Motorola Pushes Hard Against Apple Ahead Of Xoom Release

By Author: Steve Deiters
Total Articles: 18
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From taking shots at Apple in Super Bowl television ads to the release of a price tag that's well above the competition's, the Motorola Xoom, the company's entry in the not-so-competitive tablet market, has recently earned much attention.

Motorola is touting the Xoom as the top challenger to Apple's dominant iPad. So far, that distinction has gone to the Samsung Galaxy Tab. But the label of "top competition" is relevant, considering estimates place the iPad's market share somewhere in the range of 85 to 90 percent.

Still, Motorola is stepping up the full-court press. The company's Super Bowl commercial especially turned a lot of heads.

It was was blatant shot at Apple's landmark Super Bowl commercial from 1984. Both spots allude to George Orwell's 1984, when one person tries to break from a mass of corporate conformity. In the original ad, Apple painted itself as the rebel, while Motorola implies the company has now become the corporate conformist.

"In the tech world, the Xoom is largely thought to be the first viable iPad competitor ...
Now that Motorola has run its Super Bowl ad, the hype ...
... is on," Nick Eaton recently wrote for SeattlePI.com.

Apple's ad was considered historic when it first ran 17 years ago, but no such distinction has been given to Motorola's version just yet. However, that doesn't mean it couldn't be a landmark first shot in the companies' tablet battles.

Though a formal announcement has yet to be made, the Xoom is expected to be released on February 24, with quite the hefty price tag. According to an accidental leak by Best Buy, the Xoom's cost is rumored to begin at a whopping $799, well above the price point for an entry-level iPad.

Apple's device starts at $629 with 3G mobile service, the price increases to $729 at the next upgrade level. The most expensive iPad is just $29 more than the baseline Xoom.

Neither Motorola nor Best Buy have commented on the leak or the rumored price tag, but many experts are already questioning whether the Xoom can really challenge the iPad with such a high price.

"This is very aggressive pricing in the face of consumers' clear willingness to treat Apple products as the 'gold standard' and worthy of a premium, with competing products representing some kind of compromise, which is typically reflected in pricing," Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin told eWeek.

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