A good editorial/rant on Motorola and the Xoom

[BlackPrince310]

Xoom Officially Priced at $800, Only One SKU to choose from! (A rant/editorial) - BriefMobile

I agree with everything stated. Since I'm a T-Mobile customer, I'll be waiting to the G-Slate. T-Mobile always has great pricing on their products.

 

[dwboston]

Xoom Officially Priced at $800, Only One SKU to choose from! (A rant/editorial) - BriefMobile

I agree with everything stated. Since I'm a T-Mobile customer, I'll be waiting to the G-Slate. T-Mobile always has great pricing on their products.

Sounds like the guy's pissed off and overreacting to a leaked BB ad. And there's only one SKU for now. There will undoubtedly be a WiFi-only version to follow.

 

[Maikai.Guy]

A well written rant that makes all good points.

 

[cparker5]

Sounds like the guy's pissed off and overreacting to a leaked BB ad. And there's only one SKU for now. There will undoubtedly be a WiFi-only version to follow.

So are you saying Motorola has backed up their advertisment? How is the Xoom giving us Freedom over the others?

 

[BlackPrince310]

Sounds like the guy's pissed off and overreacting to a leaked BB ad. And there's only one SKU for now. There will undoubtedly be a WiFi-only version to follow.

True, but first impressions are everything. Why release this amazing product with only one SKU at launch? Why does a Wifi version take an extra few months to put out?

 

[dwboston]

So are you saying Motorola has backed up their advertisment? How is the Xoom giving us Freedom over the others?

You're free to not buy it.

Who cares what the ad says? Apple fans? Marketing is often disconnected from reality.

 

[Smokexz]

G-slate might be cheaper, smaller screen... hopefully that 3d doesn't make the unsubsidized cost high.

Sent from my Nexus S

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Guys, don't buy into the "WiFi needs to be unlocked" thing, either. It's running stock Honeycomb, and without altering the OS, there is no way for Verizon or Motorola to disable the WiFi on the device. What they CAN do is not allow you to leave the store with it unless you purchase a months worth of Data, but that's about it. If that's their definition of "unlocking" WiFi, then so be it.

Rest assured, after that first month, your WiFi will still work.

 

[dwboston]

True, but first impressions are everything. Why release this amazing product with only one SKU at launch? Why does a Wifi version take an extra few months to put out?

I agree it would be better to have multiple versions ready to go. If memory serves, AAPL didn't have all versions of the iPad ready to go at launch. The real reason is either: VZW has an exclusive for a period of time, or Moto could only get so many manufactured by launch date and went with a higher-margin SKU.

 

[cparker5]

You're free to not buy it.

Who cares what the ad says? Apple fans? Marketing is often disconnected from reality.

I know I am free to not buy it, and probably won't. But that doesn't really answer my question.

I understand Apple often is disconnected from their ads, I didn't think motorolar would be. But I guess I shouldn't expect anything differant between the two.

 

[BlackPrince310]

Guys, don't buy into the "WiFi needs to be unlocked" thing, either. It's running stock Honeycomb, and without altering the OS, there is no way for Verizon or Motorola to disable the WiFi on the device. What they CAN do is not allow you to leave the store with it unless you purchase a months worth of Data, but that's about it. If that's their definition of "unlocking" WiFi, then so be it.

Rest assured, after that first month, your WiFi will still work.

Verizon branding is on the device, so Verizon can do as they wish; it's their device, not Google's.

 

[BlackPrince310]

I agree it would be better to have multiple versions ready to go. If memory serves, AAPL didn't have all versions of the iPad ready to go at launch. The real reason is either: VZW has an exclusive for a period of time, or Moto could only get so many manufactured by launch date and went with a higher-margin SKU.

Yeah, I believe Verizon is having their way with the device right now. I always wondered why Verizon branding was on the device. That explains the lack of a wifi only model.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Verizon branding is on the device, so Verizon can do as they wish; it's their device, not Google's.

Like I said, it's also running stock Honeycomb and is a Google Experience device. There is no way short of changing the software to disable the WiFi.

If they did that, it's no longer stock, and therefore it's no longer a Google Experience device. Motorola has said time and time again that no alterations have been made to the OS.

 

[BlackPrince310]

Like I said, it's also running stock Honeycomb and is a Google Experience device. There is no way short of changing the software to disable the WiFi.

If they did that, it's no longer stock, and therefore it's no longer a Google Experience device. Motorola has said time and time again that no alterations have been made to the OS.

I've seen them say that, and one time they emphasized that they meant UI alterations. We'll see what happens at release, but right now the Xoom is shooting itself in the foot.

 

[cparker5]

Have any of us seen stock Honeycomb to know that there isn't a feature to disable WiFi by the retail outlet?

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Have any of us seen stock Honeycomb to know that there isn't a feature to disable WiFi by the retail outlet?

The SDK preview is readily available for you to take a look at

 

[BlackPrince310]

Like Chris said, Verizon probably told Best Buy to not let customers leave the store with a Xoom unless they buy a data subscription with it.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Like Chris said, Verizon probably told Best Buy to not let customers leave the store with a Xoom unless they buy a data subscription with it.

I have no doubt in my mind that Verizon and Best Buy have been trained and instructed to not allow someone to walk out the door with it without purchasing a months worth of data, whether it be 1GB or 10. To be completely fair, as disappointed I am that we don't have a WiFi only version, from a business standpoint I don't blame them.

 

[ckeegan003]

I agree with everything stated. Since I'm a T-Mobile customer, I'll be waiting to the G-Slate. T-Mobile always has great pricing on their products.

I personally don't see how you think T-Mobile has any influence into the pricing of a device, but if you think the following prices are "great", then so be it...

Dell Streak 7 ($199.99) plus required 2 year agreement (minimum $24.99 for 200mb) = $799.75 (plus taxes and fees)

Galaxy Tab ($549.99 full retail) or $249.99 plus required 2 year agreement ($849.75 total plus taxes and fees)

With either option, you're still getting a product under-specced compared to the Xoom in terms of screen size, screen resolution, RAM, processor (Galaxy Tab only), and internal storage. While they both claim they will be upgraded to Honeycomb, they're still running skinned Froyo out of the box.

 

[Menno]

Not to mention if you look at their Superbowl ad it didn't have a HINT of Verizon branding. Sure, this could be because of iPhone mania, but I think it's also because they're leaving the door open for wifi/other carrier models.

And yes, you'll be able to activate on wifi.

I can tell you right now, the Tab "requires" activation even if you want the wifi model. Why? Because no store in their right mind would sell one of these carrier locked devices without requiring activation.

If they did, I (at another store) would tell people to buy their xoom at best buy, and bring it to me for activation and I would give them a free case or something to increase my activation numbers for that month.

Or even ignoring that, you sell one as a wifi only and sell out, then that person that wanted the contract can't get one.

This is a leaked ad guys, and as others are pointing out it has a lot of spelling errors in it. Let's wait for an official announcement and pricing, hmm?