Xoom 100K Sold. Good or bad?

[RockdaMan]

Business Insider vs Joe Wilcox. See below:

Google's first real answer to the iPad is not exactly blowing the doors off.

According to an estimate from Deutsche Bank, Motorola has only sold 100,000 Xooms thus far. Deutsche Bank got its estimate after looking at the Android developer website to see how many people were using Honeycomb.

For some context, Apple sold 300,000 iPads on the first week weekend it was available. (And it's been selling like crazy since then. Total sales are probably over 20 million at this point.)

http://www.businessinsider.com/motor...#ixzz1ImazEcV3

Actually, XOOM is a surprising success. The tablet came to market with four huge handicaps, all of which make comparisons to iPad 2 unrealistic...

...Now that XOOM is available for the more affordable $600, without Verizon commitment, I expect to see sales growth. If not, then by all means call XOOM a failure. But looking at the situation right now, 100,000 is a strong start given these handicaps -- and that should encourage other Android tablet manufacturers.

http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/ar...ood/1302115237

[wodin]

It's all about how you spin it! One guy says fail, another says win. Take your pick.

[kjk]

Kinda surprised they sold that many so far, given the 3G contract limitations. I'm guessing the wifi version will do quite a bit better once it's out.

[madsquabbles]

if you go by the cost of building (no r&d or marketing ~$270) and going only by wifi price, then they have pulled in over $32 million in profit. of course if you add the money verizon gives them and the extra price for the 3G units the profit goes up.

[travfar]

Bad. 100K units is not enough for it to be profitable. The Playbook is coming with 7 million units. Yes, RIMM is going to make 7 million of them. No way will they sell all those. They'll just flood the market and drive down the price of all the non iOS tablets. I'm waiting for Playbooks to be blown out for $200. Hopefully by then, someone on XDA will have ported Honeycomb to it.

[kennyc]

I love my Xoom. It has Flash and lots of apps available outside the Garden of Job.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I love my Xoom. It has Flash and lots of apps available outside the Garden of Job.

Exactly-and even if this version of the Xoom doesn't sell well, Honeycomb will continue to develop and get more apps, so it doesn't really matter.

[kennyc]

And there are some great Tablets on the way! Choice!

[ac9ts]

I already have a HTC EVO for portable connectivity (3G/4G/WiFi). I don't want another contract for a tablet that I plan on using around the house or someplace where I'll be somewhat stationary. I'm waiting for a WiFi version of whatever I get. I am saving my pennies and will be looking to make a purchase in Sep/Oct of this year. There are a bunch of new devices being announced as of late so I figure I'll have a few options; but it needs to have honeycomb.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by travfar

Bad. 100K units is not enough for it to be profitable.

They probably aren't expecting to recoup all their costs from this single version of the xoom, it was clearly launched before the cheaper wifi-only model at the behest of verizon who are a vital part of motorola's business, not to mention the obvious point that they do need to at least starting products to get into a particular market.

The Playbook is coming with 7 million units. Yes, RIMM is going to make 7 million of them. No way will they sell all those. They'll just flood the market and drive down the price of all the non iOS tablets. I'm waiting for Playbooks to be blown out for $200. Hopefully by then, someone on XDA will have ported Honeycomb to it.

Where are you reading figures like that for the playbook, the only place I have seen figures like that are business analysts who think they might do that in their first year and even if rim did expect similar numbers they still wouldn't be making that many in advance so they won't be flooding the market nor pushing prices down as you mistakenly seem to think.

Incidentally, putting a port of Honeycomb onto the playbook would be a downgrade.

[pphilipp]

The Xoom sat in Verizon's showroom garnishing very little attention. Next to it were four iPads, all being handled and played with. ((It was an extremely busy afternoon at Verizon.))
The Xoom didn't look as impressive... the screen wasn't as bright.... the body appeared to be plastic (compared to metal iPad). The screen ratio was not the nice 4to3 aspect... it was more of a video ratio (not as appealing for anything other than watching videos). So I took this opportunity to mess around with the Xoom.
Dang!! First app I opened was a version of Solitaire and it opened in a small window! Yep, same problem I had with my three Android tablets this year. Little phone-app window. Why in the world would an app like that even be on a device that's sitting in a showroom, especially a device that's trying to capture a share of the iPad's market and has a higher price to work against it?

Overall, the Xoom handled well. Much better than my three el-cheapo Android tablets, but not as good as the iPads sitting next to it. I could tell this is a tablet for computer-geeks... perhaps not the tablet for the general non-technical consumer.

