Xoom--Not selling very well

[slinky317]

Wrong...you don't have to purchase a month of service if you get the xoom from Verizon. On another note, I kept my xoom for one night and unfortunately had to pay a $70 restocking fee. It was choppier than my ipad, had **** for apps, the mobile view in the browser was the straw that broke my back. Having no ability to change that was proof to me that testing on this device was substandard at best. Going to wait for HP Touchpad...hopefully they'll do better with webos than palm did.

Ten seconds of research would have shown how to change it so you don't get the mobile view for websites.

(Posted from my HTC Droid Incredible)

 

[gdbjr]

Yeah, probably true. I think a year and a half from now nothing will be able to touch Honeycomb tablets.

Are you insane? A year and a half and you think honeycomb will still matter???

Then again as slow as some manufactures are to update honeycomb might still be on tablets, but it will be completely out of date.

 

[patfactorx]

If the WiFi model is the "actual tablet strategy" then where is it? Why did Moto abandon it's real tablet strategy for a marketing ploy? I think Moto has no strategy, and depended on Verizon just as they did with the Droid.

You're right about one thing -- Motorola is not Apple. Apple puts products people want into their hands, at a price point they have convinced people is reasonable. According to you, Motorola drops their strategy (whatever it may be) at the will of a carrier. I'll say with certainty that more iPad 2's have been sold in the first 2 hours of sales than Moto will sell this month through Verizon.

The hardware is not as good. The interface is restrictive. The DRM on the content is downright draconian. Yet they sell a ton of them. There is a reason, and love them or hate them, the folks at Apple give people what they want. Motorola hasn't yet.

I don't think its entirely about having a "tablet strategy" even though most analysts talk that way. I think its more about having a carrier strategy.

Motorola is never going to make the most money by selling direct to consumers. The consumer market is actually really fickle. (That's why companies like Dell and Microsoft choose to focus so much on enterprise even though they have a huge retail presence) Apple might be doing well right now but they also don't have partners that give them leverage for the future. What happens when the weight of developers start shifting toward Android and Amazon starts killing iTunes? Steve Jobs and Johnathan Ives won't be there forever and without aggressive innovation they are dead in the water.

Motorola should take a cue from Microsoft and IBM. It's about the partners. Apple is nowhere near as profitable as those companies because they live and die by their next product while Microsoft and IBM can coast because of their partnerships. Motorola doesn't want to live and die by their products. They want Verizon as a long term partner who buys anything they make.

 

[accordngs]

^^^^ Not to mention you could download one of the 5 other browsers available in the market that you could easily change that setting as well.

This thread has shown some crazy expectations of people:

1. Did anyone really think there would be 10000 optimized tablet apps within 2 weeks of launch. I mean come on!

2. Did Moto rush this to beat the iPad2? I don't know --- but what I do know is that even in its "rushed" current state, it is better than the iPad2 in nearly every regard other than apps.




And why do we keep comparing the iPad and Xoom?

The Xoom is truly closer to a personal computer, offering better multi-tasking that is more closely related to a computer.

The iPad is a giant app player that excels at that one feature -- being an app player. If that is all you need, awesome...go for it. I would almost be willing to argue that my Evo has more capabilities that the iPad. My personal goal is to replace my laptop....so the closer I get to having a full Windows 7/8 tablet, the happier I am.

 

[heraldo]

A yeah and a half ago so called analysts said Android had no shot of over taking Apple or RIM. Well, a yeah and a half later Android owns the phone market and there is no end in site. With that being said the love affair with Apple and their good but not great products will always continue. But the facts will be the facts and Google will one day dominate this market as well.

We all know Apple was the one who started it all, but now they are playing catch up. They may dominate the tablet market but they are already playing catch up with the technology. There time as the leader on the phone side has passed and in a year or two you will see the same with tablets.

So, I say I love my Xoom and who cares if sales are off to a good start or not. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

Actually, a year and a half ago Android was projected to take over by 2014 and 6 months ago they bumped up the projected time scale to 2012 . #facts

 

[Quasar]

Verizon needs to get behind the Xoom and be ready to show people its added benefits over iPad. I know somebody who went in on the 10th and was sold an iPad 1 without the sales girl even mentioning the Xoom or that the iPad 2 would be out the next day. She just saw that he was an older gentleman and sold him what she figured would be most simple for him to use. Today, after I told him about the Xoom and compared it's feature to his iPad, he took it back and got a Xoom. It wasn't hard to show him how to get the most use out of it. The same sales girl even tried to talk him out of the Xoom because she felt it would be to complicated for him.

