The Motorola Xoom tablet goes on sale in the UK in the first week of April in its Wi-Fi-only model, but what about the 3G edition? Retailer Carphone Warehouse has confirmed it'll be selling that version for £600 the same month -- £100 more than the Wi-Fi model, but with a free charging dock bundled in for your money.
Carphone is selling the 3G Xoom for £599.99 SIM-free, and at the time of writing there are no cheaper options subsidised by operators. The retailer says stock is due in "early April".
The Wi-Fi model is already available for pre-order from PC World with a £499.99 price tag, although the £34.99 charging dock is not included in that price. We're still waiting for UK pricing on the iPad 2, but we think the Wi-Fi and 3G Xooms will essentially match the price of Apple's new tablet.
The good news, as we reported last week, is that Flash Player 10.2 will be available for the Xoom when it goes on sale here, as part of an update pushed out by Motorola to owners of its tablet. Early buyers in the US found that the Xoom was lacking Flash, despite this being one of its selling points.
There are plenty of other selling points, mind. The Xoom runs Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS, with a 10.1-inch screen, and an impressive 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera combo. It also scores over the iPad 2 with a built-in HDMI port and SD-card slot.
The Xoom can play videos at 720p resolution on the device, or pump them out to a bigger screen at 1080p using the HDMI port. 3D gaming is also expected to be a strong point, as developers optimise their graphically rich games for Honeycomb tablets.
In the US, Motorola has been fending off reports that sales of the Xoom have been disappointing, with one analyst telling ZDNet.com last week that, "Xoom sales have been underwhelming... We believe the device has been a bit buggy and did not meet the magic price point of $500."
Will it be a sales hit with us Brits though? Now we know the price of both models, let us know your thoughts on its prospects here in the UK.
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Comments 15
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anonymous 15 March, 2011 10:19
Preordered the 3G version off CW when the price was announced a couple of weeks back - not enjoying waiting until April though :)
dezfowler 15 March, 2011 10:31
Wow - £100 more than the US price. It's the iPod 3rd gen all over again.
Anonymous 15 March, 2011 10:37
Preordered 3G here too and yup April, why are we waiting, surely it simpler than the US release as its contract free unless they are spending the time 'unlocking' the wireless ready for use.
Already purchase a few pre-paid 3G sims, come on April !
Anonymous 15 March, 2011 12:03
It's hardly surprising that the Xoom sales have been underwhelming considering the iPad 2 is in America also for very competitive prices, also backed by it's brand name, reputation and company name/image. The Xoom is by Motorola, a company not particularly known for quality mobile products (save for their revival in recent times with the Droid series and the Atrix), they don't have the brand recognition Apple does, the Xoom simply can't compete in physical aesthetics (i'm admitting that straight and true) AND it's priced the same as the iPad 2 when it really needs to be undercutting to stand a chance. I genuinely feel sorry for Motorola because the Xoom is a bloody good tablet (i have one on pre-order like the fine fellows above do) but i just feel it's not going to reach the level of public popularity that the iPad 2 inevitably will. Put simply, don't expect many fellow Xoomers on your travels in the world, expect a lot of iPad 2's though...
PS - Please don't flame me for those OPINIONS, like i said i have the Xoom on pre-order and can't wait to get it, but you have to look at the reality of the situation.
Nick Hide 15 March, 2011 12:05
^^ +1
Jordyboyy 15 March, 2011 15:37
I'm gutted because it's more expensive than the iPad 2, so it might just put me off buying one of these because of the pricing on this tablet. Hopefully some stores might be able to sell it a bit cheaper then I might buy one.
RobertB123 15 March, 2011 16:47
Barely Even Competition For The iPad 1, Keep Trying Tho =)
Anonymous 15 March, 2011 19:42
Buy the old iPad when its price hits £150. Then sit and wait till this time next year for the best of the upgraded tablets. There is no hurry. It's a tool not a fashion item...
bk93 15 March, 2011 22:10
Completely agree with "Anonymous". £600?!? That's more expensive than the iPad 2, which you can get for only £429. Motorola, has made a bad move without having any brand/reputation unlike Apple. To get the market, you will need to go off in a reasonable price. For £600, I can add like £100 more and get a 64GB iPad 2 3G. Please don't start posting angry comments on my opinions, the xoom is a great tablet, but i think the ipad 2 wins here.