Point of this post is that in the hour I was in there several folks left with iPads. Nobody left with the Xoom. Not even me. I had gone into Verizon to find a replacement for my latest krappi Android tablet and was hoping the Xoom would win me over. I left with an iPad.

I have no loyalty to brand or platform. I just want something that works the way it's supposed to... something that even my old mother can use with little problem or learning curve. Apple won over Motorola that day. That's even more surprising when you realize that I've had a year and a half of experience with Android and none with iOS!!

100,000 Xooms sold. Most sites are posting this as somewhat of a failure. But what about Motorola? Does that figure meet their expectation or were they hoping for something much greater. Heaven knows they sure spent the big bucks on a Super Bowl ad which seemed to not really aim for sales to the general public.
Perhaps Motorola is only hoping to win loyalty from computer-geek segment. If so, maybe that 100,000 is all they hoped to sell.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

The Xoom sat in Verizon's showroom garnishing very little attention. Next to it were four iPads, all being handled and played with. ((It was an extremely busy afternoon at Verizon.))
The Xoom didn't look as impressive... the screen wasn't as bright.... the body appeared to be plastic (compared to metal iPad). The screen ratio was not the nice 4to3 aspect... it was more of a video ratio (not as appealing for anything other than watching videos). So I took this opportunity to mess around with the Xoom.
Dang!! First app I opened was a version of Solitaire and it opened in a small window! Yep, same problem I had with my three Android tablets this year. Little phone-app window. Why in the world would an app like that even be on a device that's sitting in a showroom, especially a device that's trying to capture a share of the iPad's market and has a higher price to work against it?

Overall, the Xoom handled well. Much better than my three el-cheapo Android tablets, but not as good as the iPads sitting next to it. I could tell this is a tablet for computer-geeks... perhaps not the tablet for the general non-technical consumer.

Point of this post is that in the hour I was in there several folks left with iPads. Nobody left with the Xoom. Not even me. I had gone into Verizon to find a replacement for my latest krappi Android tablet and was hoping the Xoom would win me over. I left with an iPad.

I have no loyalty to brand or platform. I just want something that works the way it's supposed to... something that even my old mother can use with little problem or learning curve. Apple won over Motorola that day. That's even more surprising when you realize that I've had a year and a half of experience with Android and none with iOS!!

100,000 Xooms sold. Most sites are posting this as somewhat of a failure. But what about Motorola? Does that figure meet their expectation or were they hoping for something much greater. Heaven knows they sure spent the big bucks on a Super Bowl ad which seemed to not really aim for sales to the general public.
Perhaps Motorola is only hoping to win loyalty from computer-geek segment. If so, maybe that 100,000 is all they hoped to sell.

now as not to go down the road of iOS vs Android but there are a couple of points where I disagree wholeheartdly

1. the aspect ratio of the screen. 16x9 widescreen is much more desirable on multiple of levels beyond just movie/video playing. for one web browsing, with the widescreen you get more if not all of the webpage real estate, less panning than the iPad.

2. the body is made up of a metal, in fact its build construction has been highly praised across the board. but to each his own I guess.

3. I just don't buy it's the "it's for techies" apple fans have been using that from day one of Android, and when people who aren't techies see what you can do on an Android phone or whatever people are actually almost blown away and then look at the limitations of their iPhones.
I was in Best Buy a couple of weekends ago and was playing around with the Xoom. A guy came up and asked if I knew anything about it. He was CLEARY not techie. I gave him a tour of what it can do, showed him the customization, the multiple homescreens, how to add widgets, apps, etc to each, showed him the YouTube app etc.
His eyes were as big as a Kids in a Candy store. He said he was comparing this to the iPad and thought the iPad was boring compared to it. I laughed because I agree 100%. I actually sold a Xoom to him, and I don't even work at Best Buy.

My point is it's not complicated to learn, most if not all is a learn once and your done. Apple does have this country under it's spell, no doubt, and it will sell more iPads but in terms of functionailty the Xoom with Honeycomb' user interface, the baked in Google functionalities ( voice commands, voice search, google search, Google Maps, Google navigation, street views etc) its multitasking (light years better than iOS) email and notifications (again light years better than iOS), web browsing(tab browsing alone makes it better) it's just a more overall interactive experience.

Now the iPad does have more customized apps as of right now. But with every single consumer electronics and computer company coming out with a Honeycomb tablet Im not in the least bit worried about more apps being developed for it sooner rather than later.

the iPad is an app launcher that is really it.

