The Motorola Xoom is landing in the US on Verizon Wireless in two days. Included in today’s press release were both price points which pair up nicely with our previous coverage — $799.99 no contract and $599.99 on-contract. We’ve seen pre-order pricing in the UK before, but now that the US has set the tone will we see UK retailers follow suit?
Last week we told you that the Motorola Xoom 3G and WiFi model will be stocked by Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy. Meanwhile, the WiFi-only model would land at PC World and Currys. Without a release date or official pricing to go by, we’ve had to do our own digging.
Just days after CES 2011, we saw UK retailer Handtec launch a pre-order page listing the Motorola Xoom WiFi + 3G model for £719.99 (£599.99 exc vat). This was a rather noticeable jump from their initial £659.99 (£549.99 exc vat). Fast forward to today and as you can see below, Handtec has removed a price entirely, leaving just “price to be confirmed”.
Since Handtec was likely estimated a price and not adjusting based on confirmation from Motorola, the US launch paints a promising picture for the UK. The £719.99 pre-order price is roughly $1,164 US, a solid 45 percent premium. Even the initial £659.99 is a 33 percent premium when compared to the actual retail pricing in the US.
In a perfect world, the Motorola Xoom would launch in the UK at £495, matching the $799.99 no-contact US price point. If this was the case, the £612.00 32GB iPad 3G + WiFi model would have some stiff competition. Hopefully (fingers crossed), Motorola delivers competitive pricing in the UK to match the US.
With confirmed pricing the US, we’ll have our eyes glued to both Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy over the coming weeks. For now we know the Motorola Xoom will be released in Q2 2011 in the UK. What price (on contract) would you consider ideal for the Motorola Xoom 3G + WiFi model?
via Motorola