 

[admorris#AC]

Ten seconds of research would have shown how to change it so you don't get the mobile view for websites.

(Posted from my HTC Droid Incredible)

My mistake then, although that alone wouldn't have changed my mind about the xoom. It was still quite choppy, no where near as smooth as even the original iPad. I can't even imagine how it would compare to the newest iPad. I have always been a HUGE Android fan...I currently own the Evo since day one...it has been rooted almost since the first day as well. I have always had a disdain for Apple, but figured I would try the iPad. I now get their philosophy with "experience" over specs. I don't know how they could make the older version of iPad so much smoother than the latest and greatest dual core setup, but they have.

Please refrain from flaming, as I seem to be one of the few on here that has actually owned both...so I am not coming from a bias in either direction, I am speaking fact. The ONLY thing I wish Apple would incorporate in their pads would be widgets...if they would do that, Android tablets might as well cancel Christmas...they would be done.

 

[azari]

admorris - I briefly owned an iPad (1) and now have the Xoom. Not sure what was wrong with your Xoom ('choppy'), but mine is smoother and faster than my iPad was. Don't get me wrong, I liked the iPad for what it is, but the Xoom gets me approx. 95% toward replacing my laptop (using PocketCloud), which is what I am aiming for. I used my iPad really like a 'blown up' iPod Touch...

Got the OTA update last night, and should have flash 10.2 within the next 2 weeks - this will make the device even better.

 

[admorris#AC]

admorris - I briefly owned an iPad (1) and now have the Xoom. Not sure what was wrong with your Xoom ('choppy'), but mine is smoother and faster than my iPad was. Don't get me wrong, I liked the iPad for what it is, but the Xoom gets me approx. 95% toward replacing my laptop (using PocketCloud), which is what I am aiming for. I used my iPad really like a 'blown up' iPod Touch...

Got the OTA update last night, and should have flash 10.2 within the next 2 weeks - this will make the device even better.

Yea, I was thinking maybe I just got a crappy one, but started looking at more and more reviews saying the same thing. Pinch to zoom is not as responsive, the screen is not as responsive, as I found myself having to tap on icons several times from time to time. I could have dealt with the no flash and lack of apps, as I knew that stuff going in, but the issues listed above along with force closings and locking up I was not willing to deal with for $800. So I reluctantly gave verizon $70 of my hard earned money for one damn night of usage...lol.

 

[dmcman73]

My wife has the original iPad and I have the Xoom. Placing them side by side and browsing the web (Wifi) the xoom is slightly faster. Scrolling, both are smooth as silk.

People who are saying the Xoom is choppy must have loaded a crap full of apps that were not made for Honeycomb causing the choppiness.

As for the "Not enough apps" argument, get your head of of Steve Job's A$$. When the iPad was first launched there were NOT enough apps optimized for it. When the iPod touch was launched..there were NOT enough apps for it. When Xbox was launched, there were like 10 games at launch...I could keep going on and on and on.

As for price, the price of the Xoom with3G/4G/WiFi, 32GB of ram Expandable to whatever the SD slot will accept, 1 GB of system memory is in line with the iPad 2 with 3G/WiFi, 512Meg system memory and 64Gig of RAM not expandable; so stop comparing the Xoom to a sub base model with no 3G and 16GB of storage. Thats like saying Apple should bring their top line 64GB Ipad 2 to the same price point as the Nook color...after all, they are both tablets...no?

People seem to forget all the issues and problems Apple has had with launch of any new product, it wasn't all rosy for them either, they just had a year to fix it all.

 

[azari]

Wow. Sorry to hear that - definitely a different experience than mine. A couple of apps (e.g. Weatherbug) are what I would consider 'not as smooth' as on my Incredible, but I think that is mostly because they are not (yet) optimized for the tablet. I think we are seeing growing pains not unsimilar to the original iPad (anybody remember the wifi issues there?!)

The iPad 2 is a great looking device; and while it's not in line with my needs, I am sure you'll be happy with it, even w/o flash capabilities O

(...) Pinch to zoom is not as responsive, the screen is not as responsive, as I found myself having to tap on icons several times from time to time. (...)

