.e. Xoom "is a premium product") in consumers' mindset, and not so much about getting more money. Part of it is to protect the smartphone pricing model, given that Moto sell smartphones at ~$500 price point, and a tab is considered as "smartphone-plus", which should command $500+ pricing. If Moto/Samsung/HTC/et al sell tabs at the "laptop" pricing model, there would be considerable downward pressure on their present smartphone pricing.
For laptop vendors, eg Acer/MSI/et al, there is no such dilemma, and their HC tabs will start at around the $400 point. Asus and Dell have smartphone aspirations, and will stick with the "smartphone" pricing model.
The Apple iPad2 is the 800-lbs fly-in-the-ointment in all this. But in econ terms, the demand for either product (iPad2 or Xoom) is relatively price-inelastic, i.e. you aren't likely to buy either on the basis of pricing. Anyone who buys a Xoom at this point is an early adopter who wants to try Android's latest, and price isn't a significant factor. People who buys iPad are likely already partial to the iOS ecosystem, and at this point Apple's simply is more mature and user-friendly. So, while fodder for arguments, relative pricing is not a major factor.
@mgerbasio
Normal users don't do video transcoding, period. For that, the Xoom can be made as simple as Apple's if that's desired. All that's needed is a suitable preset. That's what the early adopters are hashing out. The same occurred for the Apple iPad.

If sales are as bad as the rumors indicate, then I would make the following decisions if I was Motorola:
1. Start a heavy marketing campaign. HEAVY-Hire an advertising firm that will blast the information about the Xoom everywhere. Spend some freaking money.
2. Sell the 3G/4G model at a $599 price point for the 3G/4G, would draw some interest.
3. Sell the WIFI version for $479.00 This $539 price we have seen is a marketing failure. Nobody prices a product at $539. This is simply a dumb, dumb move. $499.00 should be the Max price for the WIFI version.
4. Offer immediate credit to anyone who purchased the Xoom previously. Rebate?
5. Get Verizon to dump the $35, re-activation fee. That is stupid.
6. You need to make a killing on the accessories, and you can't do that without your main product selling. Selling the 3G/4G at cost isn't a bad move, and it certainly wouldn't hurt Motorola. Your not losing money at cost, your just not making any money on your main product. However, you should be making money on the WIFI version.