Aggravating wait

[Maikai.Guy]

I've been reading about people getting angry about price. I'm getting irritated by the wait. I want this thing so bad, I can taste it.

First I hear end of February / beginning of March. Then I hear $800. Then I hear Feb 17th and $700. Then Feb 24th and we're back to $800 AND a mandatory sign up for service.

This is getting old. Motorola is doing a very poor job of controlling information in their sales channel. It's time to take my darn money and give me the darn unit...or at least let me pre-order.

I'm feeling VERY frustrated by all of this. I think I've been waiting for this since early October. Since the horizon was far, it was OK in the beginning. When CES hit, I was climbing the walls. I'm now clinging to the center of my ceiling by my finger and toe nails.

 

[qnet]

I agree it is frustrating. I don't care for the way things are going either but, then again; I've never followed a product so closely before it came out.

Last year when it was about two to three weeks before the Ipad came out, I already knew everything about it. I knew the specs, price, models, everything. The only mystery was when the 3G model would come and, even that wasn't that much of a mystery. I didn't even get it right away because, I wasn't sure I needed it however, when I got it, it filled a need I didn't know I had LOL!!

It will be hard for me not to get it when it comes out but, I'm starting to think maybe I should wait.

 

[Thomas3G]

yeah, its really frustrating... I'm expecting it will be affordable but seem to be the other way around. Maybe its because of some features added.

 

[dsignori]

The wait is tough, I agree. Hopefully it was to get good, finalized, (mostly) bug free software and hardware. The way I try to justify it to my self is by thinking this way, since I will be getting it at launch - whenever that may be:

On say, March 15th or so, I will have had the XOOM depending on when it came out for anywhere from a few days to 2 or 3 weeks. So on that day I will definitely care way more about the XOOM's software and Hardware working well and being bug free, than having had it maybe a week earlier, potentially skipping some minor fix and waiting on an update.

Having said that, of course if everything is 100% done now, then I want it now!! . But we may never know if any actual or perceived delay was caused a need to fix something (which I wouldn't mind), or other factors like VZ didn't want it too near the iPhone release, other other miscellaneous crap reasons (in which case I definitely do mind waiting!!!!!)

 

[Maikai.Guy]

T...or other factors like VZ didn't want it too near the iPhone release, other other miscellaneous crap reasons (in which case I definitely do mind waiting!!!!!)

Yes. This the source of my frustration. The idea that some snot-nose is just arbitrarily deciding this stuff, based on what his business professor told him in University.

The electronics used to be a maverick industry. Those guys are mostly gone now. Today, we have snot nosed MBAs who rely on theoretical business practices and use an army of consultants to over-analyze everything.

IMHO, the XOOM debut is going horribly wrong. There are three groups of people:
- Early adopters/fans who will purchase immediately... at a premium to have the privilege of having it early.
- Android users who will sit a wait to see the market develop, then probably purchase and Android tablet.
- iOS users who are mostly a lost cause. Many are just fan-boys and girls. Many don't know enough to understand the benefits Android can give them. The rest just use the equipment as music/movie player.

The closer they come to the release dates of other products, the less "privileged" I will feel about owning a XOOM... and the less inclined I will be to spend a premium price. I predict Motorola is losing droves of early adopters each day.

Motorola needs to open a pre-order... fast.

 

[qnet]

Yes. This the source of my frustration. The idea that some snot-nose is just arbitrarily deciding this stuff, based on what his business professor told him in University.

The electronics used to be a maverick industry. Those guys are mostly gone now. Today, we have snot nosed MBAs who rely on theoretical business practices and use an army of consultants to over-analyze everything.

IMHO, the XOOM debut is going horribly wrong. There are three groups of people:
- Early adopters/fans who will purchase immediately... at a premium to have the privilege of having it early.
- Android users who will sit a wait to see the market develop, then probably purchase and Android tablet.
- iOS users who are mostly a lost cause. Many are just fan-boys and girls. Many don't know enough to understand the benefits Android can give them. The rest just use the equipment as music/movie player.

The closer they come to the release dates of other products, the less "privileged" I will feel about owning a XOOM... and the less inclined I will be to spend a premium price. I predict Motorola is losing droves of early adopters each day.

Motorola needs to open a pre-order... fast.

I agree for the most part but, I don't want it because it's the new hot thing. I just want it because it's a nice device, has Honeycomb and, has more storage than my Ipad. If I had gotten a Ipad with more storage, the decision to get the Xoom would be much harder now, especially with what they are trying to do now (force you to sign a one month deal.)

 

[Maikai.Guy]

I agree for the most part but, I don't want it because it's the new hot thing. I just want it because it's a nice device, has Honeycomb and, has more storage than my Ipad. If I had gotten a Ipad with more storage, the decision to get the Xoom would be much harder now, especially with what they are trying to do now (force you to sign a one month deal.)

Yes, of course, I'm rarely an early adopter of anything. I am looking forward to the XOOM because I believe it will address a need I have with regards to working on the go.

If they hit me with a pre-order and a release date today, I'm in. The further down the road we get and the closer to competitive releases, the less I'll be inclined to make an immediate move to the XOOM.

Human nature being that we all think everyone else is like us, since I'm beginning to waver... and I would have categorized myself as a solid XOOM fan a week ago... other people are beginning to waver.

