Watching all things “Superbowlian” these last couple of days, one has to marvel at the enormity of data streaming out of Dallas’ indomitable dome. The Packers obviously outdid the Steelers, but in the polling on who wins the commercial race – things become very nebulous indeed – and nowhere more-so than where Motorola’s Xoom engaged (maybe even enraged) Steve Jobs’ iPad. Was the Xoom compelling enough?
Whether it is nobler to be a bit subtle and cool, or even if Motorola had been better advised to go “Lady Gaga” with their Xoom Super Bowl commercial, makes little difference actually. The new offering stamped “Google” everywhere is already doing its job.
While early detractors like of Xoom proclaim the Motorola ad lame, Christopher Dawson at ZDNet took the high road, saying:
“I’m not sure you could get a more direct attack on Apple and their iOS ecosystem. Maybe if a Xoom exploded in Steve Jobs’ hands, but otherwise, this commercial took no prisoners.”
Xoom from Motorola – Google’s Android wonder
The big deal for Motorola’s Xoom is not so much becoming the “iPad Killer” – there is no need to kill anything actually. The big win already for all concerned is that Google, Android, Motorola, and all those stockholders out there have a chip in the game. Just being named in the same sentence with iPad seems enough these days. In the upcoming tablet wars (yes, expect to be pissed you spent $800 soon) so much is possible – and on the way. For now though, the name says it all for Xoom. I want one any way.
The only negative I see for the Xoom is the price (not a big deal if you want it bad enough). At $799 bucks it is a bit of a bitter pill, but for that layout you get a larger display than the iPad, front-and-rear facing cameras, 32GB of storage, and Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb) too boot. I would call it comparable myself.