By 
Though the leak train stole Verizon’s thunder, an official press release had finally been issued detailing the launch of the Motorola XOOM on their network. The world’s first Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet will indeed launch this Thursday, February 24th, at a price of $599.99 on a two year contract, or $799.99 with no contract at all. Data service starts a $20 per month for 1 GB at 3G speeds. As has been stated time and time again, a free upgrade to 4G LTE will be available down the road (though pricing on those plans hasn’t been revealed). Full press release below.
MOTOROLA XOOM TABLET TO BE AVAILABLE ON THE VERIZON WIRELESS NETWORK ON FEB. 24
“Best of Show” Winner at 2011 Consumer Electronics Show Delivers the World’s First True Tablet Experience, With Upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), today announced the Feb. 24, 2011 availability of the innovative new Motorola XOOM™ tablet, which won the coveted CNET Best of Show award at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show for being “the most potentially disruptive technology.” The first device to run Google’s new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, the Motorola XOOM will be available for purchase from Verizon Wireless for $599.99 with a new two-year customer agreement or $799.99 without a contract. Wireless 3G data service for the Motorola XOOM will begin at $20 monthly access for 1GB. The Motorola XOOM will be upgradeable to 4G LTE service at no additional charge in the second quarter of 2011.
A powerhouse in both software and hardware, the Motorola XOOM is built around a 1GHz dual-core processor and 10.1-inch widescreen HD display. The sleek, stylish design features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats, as well as a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD.
The Motorola XOOM showcases the innovations of the Honeycomb user experience that improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization, as well as featuring the latest Google™ Mobile services. The Motorola XOOM also features full support for tabbed browsing and support for the Adobe® Flash® Player, available soon as a free download, to enjoy all the video and other rich content available on the Web. For additional information about upgrading their XOOM to 4G LTE, customers can visit www.verizonwireless.com/Xoom4GLTEUpgrade starting Thursday, Feb. 24.
$599 should be the off contact price. No thank you.
Definition of STILLBORN:
1: dead at birth
2: failing from the start : abortive, unsuccessful
— still·born [noun]
I’ll wait it out hopefully they will slash that price within a few months like the Galaxy Tab (One can always hope right?)
@gunner LOL….Wake me when they announce the wifi only version.
That’s a decent price. I think it will be a success. People have yet to see the value in such a device.
Hmmmmm. A Verizon rep, who obviously didn’t know what he was talking about, told me that Verizon would NOT be offering subsidized contracts for the XOOM. Not that I would have wanted one anyway, but still…
So now I weigh the $200 subsidy against the $480 in contract fees and I ask, which is better in the long run? I think I’d rather pay the extra $200 up front and not be locked into a contract. I’ll use the month-to-month service. That would cost MORE in the long run if I decide to keep using it, but at least I’ll have the option of dropping it if I either don’t use it much or don’t like it.
For what the xoom can do and what it offers this isnt a bad price. Its not not cheap but its not a thousand. I like how everyone compares the price to last years iPad. That runs on a single core processor, and no cameras, not to mention no gps chip, and 256mb of ram, or expandable memory. Smh
I’m sure using googles honey comb isn’t cheap, I’m sure the tegra chipsets isn’t cheap, and I’m sure two cameras and 1gb of ram add to the price. 10.1 LCD anyone. If you can’t afford it don’t buy it. Everything that is in motorola xoom came from different companies that demand payment, compared to apple who does it’s best to cut out as many people as they can by creating there own chipsets and etc.
At that price, I can afford to wait for the next best tablet, esp. Since I’m not a huge MOTO fan anyway.
If i do the contract is it month to month? do i have to keep data turned on every month i wonder? if thats how it is this is mine
WTF are you thinking Verizon. Thanks for helping me make my decision about waiting for the WiFi only model.
Why are these new tablets failing to compete with last years iPad in terms of price. I’m not getting an iPad but they really need to drop the price to catch the attention of the mass market. Is there ever going to be a day when someone sees and iPad and says is that a Xoom.
@ Brent: Really it isn’t, at all. It’s not competitive w/ the 800# gorilla in the room.
The avg. Joe Street won’t be able to justify this vs. a $500 Wifi iPad 1 (soon to be $400 or less), or vs. a $500 Ipad 2 (dual-core, more RAM, cameras, SD, etc) in April.
