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Thoughts on the [Motorola Xoom]?
Bigbluefoot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Personally, I'm waiting on one of these. I'm gonna get one, for taking notes in classes. And by taking notes, I mean watching youtube, listening to music, and just generally screwing around. I admit, the price is pretty steep. However, there has been a bit of stuff about the price, and it could be lower. I'm sure folks have seen it. I just wanna see other people's thoughts on it.
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to clarify there is no 3G only, theres wifi only and 3G+wifi.
It's also worth keeping in mind that, while Honeycomb looks great, it's going to take some time to get to the point where there are lots of worthwhile apps available that are built specifically for Honeycomb. The iPad transition was fairly quick, and I'm sure this will be as well, but if you're on the fence about buying one, you aren't going to be missing out on a lot in the first few month or two of availability.
Wouldn't the transition be swifter because there are more developers for Android than iOS, because Android is more readily available?
Android itself is more available, but there is going to be only one piece of equipment with Honeycomb, and that's the Xoom. Developers are going to be getting the tools required to make apps for Honeycomb very soon, if not already. I imagine some have, seeing as such things as the Honeycomb version of Swift Key is being worked on right now. But nothing else is going to have Honeycomb for a month or so. Until then, stuff isn't going to be made very quickly.
the Xoom is the only Honeycomb tablet, so the percentage of android users on honeycomb will be small until it starts to roll out on other tablets. Then developers are going to make apps that are for the most successful honeycomb tablet (right now it'll most likely be the Xoom since google are using it for demos of honeycomb but it could be anything).
edit: http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/06/best-buy-ad-prices-motorola-xoom-at-800-affirms-february-24th/#comments
$800 at launch? plus people are already commenting on the fact that to use Wifi you have to activate a subscription plan?!!
Dropped to $500 in a month or two.
I assume what they're doing is jacking up the price for the initials, and until the iPad2 releases.
Assuming that's in the summer, by that time they'll be able to slice the price so it competes with it.
I mean, if you need a tablet in a hurry, and money is no object, then why not?
But when the big selling point is that it's the "first" of something, that doesn't really mean much.
Good god, Motorola.
Where do they say there is going to be a contract requirement for wifi? That would be contrary to pretty much any other piece of technology that has come out in recent years.
EDIT: If that is something that is real, I will be a customer that is lost. I stuck through the $800 price tag, but I am NOT going to pay $20 a month, to use something I already pay for. That is something that should be illegal.
EDIT2: Okay, doing a little research, I was understanding that it was a fee to make it so wifi worked, while you were paying. But it is, so far, just one fee of $20. That is considerably better, still ridiculous, but I trust that public outcry should fix that.
It's not like they surprise you with a contract after you buy it. you know what you're doing upfront.
Not that I think the pricing is fair, but "illegal" is strong words.
The problem for Motorola now is that while yes there is a WiFi only version in the works, for people this is the only option at the moment, to be forced to pay excessive amounts then be wrangled into a contract for this tablet doesn't paint a good look. At $800 you are looking at budget laptop/ high end netbooks to compete with not just the iPad.
And despite peoples opinion on it, the iPad launched its WiFi only version first at the lowest price points before offering the choice of the 3g + WiFi, a strategy that has been proven.
No one standing for something is different from the thing being illegal
no one standing for something is the market correcting itself. THAT is what should happen here
not calling for government intervention because you are insulted at an asking price. That is absurd, and if that is your opinion, then your opinion is wrong.
As long as they tell you terms upfront, there is no need for intervention. If the terms are absurd, and no one buys it, the terms will change.
When you are watching a cartoon, they make it easy to see if some salesman is a douche, seeing as it is for kids. He tacks on fees, just for the hell of it, and the product does not work as intended without paying them.
I'm not trying to start a fight, but I am stating what I think. You can disagree, I'm cool with that. I do know that if people don't agree with it, they won't pay for it. I'm figuring that that is what is going to happen. It sucks, because it is probably going to hurt the platform. That is my problem with it, because the Xoom will suffer, for Verizon being money-grubbing whores. They charge enough already, so now they just want to make sure they get money. Which will make it so they get less money. Who wants to pay for a functionality that has nothing to with the company, so they can pay another company so they can have it?
I mean, America (which is my nation) is a consumer nation. They pull enough strings for the companies, they should pull a few for the consumer.
Any monthly fee with a tablet is a contract that you sign up front. if you break your contract the thing will still work over wifi. What did you think, Verizon remote deactivates it?
And, just so you know, some things DO require you to put more money in to them to continue to use them. My car won't run if I don't buy gas. Should that be illegal? (and before you claim that gas is different, consider the fact that even though we can't see it, bandwidth IS finite. The pricing may be off, but the fact is that there IS something to price.)
What you think is silly and you are silly. The idea that subscription based services should be illegal is inane.
There are things that literally will not work without more money. My tablet wouldn't work if I didn't pay electricity, so I could charge it. I am already paying for internet. I should not have to pay so I can use the internet I am paying for.
If there is a fee, it is a fee to use the mobile broadband radio. It has NOTHING to do with the Wifi, or any other portion of the device. If they are selling the device as contract only, well, that's their perogative. Like I siad, you know up front that you are signing a contract, and you have the freedom, on top of that, to willfully break the contract and pay a termination fee, and continue to use the device over wifi.
I still have trouble believing that $800 is a subsidized price, but even if it is, there is NOTHING illegal (nor should there be) about not offering an unsubsidized model. You do not have any sort of "right" to be able to set your own terms for how you buy/access high-end luxury goods. If we were talking about barriers to purchasing food or shelter I could see a need for legislation, but the idea that there should be a law preventing an individual model of tablet computer from being sold in only a subsidized configuration is absurd.
