Motorola Xoom's speedy parts top iPad in cost

From CNET News.com: Questions about the Xoom's higher price vis-a-vis the iPad have been dogging Motorola as the world waits on the imminent iPad 2. IHS iSuppli has provided at least one answer: the underlying cost of the Xoom is higher due, in some cases, to higher-performance parts.

The current iPad 3G 32GB model--the closest approximation to the Motorola Xoom--is priced at $729, while the Xoom is priced at $799. That has elicited complaints from some quarters. But IHS iSuppli shows there is a valid price differential because of the higher-cost--and typically higher performance--parts used in the Xoom. Of course, if Apple comes out with a comparable feature set in the iPad 2 but maintains its current pricing, then Motorola has a real pricing challenge on its hands.

The upshot: the bill of materials (BOM) for the The Motorola Xoom is $359.92, based on current pricing, compared with $320 for the iPad 3G with 32GB of flash memory, based on pricing from April 2010, IHS iSuppli said today in a research note.

"Motorola has closely lined up the Xoom's component costs with that of the iPad's, especially where it counts: in the touch screen, the display, and the cellular radio. Of all the "iPad killers" analyzed by the IHS iSuppli teardown team, the Xoom best approximates the cost/performance standard set by Apple," wrote Wayne Lam, an IHS analyst.

Lam continues. "The Xoom...equals many of the iPad's best features--while also making up for some of the iPad's shortcomings, such as the lack of a camera--at least until Apple begins shipping its second-generation product line."

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