[pphilipp]

Originally Posted by boswd

1. 16x9 widescreen is much more desirable on multiple of levels beyond just movie/video playing.

2. the body is made up of a metal, in fact its build construction has been highly praised across the board.

3. I just don't buy it's the "it's for techies" apple fans have been using that from day one of Android,

I actually sold a Xoom to him, and I don't even work at Best Buy.

My point is it's not complicated to learn, most if not all is a learn once and your done. Apple does have this country under it's spell

1. 16x9 is a movie/video ratio. It is not a text-reading ratio.

2. I couldn't tell the body was metal. They've hidden it well.

3. You seem to have a prejudice against Apple. Usually when someone is prejudiced against anything or anyone, they aren't able to see things clearly. When a salesman has an apparent leaning towards one product over another, I always analyze to see if they might have an agenda. If one product is clearly better than the other, the salesperson is only stating the obvious. But when both products have equal appeal, then there must be another reason.

I haven't yet figured out what the problem is with Android fanatics... they can be worse than Apple fans. They (you?) seem to leave their reasoning at the door.

I still own an Android phone... I love it! I don't know if it's any better than an Apple phone but it works for me. I have also owned three Android tablets... a tablet is not the same thing as a phone. Apple realized that when they designed the iPad. Apparently not everyone else has realized that yet. Android seems to be a better phone app than a tablet app... at this point in time. But I bet by the end of the year there will be some good tablets as the manufacturers play catch-up.

So, I'm giving a perspective of someone who is NOT partial between brands or OS. My point in writing was to shed a wee bit of light on low sales of a decent device... not to proselyte one device over the other, just to understand why things are.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

1. 16x9 is a movie/video ratio. It is not a text-reading ratio.

2. I couldn't tell the body was metal. They've hidden it well.

3. You seem to have a prejudice against Apple. Usually when someone is prejudiced against anything or anyone, they aren't able to see things clearly. When a salesman has an apparent leaning towards one product over another, I always analyze to see if they might have an agenda. If one product is clearly better than the other, the salesperson is only stating the obvious. But when both products have equal appeal, then there must be another reason.

I haven't yet figured out what the problem is with Android fanatics... they can be worse than Apple fans. They (you?) seem to leave their reasoning at the door.

I still own an Android phone... I love it! I don't know if it's any better than an Apple phone but it works for me. I have also owned three Android tablets... a tablet is not the same thing as a phone. Apple realized that when they designed the iPad. Apparently not everyone else has realized that yet. Android seems to be a better phone app than a tablet app... at this point in time. But I bet by the end of the year there will be some good tablets as the manufacturers play catch-up.

So, I'm giving a perspective of someone who is NOT partial between brands or OS. My point in writing was to shed a wee bit of light on low sales of a decent device... not to proselyte one device over the other, just to understand why things are.

16x9 is a better ratio for playing games, especially HD games, better for home video's, better for web browsing and last I looked most books are rectangled shaped not squared but that would be a personal preference.

Also for one no i'm not a salesman, as I said in my post, "I don't even work at Best Buy" my wife and I were actually in there to look at the HP Touchsmart all in one. And I went over to play around with the Xoom to kill some time and a gentleman asked me if I knew anything about it.

I have nothing against Apple or it's products I really don't . I think they posses THE best marketing/design/advertising team on the planet. They produce sleak devices and they accomplise exactly what there goal is set out to be. That is to make computing devices easy for everone to use. whether you are 12 or 62. The do there job fantastic. But along with that simplicity there does come shortcomings, left off features and to some , a UI that is just a little too dumbed down.
They've created a "sheep consumerism" mentality and that is something every consumer product company dreams of having. Nike had it in the 90's Apple has it now. Many buy Apple products now for the sheer fact of buying an apple product.

So when Apple fans start saying how great there product is, and android fans counter with well, can it do this? or that,? does have this connectivity? or that? Apple fans generally dismiss it as "ehhh who needs it or We don't need it" and the classic "Look at the sales"

From a pure feature and productivity stand point Android is a more powerful OS. it just is.

So what sort of drives many android people nuts is similiar to when a Bose fan goes into an Audiophile forum and starts telling everyone Bose is the best. It drives audiophiles crazy. And of course Bose fans touts sales etc.

so no I don't have anything against Apple and I think what they accomplise is phenomenal. But when the user experience of an iPad compared to Honeycomb beyond "just apps" I think they are night and day. iPad is actually rather boring and Honeycomb is very interactive and productive.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

1. 16x9 is a movie/video ratio. It is not a text-reading ratio.
...

So what IS the optimal text-reading ratio.