You are not owed a Xoom by the universe. If you don't like the terms, don't buy one.
That's what he's talking about. The fine print in the Best Buy ad states that one month data contract is required to enable WiFi. See this post on Gizmodo.
Is it absurd that you have to purchase an $800 tablet and sign up for one month of data to enable WiFi? Yes. It is. So much so, that I would be really surprised to learn that it isn't just a misprint.
Is it illegal, if it is true? Probably not. All they're requiring is that you walk out of the door with a data contract, which you can then cancel at your discretion.
They're requiring you to have, at minimum, a one month contract. Probably because Verizon put a lot of money in to this device, and needs to make something back. People often forget the fact that cell service providers make no money off of hardware (they actually lose money on hardware, pretty often)
The pricing is all wrong, and I know that I won't be buying one, but getting outraged as though a wrong is being done to you (rather than just accepting that it is overpriced) is silly. This is no different than if the thing was priced at $820, frankly. $800 and $820 are equally absurd prices; the name that goes on the check for $20 doesn't really change anything.
Actually, the REAL issue here is that people with poor credit will be prevented from purchasing the device.
What the real issue ISN'T is the $20 charge. $20 is nothing, compared to $800, and they are warning you in advance about the fact that you have to pay that. I wouldn't expect some one who thinks that cartoons are a source of accurate information about the world to understand this, but there are ALL KINDS of costs associated with all manner of products. The cost of ownership of a good is quite often much higher than the sticker price fo said good. An informed consumer should do their research up front regardless, to find out what they are going to be spending, at which point a $20 month of service would be the least of the extra costs or surprises. There will also be costs for cases and docks and cables and software, and other manner of things.
The larger question here is what will happen in the tablet market, in regards to wifi devices versus mobile broadband devices. Cell carriers are champing at the bit for the inevitable future plethora of mbb accounts and devices, but the argument could be made that they are coming too early, when the speeds aren't yet fast enough, and the needs are not yet great enough. On the other hand, without carrier investments in devices, the technology won't advance as fast, and less of it will be showing up in products on the market. There's a reason that the more advanced devices are coming out with cellular radios in them, the real question is what will happen if consumers turn away from mbb (for the time being), will those devices come out in wifi versions, or will the devices not come out at all?
As for Apple doing wifi only, therefore everyone should, keep in mind that Samsung and Motorola have a lot more money than any of us, so if they believed that there were larger profits to be made on the wifi devices, those devices would be out there. Apple does business differently from other companies, and it works for them, but if you look back historically, it actually doesn't tend to work as well for companies that try to copy them whole.
Well Both Samsung and Motorola have confirmed WiFi only versions of these flagship tablets. In fact the are copying Apple but looking at the release strategy in reverse as a bid to gather more profit and mobile carrier exclusivity.
In regards to questioning if mobile broadband tablets are capable compared to the WiFi only versions, we should include that most carriers in the US are really pushing 4G networks. In fact that the first 4G tablet confirmed is Sprint with the Blackberry Playbook. The problem though is how much in its infancy the technology has and its ineffective at picking up signals compared to 3G.
I believe it'll come out, but it's clearly not their priority.
edit: and what carriers push makes no differences when it comes to the manufacturers. The fact is, having Verizon or T-Mobile invest in your Xoom or G-Slate lets you make a better product that you would have otherwise. Whether or not that's worth it to the consumer is an entire different discussion, but it's pretty clear that manufacturers believe that there's more money to be made with carriers than without them.
Alright, I'm done. You are clearly trying to pick a fight. I'm throwing in the towel. If you think it is cool that wifi functionality has a cost besides already paying for the internet that supports it, that is your choice. I'm not gonna stick through an internet argument, that you clearly think is justified, for me bringing in my own opinions.
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What Motorola and Verizon are doing is definitely consumer negative, and I expect the market to correct things pretty quickly after the early adopters finish rushing in. This will be helped by the fact that better tablets will no doubt be out by the end of the year.
In MY opinion, very few people are going to be looking forward to getting a Xoom Christmas '11, unless the price has dropped steeply because of everything else that comes out between now and then.
I would think Android tablet makers are probably a little concerned given the recent announcements about Galaxy Tab sales. But the Xoom is a nice piece of hardware, price and contracts aside.
Watch my music videos
I am thinking that the Tab will be prevented from upgrading in order to sell the next revision which will ship with Honeycomb. You are seeing it in the android handset market already. That's one of the problems with Android is that manufacturers can and will actively cripple upgrades in order to sell more hardware.
Of the big three manufacturers, the trend seems to be that HTC actually prioritizes software updates, Motorola doesn't always pay attention to update capacity when designing a phone, but when the capacity is there they'll do the update, and Samsung would rather you buy a new device.
I don't know anyone with an HTC device who is upset at a lack of updates that aren't being caused either by A) the cell provider, or
IT SAYS "LIGHTING FAST" INSTEAD OF LIGHTNING FAST FOR EXAMPLE.
I don't think Best Buy would be that sloppy in their ad.
I think this was a fast but good photoshop job done to pot stir.
EDIT: And it's 3G upgradable to 4LTE? I doubt it would ever be worded that way. That's a weird ass way to write 3/4G compatible unless it's physically not going to do anything but 3G on launch.
That's been known for a while. At some point Xoom owners will have the option to bring their Xooms in to a Verizon store to get the LTE radio installed. It is unclear whether or not this will cost extra.