A leaked ad from Best Buy shows that the Motorola XOOM will be priced at $799.99. It also confirms rumours that the tablet will be available in-store from February 24th.

The ad seems to be the real deal (complete with the trademarked Best Buy yellow price labels), however we couldn't help but notice a few glaring spelling mistakes. Either the ad is a fake, which is unlikely at this point, or Best Buy needs to fire its current spell-checker.

In any event, the above confirms that the Honeycomb tablet will only support Verizon's 3G network at launch but will be upgradeable to 4G at a later date. What comes as a bit of a shock is the line below the photo of the device:

"To activative [sic] WiFi functionality on this device, a minimum of 1 month data subscription is required."

This is a rather interesting limitation and we see absolutely no technical reason for it. However, Engadget reports that Best Buy Mobile employees have confirmed the XOOM will not be sold to customers without first being activated on Verizon's network. Android's first real foray into the tablet world could already be facing a few bumps from corporate executives.

Customers who do wish to sign up for a data contract can pay a monthly fee for 3G connectivity:

  • $20 a month for 1GB of data
  • $35 a month for 3GB
  • $50 a month for 5GB
  • $80 a month for 10GB

Since the ad leaked, potential customers of the XOOM have voiced their displeasure over the seemingly exorbitant pricing of the XOOM. In comparison, the cheapest iPad (16GB without 3G) retails for $499, and the most expensive one (64GB with 3G) sells for $829. If the Best Buy ad is accurate, the XOOM will be the same price as Apple's most expensive offering. However, we would like point out that the price of the XOOM has been rumoured to be $799 for quite a few weeks now. Yes it is expensive, but then again, it is also what is essentially a first generation product. Wait a few months and I am confident that the price will come down.

Lastly, be sure to check out the XOOM's dedicated page that just launched on Motorola's website.

Credit: Engadget and Motorola