VZW/Moto should have restrained their blatant greed on this 1st iteration to push sales and gain marketshare/mindshare, and then sold the XOOM 2 (w/ a few better specs) at a higher price.
Meh… It’s not a great price, but honestly there’s no reason for them to be aggressive with pricing since they don’t have any decent competition. As more tablets become available over the next few months expect to see all these prices come down.
I’d rather go month to month too than to be locked in to a 24 month agreement. Besides the cheapest plan would cost $20/mo plus taxes and fees. And you know that price will increase somewhat after your 4G upgrade. Can’t wait until Thursday. Honestly I hope Best Buy calls me tomorrow! :)
I dont know why people think the ipad 2 will be the same price as the current ipad, if they make it better its going to be more expensive. 799.00 off contract isnt too bad of a deal, look at the HTC Thunderbolt, off contract for that is what 750.00?
@Richillion: The OS is….free.
@ James: Perhaps you’ve heard of a fruit-based company w/ billions in advertising $$ to throw around?
I honestly think that the 4G data plan is going to be significantly higher than the 3G, sucking even more money out of the consumer.
As far as I’m concerned, without a wifi only version, there’s not a chance in hell I’ll get a Xoom.
@xzombiex, when has Apple increased their prices for a new version of an existing product? If they didn’t with the iPod I don’t see them doing it with the iPad.
I get it for 550 no contract love working @ best buy
Way too much. Wait a few months, after sales are lack-luster they will drop the prices.
@ trdracer21: I’ll buy it off you for $575. $25 profit for you!
@ C MAC: Expect the Wifi XOOM to be at $499 in April a few days ahead of the iPad 2 launch.
As an owner of the cheapest iPad all I can say is that I’m glad it’s still holding it’s resale value! It will subsidize more than 1/2 the price of my new Xoom. I always knew my Nexus One was more feature rich than my iPad. When I needed a bigger screen to show something, I used the iPad. When the Xoom comes, I guess I’ll grab the N1 only when I need to make a call or send an SMS.
For the spec I really don’t think it’s actually that expensive. However I do think it would be a strategic advantage to subsidise these tablets to gain market share. The problem is the Verizon or any other carrier doesn’t care what tablet it sells so it has no incentive to take a hit, Motorola is unlikely to be dominant due to the number of tablets coming to market despite having a first in 2xcore cpu and OS so they would be taking a huge gamble to sell at a low profit margin or loss.
This only leaves one player who could subsidise the tablets and that’s Google. They could surely afford it and would no doubt get back any investment as their platform became quickly dominant.
The only reason I can think of that they don’t do this is because they feel the table market will go the same way as the mobile market and gain popularity though users choice of either hardware low power budget items or premium items like the Xoom. This may be correct but it’s not a safe bet as the tablet market is so new and the use cases for tablets is still somewhat unproven. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.
I see The $800 price tag was to make the contract price look affordable. Sucker born every minute
@Gunner : your right the os is free, but the cost of using android as an os comes from patent licensing fees., but your right tho.
this is obviously a gouge the early adopter price…isnt the the price of the wifi off contract? haha
And make no mistake I’m on team android but even the Ipad (1) still provides plenty of competition on brand name alone… I tried and tried to get someone to check out the Xoom over the ipad, but it was a loosing battle, once people get Apple on the brain, they’re never satisfied till they have the forbidden fruit in their hands. I’ve never seen so much customer loyalty out of people who dont even own their products. Everything other then apple is viewed as a generic rip off to average joe.
I hope they wouldn’t use the “free upgrade to 4G LTE” for the UK market to bump the price, cos that wouldn’t work
$599 on contract is reasonable. I’ll still be waiting on a Wi-Fi only, unbranded version though. I refuse to sign a contract for a tablet!
WHat I dont get is… the price is still similar to the iPad with the same GB and the Galaxy tab when it launched.
.
We dont bitch n moan about the smart phones all being similar in price when they come out. Why bitch n moan about the tablets then?
I don’t see the price as horrible. The iPad is not a consideration for me because of my personal objections to Apple’s business practices. The Xoom could replace my ASUS UL series laptop that I paid +$1000 for and this will have 3G/4G built in.
