XOOM - 12/13 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Best Buy Launches The XOOM Product Page - Price Jumps To $1,199.99, But It Costs Best Buy Just $550?

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Motorola, News, XOOM

Less than a week after the Best Buy ad for the XOOM was leaked, the official pre-order page has launched. Stunningly, the price quoted on the website is $1,199.99, significantly higher than the price quoted on the original ad which was $799.

Best Buy pre-order page

If true, the price is an exorbitant markup over the retail price shown in two separate tips we've received of the product listing in the Best Buy systems: both show the XOOM as costing Best Buy $550, with the employee price being just $577.50. Even at the originally leaked price of $800 retail, that's a markup of roughly 45%.

Feb

Motorola XOOM $799 + 1 Month Data And $749 Off-Contract Thunderbolt Now Confirmed By Best Buy Circular

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, Motorola, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), XOOM

If one thing can put an end to rumors, it's the official Best Buy weekly ad - the one you get in print from the store. Unfortunately, this time, all the rumors turned out to be correct. Namely:

As rumored, Motorola XOOM is indeed going to cost $799 and will require a 1-month data package to unlock WiFi. February 24th remains the go-live date. Anyone still up for picking it up? Oh, and the same spelling errors are still present (/sigh).
HTC Thunderbolt's regular, off-contract price is also confirmed at $749.99, just like we told you yesterday. Bummer. 2-year contract price is still $249.99.

Feb

Best Buy Ad Leaks Ridiculous Activation Requirements And $799.99 Price Tag Of Motorola XOOM

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

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.

Feb

Watch Motorola's XOOM Super Bowl Commercial, Now Available In Full Length

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Videos, XOOM

Remember the 15-second preview of Motorola's XOOM Super Bowl commercial that was leaked online a few days ago? Guess what - it's Super Bowl Sunday, the ad just aired in front of millions of people, and Moto immediately released the whole thing on YouTube, so that those of us who missed it could inspect just what exactly Moto's creative genius has been up to lately.

Unsurprisingly, the ad's 1984 theme (remember the teaser?) continues to implicitly take silent jabs at Apple, introducing the XOOM as "the tablet to create a better world."

So, does the full 1 minute ad impress or has Motorola failed to showcase the product properly?

Feb

Honeycomb's Boot Screen Looks Just As Amazing As The Rest Of The OS

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

It's pretty much universally agreed upon that Honeycomb's UI overhaul looks awesome, with its Tron-inspired holographic UI touching just about every part of the operating system. But what about the boot screen? It turns out that looks just as slick - TechCrunch managed to grab a video of it, and - despite the poor lighting - we can see that it looks nothing like previous versions of Android, which featured the Nexus "X" animation. Check it out in the video below:

Also noteworthy: The XOOM boots in less than 10 seconds. Mmm, Tegra 2 goodness.

Source: TechCrunch

Feb

Motorola Releases 15 Seconds Of The XOOM Super Bowl Ad, Pokes Fun At Apple Yet Again

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Off-Topic, XOOM

Super Bowl XLV is going down this Sunday, and while most people can't wait to see the Steelers face off against the Packers, Android fans have another reason to be excited: Motorola plans to air a commercial for the world's first Honeycomb tablet during the big game.

However, for those of us who simply can't wait any longer, Motorola's released 15 seconds of the ad - check it out:

As you can see, Motorola has decided to take yet another jab at Apple and the iPad's lack of customizability - not exactly the most innovative approach, but so long as it piques the public's interest, it should suffice.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Coming To Best Buy On February 24th, HTC Thunderbolt On February 14th

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), XOOM

A short while ago, the Best Buy Grand Rapids Facebook page prematurely posted a status update indicating the release dates of the Motorola XOOM tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt.

The status update suggests that the Motorola XOOM will be available for sale at Best Buy from February 24, while the HTC Thunderbolt will be available starting February 14 (the day after Mobile World Congress 2011 officially kicks off). Additionally, the Verizon iPhone 4 will be coming to Best Buy on February 10, and the Samsung Presto 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot will be available from February 17.

A Facebook page of a Best Buy outlet does not seem like the most appropriate place to disseminate information on release dates; however, we have also received independent confirmation from a reliable source indicating that the HTC Thunderbolt will go on sale online on or around the date mentioned in the Facebook message.

Feb

Honeycomb Will Come With An "Encrypt Tablet" Feature - Business Users And Spies Rejoice

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

Earlier yesterday, Google demoed some of Honeycomb's most impressive features, however one of its best features seems to have slipped under the radar. While playing around with the Motorola XOOM, Engadget noticed an "Encrypt Tablet" option in the settings page.

At this time little is known about the encryption standard that will be used or whether the encryption process will affect the tablet's other features in any way. All that is known is that your accounts, settings, downloaded applications, media, and other files will be encrypted, and you will require a numeric PIN or password to decrypt the data. Additionally, it will take an hour (or more) to encrypt all your data.

Feb

[Recap] Missed Today's Honeycomb Event? Here's All You Need To Know + Watch It In Full On YouTube

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Videos, XOOM

Today has definitely been one of the more exciting days this year, at least in the Android department. Last week, Google sent out invitation for a Honeycomb-related event, where we, of course, were expecting detailed walkthroughs of Android 3.0 and hands-on with the Motorola XOOM.

Rumors of the web store that was promised almost a year ago as well as Google Music, teased at the same time at Google I/O last year, were flying, and one of them definitely came true today - we've finally got ourselves a web-based Market with over-the-air app installations.

Instead of Google Music, we got a different present in the form of in-app purchases, which will, hopefully, put an end to multiple variations of apps (Lite, keys, Demo, etc), help curb piracy, and allow for easier microtransactions within existing aps and games.

Jan

Motorola's New XOOM Ad Takes Another Jab At Apple But Fails To Impress

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Motorola, News, Videos, XOOM

It appears that Motorola's ad campaign for the XOOM is underway, with the following ad released today by ShareMoto. As in the previous, and I would say much more successful Tablet Evolution ad, Apple plays a big part, being compared to the Big Brother from 1984. Motorola then flies some [impressive] specs around and... that's it. No pictures of the XOOM - nothing. If this is indeed their Super Bowl ad they are planning to air during the game this Sunday, I will be very disappointed. You can do better, Moto. You didn't let us touch or play with the tablet at CES - at least let us see it in your own commercials, OK?