Don't forget, if you think the ipad 2 is rubbish, then justify the 1 millions ipad 2's sold in just a week of its release date since 11/03/11. 1 million ipad 2's sold in a week can vastly outrun any tablet on the market, dare i say it any device. Clearly, people like the ipad 2. So go argue to them. (BTW the figures were obtained from Apple Insider) And those 1 million tablets were only sold in the US! Imagine the sales of it when it hits international countries on March, 25.
Anonymous 20 March, 2011 12:49
I was waiting for the 3G Xoom, but no discounts and tied to 1 reseller to keep the prices high in the UK (Carphone Warehouse) means that i am cancelling my pre order for the Xoom 3G and will stick with my Ipad 1 that i currently have for the time being.
If the 3G Xoom had been under £500 i would have snapped it up without a thought, but £600 makes me think that this is starting to get just a bit too expensive for me really and i'll wait and see what the other manufacturers come up with and the price points they launch at
Anonymous 25 March, 2011 21:03
I have been told by a guy at Carphone Warehouse that my re-ordered Xoom will be released everywhere apart from the U.S. As it is already out, on the 19th of April. He said he had spoken to Motorola today and that is what they had told him. Looks like we are going to have to wait a bit longer but it might be after the SD slot is enabled
yizo-kai1 25 March, 2011 22:49
Mmmmmmm. just a thought. apple might have the looks (and the market) but at the same time the app store kills the initial cheaper outlay of the i-pad. what we need to accept is that android OS is here to stay and if motorola have latched onto that fact then I'm on the band wagon.
and just to clarify i also spoke to a chap from CPW today who told me that the xoom will land on the 19th. i agree with anonymous - hope the SD card slot is enabled seeing as i've got a few of those lying around.we shall see. I'll be back after i've put it thru its paces.
Ofingers 26 March, 2011 15:47
With the release date now the 19th, I wonder if Motorola has learn't from the U.S. release and making sure all elements are switched on and the bugs are ironed out. It makes me laugh that the things that the Xoom has been slaughtered on are the lack of flash and SD card yet these will be enabled at some point. Yet if the Xoom had been released with a 0.7m rear camera, a VGA front camera, no flash ever and 1/2gb of RAM then it would have been slaughtered even more. Yet the iPad 2 gets every reviewer gushing about it. I have an iPhone and I bought my daughter the iPad. I find that what I want a tablet to do in the main is Internet browsing and email. I also want it to be a more laptop experience and not just a big iPod touch. That is why I chose the Xoom. I am not a 2 year old or my old mother. I am someone who wants a more grown up OS and that is what Honeycomb is.
The best experience of honeycomb over the next year or two is to have the hardware that runs stock
Honeycomb and that is the Xoom. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 looks slick but will have delayed updates. I will buy another Tablet in 18 months time when Honeycomb will be mature and on numerous tablets but just now, this next 12 months then Xoom is the only way to go.
Anonymous 29 March, 2011 09:37
Goodness why so expensive compaired to the US Xoom ?
Ofingers 6 April, 2011 16:40
I have spoken to Motorola today and they confirmed that the Wi-Fi model will be out this weekend (9th April). However, and it's a big however. Those of us that have pre-ordered the more expensive 3G will not be getting it this weekend as they still have not confirmed a release date. They could only say it may come before the end of April.
Why is it that the 3G was released in the U.S. before the Wi-Fi but in Europe the cheaper one comes first!!!!!
I spoke with the Carphone Warehouse who are still quoting a mid April release date for the 3G, but the OEM (Moto) cannot confirm this!!
Makes me want to ditch the Xoom for the Asus Transformer!!
I can only recall Sony making a worse job of releasing a new product on the world (PS3). Actually I correct myself. Motorola have made a bigger balls up of releasing the Xoom!!!!