iSuppli and UBM TechInsights recently did the math and came up with a total build cost for the Motorola Xoom tablet, reaching the amount of $278. This is $33 more than the iPad’s production cost and considering the product is sold for $799, this is quite a profit for Motorola.
What’s interesting is that although the price difference between the Xoom and iPad build is minor, the hardware on the Motorola slate is superior by far. We’re talking cameras here, for one and then a higher resolution display, plus a superior chipset (Tegra 2) and support for 4G connectivity.
However, when all’s said and done, $799 is too much even for the first Honeycomb tablet on the market. This is where the iPad wins, since it also comes in a basic $500 version. If the Xoom will get a re-release in a lower price version (or be sold for a lower price), then it might defeat the iPad.
