Motorola Xoom for US$399. Is this is a good choice in Android Tablets?

Forums › Android › Motorola Xoom for US$399. Is this is a good choice in Android Tablets?

lchiu7

6521 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 543

Trusted

#87168 21-Jul-2011 20:48

A friend in the US said he can get me Xoom for $399+tax(US)

This model: http://www.staples.com/Motorola-XOOM-Tablet-10.1-in-with-WiFi/product_925665

I don't need 3G since I can use Wifi most of the time or tether with my phone.

Is this is a good choice?

He also said he can get this for $299 but it's only 16GB: http://www.staples.com/Acer-Iconia-A500-10S16u-Tablet-10.1-in-with-WiFi/product_321244

I see there is fairly positive review of the Xoom in the Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10739784

but despite it being 3G capable (only on XT it appears) I can't see forking out $1100 for one.

US $399+tax or about NZ$510 is more my speed.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

mastapenguin

71 posts

Master Geek

#496442 21-Jul-2011 21:50

I've heard good info about either. I've had a quick play with the Acer at JB hifi and Playtech, as well as the Asus Transformer. Both seem pretty solid. I don't know much about the xoom though. I'd probably just go with the Acer 299 is a good deal.

Just a quick question, how is your friend able to get such a good price? One of my family members regularly travels stateside, so I might be interested in one as well.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80657 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41064

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#496444 21-Jul-2011 21:53

The Motorola Xoom from Telecom New Zealand is not locked. There Herald article is incorrect.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

timmmay

20859 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5350

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#496455 21-Jul-2011 22:11

The reviews i've read say the Xoom is nice. That's a pretty great price.

PANiCnz

999 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 161

#496507 22-Jul-2011 07:31

I had a quick play with the Xoom at the Telecom store in Sylvia park recently, i was impressed I'd much rather the Xoom over the Acer or Asus.

lchiu7

6521 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 543

Trusted

#496629 22-Jul-2011 12:16

I will check with the person who holds the purse strings in the family and if it's okay I might get the Xoom :-) I think I would leave it in the kitchen mainly for recipes, surfing, databases etc but I suspect the kids will walk away with it.

The lower pricing is courtesy of a $100 off coupon from Staples but you have to go to a store to get it.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

mastapenguin

71 posts

Master Geek

#496858 22-Jul-2011 18:03

Just for any others I believe this is the coupon that gets you $100 off. It is walk in only.

http://reg.e.staples.com/c/s/tagfrm/hBOJnz1B7SHGCB8ca0OCYWUNv53/coupon.html?n=927

Unfortunately I don't think I'll know anyone who will be in LA before it expires. Enjoy your new tablet lchiu7!

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

mrbig

61 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#496865 22-Jul-2011 18:18

its not bad

Usurper

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#497160 23-Jul-2011 18:03

I had to register just so I could ask the following. If anyone knows of course...

I have been waiting for the Xoom to arrive to our shores for some time. It was with some dissapointment I discovered that Telecom had exclusive rights to distribute the Xoom here. I'm dissapointed of course because Telecom appears to have no interest in bringing in the Wi-Fi only model.

For me my plan was to use my smart phone's hot-spot capability for the Xoom to feed off should I be in need of a Internet connection. I don't see the need to have a 3G plan just for the Xoom.

Only $1149NZ it says for the 3G model from Telecom. US Citizens can get the 3G Xoom with no plan from Motorola for around $950NZ. This missing hundred is not so bad on the surface. Our GST and importation costs probably account for that. However the wi-fi only can be got for $580NZ. Less if you had your friendly American friend use that voucher at staples as posted above. Its a tad dissapointing when you realise the wi-fi is half the price Telecom is selling the NZ version for.

So my thoughts now revolve around buying a US Wi-Fi Xoom and bringing it to NZ. I've already seen the power is a universal 110-220v 50/60hz to know that baring a US to NZ adapter it would be no issue. If I'm bothered and extremly lucky I could proabably buy a power supply from Telecom. I am more concerned about how Motorola pushes out android updates. Currently the US Wi-Fi only versions are getting Android 3.2 with the SD card update finally enabling external storage. The question arises though does a US version Xoom which obviously has a NZ IP address still get updates?

I've seen from https://supportforums.motorola.com/thread/50579 that you can go to "Settings > About tablet > System update" to check for updates. I've also seen some links on how to manually update your xoom.

Anyone actually have a Xoom from the US and knows the answer?