I hope it doesn't bomb, but I think it will. If it is a success, I will be surprised.
My hope is that the other companies planning on launching Honeycomb tablets learn a little from this (likely) failed launch and try to avoid the many mistakes made by Verizon, Best Buy, and Motorola. I'm more interested in Honeycomb succeeding than the Xoom or any one device, but this has not been a good start.
I posted the first comment there, to me he seems to be a huge Apple fan lol.
"You got it all wrong, they have been vocal winning best of CES a bit over a month ago when it was announced and then again during MWC a few days ago. Meanwhile we heard directly from the CEO a week back on the exact pricing of the 3G model and WIFI version. Meanwhile commercials have been airing regularly.
Also if you want to compare this next gen tablet to the old dominant one, I feel you must compare at least the price of the WIFI only model with the same 32gb gives you the exact same $599.99, I feel you are giving an overly Apple biased argument when you put a dual core 1ghz CPU up against a single core as well as the Xoom having 4 times the ram, expandable data space through a microSD slot, HDMI out, a front and rear facing camera a true widescreen with 16:10 aspect ratio running at a higher resolution on what some are saying is the best tablet operating system to date.
Yes I'm planing on picking one up on Thursday and I feel it will more then likely out feature the iPad 2 as well.
The video of the last Engadget podcast had a valid point. When Android first came out, the iPhone was thought to be an insurmountable force. It was believed that there was no chance of it succeeding against the iPhone. Not only did it exceed expectations, it seems to have exceeded the iPhone period.
The XOOM is a real tablet, moreso than anything in existence. It is more capable than the iPad in both functionality and in the fact that it's a tablet OS designed on a tablet for a tablet. It's not a desktop OS on a tablet like Windows 7, or a phone OS lazily modified for a tablet like iOS. This means that, while the XOOM 3G may not be ringing true to the tune of some people's wallets/budgets, it will do well among many of the people who have been waiting for a real tablet, like me. I don't know how many of me there are, but we will know in a month. Also, we will know even moreso when the WiFi-Only version is released, which I pray is no later than the end of Q1 2011 b.k.a March. The first thing I will be doing is making a series of videos showcasing the power of video streaming on the device. My phone can handle streaming of AVI.. but I haven't managed to stream 1080p MKV yet.
Your question should be more will XOOM fail period, because launch is not a fair indicator. By price alone, the original launch will possibly be underwhelming. Many people will be waiting for the cheaper WiFi-only version. Others will be waiting to see if the device has a locked bootloader, while some may be waiting for LG, Samsung(though I can't see why anyone would trust them after they abandoned the Galaxy Tab 1 after less than 6 months), or the multitude of other tablets. Some people will also be waiting(futilely) for the sure to be underwhelming iPad 2 announcement of 1 or 2 real improvements and a bunch more fancy bull. The last group will still be on the fence about needing a tablet. You might see a fair uptick in a few months before the next school year if any of these proves useful for students.
The sheer amount of options in the next 6 months is really going to make it hard to gauge the success of Honeycomb, which is the real question. It's about Honeycomb, not the XOOM.
The Xoom will fail. I don't even know if I'll buy one anymore, and I was the biggest fan of it after CES. If I buy one, it will likely be the wifi version. The nail in that coffin is the ridiculous restrictions on activation. Requiring 3g activation, plus charging $200 more for a 3g/4g radio is outrageous. I don't think I would have even taken a second look at the $800 price tag if I 1) didn't have to pay more to activate, and 2) didn't know that they're charging $200 just for the 3g radio.
We have to vote with our wallets, and my wallet says that a 3g/4g radio isn't worth $200 and carrier restrictions will not be tolerated.
The video of the last Engadget podcast had a valid point. When Android first came out, the iPhone was thought to be an insurmountable force. It was believed that there was no chance of it succeeding against the iPhone. Not only did it exceed expectations, it seems to have exceeded the iPhone period.
The XOOM is a real tablet, moreso than anything in existence. It is more capable than the iPad in both functionality and in the fact that it's a tablet OS designed on a tablet for a tablet. It's not a desktop OS on a tablet like Windows 7, or a phone OS lazily modified for a tablet like iOS. This means that, while the XOOM 3G may not be ringing true to the tune of some people's wallets/budgets, it will do well among many of the people who have been waiting for a real tablet, like me. I don't know how many of me there are, but we will know in a month. Also, we will know even moreso when the WiFi-Only version is released, which I pray is no later than the end of Q1 2011 b.k.a March. The first thing I will be doing is making a series of videos showcasing the power of video streaming on the device. My phone can handle streaming of AVI.. but I haven't managed to stream 1080p MKV yet.