It's not the money. It's the lack of communication after they announced the product. It's the "hands off" policy they are adopting to the rumors flying around out there. It shows apathy or a lack of appreciation, bordering on arrogance, toward their consumer base.

 

[ckeegan003]

I'm excited, but certainly not aggravated. The last time I bought a product like this, without anticipation, was when I bought my first smartphone, an HTC Harrier (Verizon XV6600) back in December 2004. I honestly decided to get a smartphone, and it was the one that was out for Verizon at the time. If memory serves me correctly, it was $499 on a 2 year agreement.

Anyway, my point is that I've given up getting aggravated about release dates and prices, so always just assume the worst. It was only 5 months ago that Motorola said they even had plans to enter the tablet market, and then we heard rumors about the Stingray. Then about 4 months ago, we first heard about it coming in 1st quarter 2011.

That's when I assumed we'd see it in March at the latest, so I'm definitely not going to complain (or get aggravated) about the possibility that I'll have it in February instead.

By the way, while the Best Buy ad was likely a "proof", the basic information in the ad probably won't change. At this point, I'd put money on 2/24 at $800.

 

[2CupsWithString]

I'm kind of here, I really want a Xoom, but if Samsung comes out with an SAMOLED+ style display for the Galaxy Tab I may want that more.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

I'm excited, but certainly not aggravated.

I'm excited and aggravated. ;-)

 

[qnet]

I'm kidding myself and might as well be honest. When this thing come out; I'm getting it, I just might not get it as soon.

 

[cparker5]

I'm kidding myself and might as well be honest. When this thing come out; I'm getting it, I just might not get it as soon.

Lol, I can understand that feeling. Over the past week or so I have been thinking what else I can do with the $800 and have too many good ideas. In the end I think I might wait it out and not even go tablet until 3Q+ this year.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

Motorola's XOOM is now in a free fall of bad publicity, and still they remain silent. Either senior management or their marketing department, or both, are clueless.

This is the time they need to release some specs and divert attention. MANAGE THE MAYHEM!!! Bad news travels fast. People like to gossip. It may already be too late. The bad press has done a good job at coloring the reception of the XOOM.

Instead, the suits are staying silent, probably until next week in Barcelona. If sales are not what they expected, they only have themselves to blame. You stay silent if everything is going your way. You speak up and redirect attention when things are going South.

IMHO, all of this was manageable. The price... the release dates... the required one month from Verizon... all of it. If they only would communicate to their base of interested customers and controlled their own market positioning, not allow the press to totally control their market positioning.

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. It's like a Marketing 101 course on how to screw up a product release for something that should have sold itself.

Just sit back and watch the train wreck.

 

[Stang68]

Train wreck? All Motorola has to do is announce a wifi version for $599.99 that will be available at release and all of the bad press will go away.

Will that happen? That's a different story. I know we would all love that as most of us would just tether with our Android phones.

All I know is that MWC is coming up this weekend and if HTC announces a 10 inch tablet with similar specs to the XOOM along with a reasonable price and a (close) release date, Motorola and Verizon may lose me as a customer. That could simply be due to lack of information. As Makai.Guy has been saying throughout the thread, they should really open up a pre-order for the XOOM with a price and release date. If it is less than $800 I will probably pre-order right away.

And don't get me started on that commercial. We saw that Joseph Gordon-Levitt look-alike more than the actual device.

 

[2CupsWithString]

I wonder where the first shipments of Xooms actually are right now?

 

[qnet]

Motorola's XOOM is now in a free fall of bad publicity, and still they remain silent.

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. It's like a Marketing 101 course on how to screw up a product release for something that should have sold itself.

Just sit back and watch the train wreck.

Yeah, it pretty unbelievable and I don't understand it at all. What is even worse is, a friend of mine called me this morning and, said he saw a scroll on the botom of the screen while watching the news. The scroll was about the Ipad 2 and how it's in production.

Another thing that's hurting them IMO is, the lack of decent demos. I have found a few hands-on demos after really, really searching but, most are still just the ones from CES, which are not actual demos IMO.

I consider myself a tech and early adopter but, I'm having my doubts. Someone posted a link about a Toshiba tablet coming out this spring with the same specs as the Xoom. It looked pretty awesome and, it just depends on how things go with the Xoom and, when it's actually released; as to my decision now.

 

[Stang68]

I wonder where the first shipments of Xooms actually are right now?

Umm...not shipped? I still think it's kind of early for them to have shipped to VW/BB warehouses if the 24th is the date.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

Train wreck? All Motorola has to do is announce a wifi version for $599.99 that will be available at release and all of the bad press will go away.

But that is the poorest of all sales and marketing techniques.. to sell on price. Don't get me wrong... it works. But product gives up perceived value in the process.

The perceived value needs to be supported by information and the premium price would be acceptable. In this case, I really don't think it would be all that hard. Those of us who have scavenged every vlog and hands-on report, know the value. I dare say a large percentage of us have justified the price in our own minds because we can honestly and fairly compare it to what is out there now. I will be purchasing during the first moments of it being available.

John Q. Public needs to be spoon fed. They are not going to do their own research. Their value of XOOM will be defined by the press, which is overwhelmingly negative at this point.