 

[p08757]

My wife has the original iPad and I have the Xoom. Placing them side by side and browsing the web (Wifi) the xoom is slightly faster. Scrolling, both are smooth as silk.

People who are saying the Xoom is choppy must have loaded a crap full of apps that were not made for Honeycomb causing the choppiness.

As for the "Not enough apps" argument, get your head of of Steve Job's A$$. When the iPad was first launched there were NOT enough apps optimized for it. When the iPod touch was launched..there were NOT enough apps for it. When Xbox was launched, there were like 10 games at launch...I could keep going on and on and on.

As for price, the price of the Xoom with3G/4G/WiFi, 32GB of ram Expandable to whatever the SD slot will accept, 1 GB of system memory is in line with the iPad 2 with 3G/WiFi, 512Meg system memory and 64Gig of RAM not expandable; so stop comparing the Xoom to a sub base model with no 3G and 16GB of storage. Thats like saying Apple should bring their top line 64GB Ipad 2 to the same price point as the Nook color...after all, they are both tablets...no?

People seem to forget all the issues and problems Apple has had with launch of any new product, it wasn't all rosy for them either, they just had a year to fix it all.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[dhendriksen]

This thread is so full of BS it's not even funny. None of us know how out is or isn't selling, so why argue and speculate?

 

[ishore99]

I like my Xoom and do not regret its purchase. Plain and simple.

 

[voghan]

I like my Xoom and do not regret its purchase. Plain and simple.

I agree, I'm happy with my xoom.

 

[Bossxii]

For what its worth, i had to visit three BB stores and finally found a Xoom in stock. Granted it maybe just low stock to begin with but talking with several of the employees its sales had been very sready since launch. My only concern is Dev support, i have Slingplayer and a few apps i use alot, just hope it grows like the phone side has. Coming from the iPad i know it takes time to see the market grow and based on the phone side i think the tablet apps will flush out soon enough for me. Plus if Hulu plays when flash is available next week. Thats worth any wait i may have for a favotite app from the iPad to make its way over. Plus when im at home Splashtop does a fine job of delivering full flash video and sound.

 

[slinky317]

Verizon needs to get behind the Xoom and be ready to show people its added benefits over iPad. I know somebody who went in on the 10th and was sold an iPad 1 without the sales girl even mentioning the Xoom or that the iPad 2 would be out the next day. She just saw that he was an older gentleman and sold him what she figured would be most simple for him to use. Today, after I told him about the Xoom and compared it's feature to his iPad, he took it back and got a Xoom. It wasn't hard to show him how to get the most use out of it. The same sales girl even tried to talk him out of the Xoom because she felt it would be to complicated for him.

Verizon will not give a major push for the Xoom. They only did that with the Droid brand because they wanted to compete with Apple, so they spent millions of dollars on marketing and made it successful. Now that Big Red has the iPhone and the iPad there's no way they'll spend lots of money to push the Xoom. Especially since it can't even do 4G yet.

Why Motorola agreed with Verizon to be such a premier partner I'll never know. They should have released the Wi-Fi version on their own time then worked with Verizon later to put out a LTE version when it was ready.


(Posted from my HTC Droid Incredible)

 

[falconeight]

It didn't sell well because its junk. Honeycomb has potential but the xoom is junk at $800 it should be $500 at the most with what it offered right now for it.

 

[dmcman73]

It didn't sell well because its junk. Honeycomb has potential but the xoom is junk at $800 it should be $500 at the most with what it offered right now for it.

Please explain why its junk. I am typing on mine right now and the thing is solid. Works flawlessly and in fact i've replaced my laptop with it.

So I am curious as to why its junk...care to back it up with facts or are you the typical troll that jumps into a thread screaming things are junk and then sit back to see what happens?

 

[voghan]

Please explain why its junk. I am typing on mine right now and the thing is solid. Works flawlessly and in fact i've replaced my laptop with it.

So I am curious as to why its junk...care to back it up with facts or are you the typical troll that jumps into a thread screaming things are junk and then sit back to see what happens?

We brought the tablet up to the cabin this weekend instead of our laptop. For me it has replaced my laptop. Now with flash I can't find much it doesn't do. Maybe too expensive but definately not junk.