“Research firms that have taken apart Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.’s Xoom tablet computer uncovered some additional clues about its features and why it costs more to build than Apple Inc.’s hit iPad,” Don Clark and Andrew Dowell report for The Wall Street Journal.
“UBM TechInsights estimates the components inside the Xoom cost Motorola about $278, compared with about $245 for a comparable iPad with 3G cellular capabilities and 32 gigabytes of flash memory,” Clark and Dowell report. “Motorola priced the Xoom at $799, excluding any wireless service contract, compared with $729 for a similar iPad.”
“IHS iSuppli analyst Wayne Lam—who has also disassembled the Xoom—noted that the iPad display is based on a technology called in-plane switching that produces a clearer picture at sharp viewing angles,” Clark and Dowell report. “Analysts are quick to point out that such comparisons may be moot after Wednesday, when Apple is widely expected to introduce an updated iPad at an event in San Francisco.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Any comparisons between iPads and pretend iPads are moot when they look only at spec sheets and fail to include ease-of-use, ecosystems, quantity and quality of apps, etc.
Right on MDN!
Shhhh MDN,
You’ll hurt the non-Mac geeks’ delicate sensibilities if you act as if hardware isn’t the only thing that matters.
the biggest thing here is the phrase ‘pretend iPads’ i LOVE that everything out there is an Apple wannabe. Sorry PC users……..you lose.
Was it not just yesterday when we were told that Apple was doomed because Windows has all the applications and the Macintosh didn’t have a prayer? Hardware is like a brick without something to do with it! iKiller _____ is doomed!!!
Gotta love how they’re comparing the Xoom to the $729 iPad, when most people buy the $499 iPad. THAT is the price point to compete with if you want to enter this market, not $729. Even if $729 was the price point to compete with, you have to BEAT the price, not EXCEED the price.
Well, not quite. According to surveys, the most popular iPad is 16GB 3G model ($630).
So, that’s the price and model to beat; not the cheapest $500 one.
True, Predrag, but Apple has both price points – WiFi only and 3G with GPS (I wish that all versions contained GPS). No one else seems to be able to actually produce a WiFi only iPad knockoff. They just issue promises and price points.
Speaking of promises, they are promising 10 hours of video for the Xoom. It will be interesting to see if that pans out. It will also be interesting to test the battery life with Flash (after that capability actually materializes).
As far as price comparisons go, I’m not all that interested in what the company paid for the components. I am focused on the value of the final, assembled product to me. As long as I perceive the value to match or exceed the price that i pay for it, I am happy. Apple products generally make me very happy.
Unless iSuppli can factor in the discounts on the Flash and displays Apple gets in exchange for billions of guaranteed demand, they can just stop with their ridiculous tear-down pricing. They know exactly jack shit.
The ecosystem is much more than just apps. Let’s not forget about all of the other media types on iTunes (music, movies, TV, books, podcasts, college courses, etc.) All of this with only ONE account/credit card to setup? It’s just so easy to access and acquire loads of varied content.
There is no equivalent to iTunes, and there won’t be anytime soon. Apple is so far ahead in this game it will take years for anyone to catch up.
Motorola’s Xoom is assembled in Outer Mongolia by retarded dwarfs. But what really drives up the manufacturing cost is having to transport all the components to the factory on the backs of Mongolian mules.
Omalansky – careful, you will have mobs of Vertically-challenged Mongolians demonstrating on your lawn. At least they won’t block the view much.
Remember, it’s all about the OS, the hardware is nice, but secondary.
It’s like you’re some rich business man who does lots of work in the back of his car while being driven, who decides to buy Mercedes S Class because it has all the specs and then putting a chimp behind the wheel ‘cuz only stupid hippster wannabes are dumb enough to pay extra for a guy to drive the car and wear a fancy suit and hat.