“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.