I really wish you guys would stop complaining about the pricing it really seems like people forget about how much the ipad really is. Sure they offer a lower starting point. But when you look at at&t’s offerings with IPADs with 3g service you are starting looking at $629 for a 16gb, $729 for a 32, and $829 for the 64gb. All which do not have have expandable memory or cameras considering the lower specs on the IPAD how is this a bad price? Verizon’s offering a far superior product with a price of $599 with their service. Which is still lower than the lowest ipad with built in data.
i will buy this when it gets outdated in a garage sale. not worth my money right. waaaaaaayyyy too much for just a tablet!
Tab sold like hotcakes with similar pricing and it was smaller and only had 2.2 on it. This will sell also, it has a lot to offer for people not wanting an iPad.
First off, Verizon has so far taken the trend of not offering contract options on tablets, so I’d be surprised if there was a subsidy at all. This just doesn’t seem right given their trend so far, but I could be wrong. Even if they are offering a subsidy, it’s only $200? The early termination fee would be likely $350,(if not more) so who in their right mind would buy it with a contract? Unless, maybe VZW is just trying to promote a little more heavily to off-contract. After all, their new prepaid prices make unlimited Talk, Text & Web cheaper than postpay.
Am I the only person who doesn’t mind this price? So for 20 a month…5 dollars a week, I have the option of using 3G service if I need to. Trust me I’ll be using wifi the whole time but it’s nice to have the ability to be able to use 3G, and more mportnatly the 4g when the FREE update comes out. I dunno about u guys but I can live with 20 a month for a 4g viable xoom, even if I never use it.
Scratch that. Before I get yelled at, I meant the new prepay daily plan. It’s $1.99/day so over 31 days == $61.69 compared to $69.99 + tax for Unlimited Talk on postpay. So, I suppose its just Unlimited Talk.
Just 1 gb a month? How fast is that going to be used on 4g? For 5 bucks more you get 2gb at att.
iPad 2 will have the same specs as the xoom for $500 and no $480 contract. When refurb ipads 2 come out theyll be 430. While iPad 1 will be 300 at most. Last years iPhone 3gs is 50 bucks, by that ratio iPad 1 could be around 125. iPad 1 with skyfire app flash video, Netflix, hulu, mobitv, espn, abc etc etc, this thing just doesn’t compete.
@Helloheyhi I think we should leave psychic predictions to the experts.
-Brad
I don’t understand why anyone needs a two year contract for data on a tablet. They need to offer the Xoom with optional data at a fair price. I think wifi only and prepaid mifi data plans are the best option for tablets. Especially if the mifi unit is less than the difference between those tablets with a 3G/4G radio and those without.
I have a Samsung Tab and didn’t originally have the 3G turned on and I didn’t miss it. I was making a business trip, turned it on and now I leave it on. It is so handy to be able to use the Tab anywhere, anytime. So when I buy my Xoom Thursday, I will be getting it with 3g, I will be getting it on contract, and yes, next year when the quad core Xoom 2 comes out, I will be passing the Xoom 1 down to the kid and moving the data plan to my new device and enjoying the data price before they go up again (they will).
lol, 2 year contract on a $600 tablet? Yeah ill just wait for the $600 wifi only version.
How to make a BAZILLION dollars in one month:
1. Develop a Tegra 2 10″ Honeycomb Android based tablet
2. Sell it everywhere for 599.00 retail, no contracts, wifi only, 3/4G optional.
3. Party like it’s 1999.
Last part optional, you can do whatever you want with your BAZILLION dollars.
For those of you who complain about the price, please just go ahead and buy the ipad and go away. You obviously have no appreciation for this device and think that motorola can produce it at the same cost or lower cost than ipad. Go and get your better deal and leave us alone.
@DroidFTW LoL!! Funny. Wrong…but funny.
So droidftw, you just want us to fork over money without considering what we are getting you lemming? Use your head for more than a hat rack, why does the 4g dual core Atrix sell for $200 like the other smart phones? The evo 4g is 200 but you get dual core and twice as much memory with atrix, that admittedly is a deal. This crap is not a deal, it’s a rip off that will be an even bigger rip off when the next iPad comes out next month. Who really Needs a tablet anyways? Nobody, so hiking up the price makes a tablet an even bigger waste of money.
