Xoom's status fades against iPad at retailers

Retailers are unwittingly positioning the Motorola Xoom as a me-too tablet, as if competing against the Apple brand isn't hard enough already.

This week it was reported that Motorola sold an estimated 100,000 Xoom tablets. Not an impressive number when compared with the iPad 2, which sold about 500,000 units in its first weekend of sales.

iPad and tablets: Best Buy's tablet Web page hints at the challenge facing Motorola and other tablet makers when competing with the iPad. It's the iPad versus other 'tablets.'

(Credit: Best Buy)

And retailers seem to be abetting this trend, however unintentional that may be. It's become quickly apparent at retailers that Motorola and other tablet makers like Samsung are falling into the me-too category. Best Buy's Web site makes this painfully clear by the lead image on its tablet page (see graphic above).

As of Thursday, Verizon's "Wireless" front page also shows the iPad all by its lonesome with an image of the Xoom labeled as simply "tablets."

But it's not much better on the brick-and-mortar front. In the Los Angeles area, the Xoom hardly stands out against the iPad at my local Verizon store, which I visited Thursday night. The iPad and iPad 2 are now the main items in the tablet display area, with the Xoom to the side with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. (That said, this segregating of the Apple brand applies to phones, also.)

And the Verizon sales representative I chatted with admitted that the Apple brand is a magnet for many consumers, giving the iPad the upper hand in sales.

The challenge for Motorola doesn't end with the iPad, either. By placing the Xoom next to the Galaxy Tab, the Xoom's price looms large as a disincentive: the Galaxy Tab is priced at $199 and the Xoom at $599 with a two-year contract.

As I said in an earlier post, RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, due later this month, will only make the Xoom that less unique. Not to mention upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab designs.

I guess the good news is that consumers can walk into a Verizon store and get the Xoom--the first device sporting Google's Android 3.0 software--today. No Apple-store daily sell-outs here.

Update: Best Buy is temporarily halting iPad 2 sales. "Our stores have been asked to temporarily hold non-reserved iPad 2 inventory for an upcoming promotion," Best Buy spokesman Jeff Haydock said in response to an e-mail query. "Best Buy continues to receive iPad 2 inventory from Apple on a regular basis. As we've said previously, we are fulfilling customer reservations first," he said.

"This is a customary practice for us when there are supply constraints. Best Buy enjoys a great partnership with Apple, and we're delighted by the customer response to iPad 2," he wrote.

Updated at 11:00 a.m. PST: adding discussion about Best Buy and temporary halt of iPad 2 sales.

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The Impact of Table Computers on Retailers Selling Magazines and Newspapers

In a smart move, the Virgin organization is providing free access between Christmas and the New Year to the launch issue if Project, their digital only magazine available through the iPad. I grabbed my copy yesterday. It's pretty cool - making good use of video and some clever navigation techniques as is de rigueur for iPad magazines. I like the experience and think Project will appeal to iPad users.

After looking through the magazine, I thought about whether I would subscribe. Probably not. While the content is quite unique and the experience very iPad friendly, I am looking for an experience which takes me completely away fro the magazine experience. This is where I think we are headed.

The iPad experiences being developed today are to help people transition to the device. The real innovation will be in second generation apps and beyond, where the experience is not like today's print magazine experience. Indeed, the experience will not be anything like a magazine as we know it.

How people access, consume and share news and information has changed dramatically in the last few years. Magazines, print, online and digital on devices like the iPad, are still coming to grips with this. The world is quite different to the world in which their older style products were conceived.

The challenge for older model publishers is that the needs of advertisers are out of sync with the needs of consumers. Look at any local viral story from the last year. A decade ago, the story would have sold tens of thousands of copies of newspapers. Thanks to Twitter and mobile phones, viral stories now spread faster than any older model media outlet could handle.

This is the experience I am looking for from my iPad, connecting me with breaking stories closer to the source and with the capacity to comment, add, forward and otherwise interact with the story. This is what next generation apps will offer, making the currently cool looking Project app seem out of date quite soon.

That said, I also want the device to connect me with analysis and review - I am happy for this to be in a more traditional newspaper or magazine experience. However, given what I can get today online for free, I am not so sure that I will pay for it on the iPad.

Now, before newsagents and other magazine retailers think that I see print as being dead... no, not yet. The next three to five years will see magazines continue to be important in our businesses. Beyond that... it's anyone's guess. And that is what makes being a newsagent today exciting. We are part of a reinvention of the model.

Mark Fletcher is a retailer, business advisor and author writing at http://www.newsagencyblog.com.au.