It’s really hard to imagine the level of delusion that would allow Motorola to charge $800 for their first tablet and to saddle that device with a mandatory Verizon plan, even if you only want to use WiFi.
In terms of technology, Motorola is in the same position as Apple was when it launched the iPad. This is their first tablet device, it’s running a brand-new, unproven version of a successful operating system (Android), and there will be very few tablet-specific apps available at launch.
Of course, the big difference between Motorola now and Apple a year ago is that Motorola’s device is competing with the biggest technology success of the past few years, the iPad. Judging from Motorola’s pricing, they’ve decided to pretend that the last year of iPad adoption just didn’t happen.
Apple’s competitors seem to think they’re competing with the Apple of 2001, a company that counted on a dedicated core of loyal users to buy computers that were more expensive and slower than the competition. The Apple of 2010 2011 is not that company. They’ve cut a set of deals that allow them to produce massive volumes of devices at market-leading prices. In addition to price, their devices set the standard for quality, usability and innovation. The dozens of tablet devices that have entered the market in the past few months are mostly overpriced junk, and Apple will own this segment of the market until its competition wakes up.