What you guys don’t get is that 70% of iPad sales are of the $500, wifi-only model. Apple sells relatively few of the higher priced models in comparison. Without a lower priced entry model, this thing is doomed.
P.S. As big of an Apple fan boy that I am, I have to admit that this thing is pretty sweet.
And FYI at the mobile world conference flash showed off versions of flash player for blackberry web os and widows mobile, but it still is not available on any devices. I’m not talking about the mobile world conference last week, it was the mwc from 2010.
Everyone has a good point because it’s your decision. I will buy it or the LG G-Slate. Xoom has 32GB and 4G LTE, now look at an iPad with 32GB – what’s the price? Where is iPad’s second camera?
@Gunner –
What makes Apple iPad so wonderful? Hasn’t Android continued to prove themselves as better than iOS in almost every way?
.
Also, Apple will make a lot of their money on iTunes sales over time.
Not sure why people are make a big deal of the price. $50 more the ipad 32 with wifi & 3g. As far as app’s people will make 3.0 tablet apps.
Folks, the price will drop. Remember the Galaxy Tab? The early adopters will always get the shaft.
I’ll be honest, I’m torn between this and the Tab. They’re both great in their own way and the Tab running 2.2 so sweetly, proves you don’t necessarily need a tablet specific OS. All I really want is a bigger version of my Droid X. And even though the Tab is only a 7″ screen, having played with one, it’s actually quite usable (and portable).
iPad? WTF is that again? Ah yes, the menstrual pad like abomination that pretends to be way more than it actually is: a rather hefty, bigger but crippled version of the iPad Touch running the same simpleton, power-puff girl, teeny bop OS.
Lol that’s right Droiddoesn’t…looks tight and sounds tight. Good to see you say something good about android instead of hating….I think your coming around buddysir …lol
Lol! Not so fast Mensah! Seriously although I clearly have a preference for Apple products, I can appreciate the competition. Like I said, I’m on here mainly to present the other side and just have a little fun.
@jonatech This is high even with a 2 year contract!
$599 +$480 = $1079 for 2 years with 1GB usage? No Way! Who just uses 1GB per month on a device like this?
$799.00 without contract?
This is disappointing…
@DroidDoesnt
After reading your other comments, you are clearly here to troll. However I believe you know in the back of your mind the high end Android devices are better, so part of why you are here is (in vain)to make yourself feel better about your inferior product by putting down the competition.
There’s no need to ‘present the other side’. The suckass media does that already. I think it’s safe to say the majority on here know Apple and what their products can’t do very well. That’s why they are here in the first place.
@ John:
(yawn) u say something???
@ John:
Yeah high end Android products (no such thing; cheap Apple knockoffs are a better description) are better….Uh, NOT!!
http://m.engadget.com/default/article.do?artUrl=http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/22/the-winners-of-the-2010-engadget-awards-readers-choice/&category=classic&postPage=1
Notice these are READERS CHOICE AWARDS…..not just the “suckass media” Johnny boy!!! Lol!!
@ Brent: Not much, if you ask me. I don’t own one nor am I a fan (I own zero Apple products, actually). I absolutely agree that Android is a superior OS (when did I say otherwise?)
You’re missing my point, which is about the general public’s technical aptitude, gullibility in the face of billions in advertising, and perception of value. I would argue that Moto/VZW doesn’t understand these things based upon the way they’re launching this product (Apple clearly does).
Well BestBuy just told me they will not be offering the contract price. So if you buy from BESTBUY you will need to pay $799
@Gunner
I think you’ve underestimated the general public’s technical aptitude :) We all live and interact with these devices on a daily basis.
Granted, I would also place the iPad at a higher value than current Android Tablets because iPad has more software and support for this type of device. I am not sure what Motorola’s profit is per device, but I’m sure they are doing the best they can with what they have.
..and sorry for accusing you of being an Apple fanboy!
Oh ok Droiddoesnt…lol just do me a favor when the new Droids come out and you loves them…change your name to Drioddoes…please …by the way looks like iking is another guy who its or soon will be another iphanboy that will be wowed by the power ….power of the …the Droiddddds yup yup much …much
@Mensah:
Lol! We shall see my friend…..
Quality article.