Motorola cuts Wi-Fi Xoom to $399

news Motorola has announced that the Wi-Fi version of its Xoom tablet is now on on sale in Australia for a recommended retail price of $399, translating to a saving of 39 percent in the build up to the Christmas season.

The current offer means that Motorola has raised the stakes in the Android-based tablet price war in the market led by Apple’s iPad. This follows Telstra’s promotions of the Xoom in June and July this year and substantial price cuts by both Telstra and JB Hi-Fi last month.

When the Xoom launched in Australia in May as likely the most hyped alternative to Apple’s dominant iPad tablet, Telstra was charging $840 outright for the device, with its version shipping with a 3G connection. The device could also be picked up on $29, $49 or $79 monthly capped plans, with an additional tablet repayment cost of $25 for the lower plans or $15 for the $79 plan. JB Hi-Fi launched a Wi-Fi-only version of the Xoom in July for a recommended retail price of $689, a price which placed the device closer to Apple’s iPad and other tablet competitors.

However, just a few months down the track, both Telstra and JB Hi-Fi had already substantially discounted the device. Telstra’s website listed the 3G version for $648 outright. Customers who choose the Xoom on a monthly repayment plan have also had the charges slashed.

JB Hi-Fi had also cut its Xoom prices slightly, with its site recently listing a 3G version of the tablet for $644 — cheaper than Telstra — and $568 for a Wi-Fi-only version of the tablet. The cuts had already made the Xoom one of the cheapest tablets on the market. The Wi-Fi version of the tablet will now be on sale for even less — $399 — at JB Hi-Fi, Costco and Harvey Norman.

The Xoom Wi-Fi features front-facing and rear-facing cameras, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, multi-tasking functionality on a 10.1 inch widescreen HD display. The XOOM was one of the initial devices to run the Android 3.0 software and can be upgraded to Android 3.2 through a free download. A wide range of ‘smart docks’ on the XOOM support many more functions such as connecting via HDMI to an HD television to browse the internet or watch movies.

opinion/analysis
As Android tablet stock continues to fail to sell, expect further cuts along these lines as we head to Christmas and the new year. All of the Android tablet makers are no doubt learning to their chagrin right now how futile it is to put half-baked products out into the market against a new category-defining device polished for several years by Apple, and now in its second generation. HTC’s recent comments that it wants to do something different in the tablet space are looking increasingly prescient.

Image credit: Motorola. Opinion/analysis by Renai LeMay

12 COMMENTS

  1. Oooohhh! Pre-Xmas gizmo discounting has started. Is Santa going to be an Android? Sorry, apples in the sack are so 19th Century. LOL

  2. Oooooh, the pre-Xmas discounting has started. Will Santa be an Android this year? Apples are so last Century as a gift. *snicker*

  3. Blast!! I hate it when the screen does the “flip” and nothing happens, then it displays minutes later after you repost. Makes one look a right dong! Grrrr :{D

    • Nah! It was lunch time. I am strapping myself to the chair to stop my buying a Android Pad. The Geek in me wants one so terribly. I’ll use the “Just say NO!” since the Noe-Conservatives say it works so well. But as I watch the price drops, I find that just saying “NO!” gets sooooo much harder. :{Þ~

  4. i have to admit it’s getting closer and closer to my price range too.

    the missus has hinted that she would like a better android tablet than the one she currently has (viewpad7).

    it’s weird, she seemed quite content with the viewpad7 until i came home with an HP touchpad. :)

    • Watch out! You might become the “Hand me down” or “yesterdays technology” kid. You get the stuff she is finished with. That is not a good thing for a Geek.

  5. Been playing with a mates Acer Iconia lately. Not bad, but the antenna for the WiFi sux. Anyone got this Xoom? Lets here the pro and cons of it.

  6. The price has been discounted due to the imminent launch of the Xoom 2, (due in Europe mid Nov). Android tablet sales are growing faster than Apple and the launch of the new Xoom 2, the Asus Prime,(US late Nov), and the new Anroid 4 operating system, (Ice Cream Sandwich), which unifies Android on phone and tablets will only see that increase further. Clueless article.

    • i don’t think the article is clueless at all.

      we’re all aware that prices drop because newer products come out or they reach EOL.

      however one of the main things i take away from this article is something that Renai has been talking about for a while. (even though he didn’t specifically mention it in this article)

      Android tablets just can’t get past the “apple tax” issue.
      android tablets continue to release at prices near or above those of the iPad and successfully fail to sell.
      consumers see these expensive products and argue that if they’re going to spend that much on a tablet, they may as well spend it on an iPad.

      sure the android products are still selling, but not in the same numbers as the iPad.
      in order to sell larger numbers the manufacturer are forced to lower their prices drastically.
      yes, as you said the products are getting EOL, but ask yourself this….
      “how much did the original iPad drop in price before the release of the second one?”

      you can bet your arse it didn’t drop by over 50%.

  7. Got the XOOM for $389 from kogan and once the os has all the updates, its actually a lot of fun. No regrets and a bargain imho.

  8. I’m no industry analyst but I have been around tech gear for long enough to know that price drops like these occur just before a new model release. I will wait for the soon to be released quad core android tablet. Asus has been teasing for some time now with their release. I can’t see Motorola and others lagging far behind Asus.
    The price of these devices (“Apple Tax”) is important to me but if I can buy a 64gb quad core device that I can really use with file access and usb support I will purchase it over an apple ipad.
    For the record I do own both tablets and I find the android flexibility beats the “Beautiful Walled Garden” of Apple for work and leisure. The ease of plugging in a usb stick and finding that file or document in a meeting is so much easier than making people wait for you to email it to your Ipad.
    Both formats have their advantages but unfortunately there is a rivalry bigger than the bogans with the Ford v Holden debate.
    So please bring on the mine is better than yours comments. Apple fans I’m afraid are the biggest snobs in the debate, mainly because it is prettier, but please consider that some people out there do need and have use for the differences in formats.

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