Your question should be more will XOOM fail period, because launch is not a fair indicator. By price alone, the original launch will possibly be underwhelming. Many people will be waiting for the cheaper WiFi-only version. Others will be waiting to see if the device has a locked bootloader, while some may be waiting for LG, Samsung(though I can't see why anyone would trust them after they abandoned the Galaxy Tab 1 after less than 6 months), or the multitude of other tablets. Some people will also be waiting(futilely) for the sure to be underwhelming iPad 2 announcement of 1 or 2 real improvements and a bunch more fancy bull. The last group will still be on the fence about needing a tablet. You might see a fair uptick in a few months before the next school year if any of these proves useful for students.
The sheer amount of options in the next 6 months is really going to make it hard to gauge the success of Honeycomb, which is the real question. It's about Honeycomb, not the XOOM.
I think the launch will fail as far as selling a high amount of units and establishing a brand name. Once the iPad 2 and other Honeycomb tablets hit the market, the playing field will be a lot different than it is now. The Xoom will be forgotten about. Even if it isn't forgotten about, it'll be VERY hard for Motorola to get a good amount of sales with it. Since the G-Slate and GT 10.1 are so evenly matched, the sales will basically be split. Unless one of the tablets are much cheaper than the others and has decent television marketing.
I think the launch will fail as far as selling a high amount of units and establishing a brand name. Once the iPad 2 and other Honeycomb tablets hit the market, the playing field will be a lot different than it is now. The Xoom will be forgotten about. Even if it isn't forgotten about, it'll be VERY hard for Motorola to get a good amount of sales with it. Since the G-Slate and GT 10.1 are so evenly matched, the sales will basically be split. Unless one of the tablets are much cheaper than the others and has decent television marketing.
This is not true. Something I watched today, maybe the Engadget podcast, said that the G-Slate is going to be 1000$. This is perfectly believable because its got what the XOOM has + useless 3D features. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not evenly matched. It has a smaller size but IIRC it's missing a microSD card slot, hdmi, and usb. The only way to get USB, and maybe HDMI is to use hard to find PDMI cables. It might be cheaper out the gate, but any discount will be mitigated or obliterated by the need to pay high price pdmi adapters that 99.9% of us don't have.
I think we will see the WiFi-Only 32GB version released around iPad 2 time for 600$. I am hoping they release a 16GB version too to compete at the 500$ price point, but I don't think it will matter. Honeycomb will not be for people who are happy with the iPad, as such I don't think the 500$ price point is as important as people think.
This is not true. Something I watched today, maybe the Engadget podcast, said that the G-Slate is going to be 1000$. This is perfectly believable because its got what the XOOM has + useless 3D features. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is not evenly matched. It has a smaller size but IIRC it's missing a microSD card slot, hdmi, and usb. The only way to get USB, and maybe HDMI is to use hard to find PDMI cables. It might be cheaper out the gate, but any discount will be mitigated or obliterated by the need to pay high price pdmi adapters that 99.9% of us don't have.
I think we will see the WiFi-Only 32GB version released around iPad 2 time for 600$. I am hoping they release a 16GB version too to compete at the 500$ price point, but I don't think it will matter. Honeycomb will not be for people who are happy with the iPad, as such I don't think the 500$ price point is as important as people think.
Of course, only time will tell.
$1000 converted from UK currency?
Devices in other countries always cost much more than they do in the US. Heck, the Optimus 2X is like $750 if you convert Korean currency to US dollars. I hardly believe that will be the final price. Was $1200 the final price of the Xoom? No it wasn't. Even with 3D technology, it still won't release anywhere around that.
Devices in other countries always cost much more than they do in the US. Heck, the Optimus 2X is like $750 if you convert Korean currency to US dollars. I hardly believe that will be the final price. Was $1200 the final price of the Xoom? No it wasn't. Even with 3D technology, it still won't release anywhere around that.
Well no one really thought the XOOM was 1200$. Apple fanboys perpetuated that nonsense to hurt the device, but it was obviously a placeholder price as they always are.
About the 1000$.. I just heard it on Engadget podcast, I expected them to use US money. If its 1000$ GBP.. that's crappy reporting. Though I have to say I don't see the LG being competitive with 3G. I'm going to be so i can preorder a xoom in 9 hours
Well no one really thought the XOOM was 1200$. Apple fanboys perpetuated that nonsense to hurt the device, but it was obviously a placeholder price as they always are.
About the 1000$.. I just heard it on Engadget podcast, I expected them to use US money. If its 1000$ GBP.. that's crappy reporting. Though I have to say I don't see the LG being competitive with 3G. I'm going to be so i can preorder a xoom in 9 hours
If they're "Apple" fanboys what does that make you? I can't stand when people are biased like this its immature as hell dude.
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Will the Xoom fail at Launch?
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