Why can't rival tablets match the iPad's price? They can, and even better it

A pair of stories (1, 2) issued Friday (Feb. 18) both theorize (and try to prove) why the iPad's price can't be matched by Android tablets. To that, we have to say: what?

Wired's article is titled "Why Nobody Can Match the iPad’s Price." TechRepublic's article is titled "The one big reason why iPad rivals can't compete on price." The problem is they can, and do match the iPad's price.

Let's look at the Motorola Xoom. It has 32GB of storage and 3G / wi-fi. The closest spec iPad is one with 32GB of storage. Aside from that, the Xoom outspecs the (admittedly first generation) iPad in every way.

• Screen size: 10.1-inch vs. 9.7-inch
• Screen resolution: 1280 x 800 vs. 1024 x 768
• Processor: dual-core vs. single-core
• Adobe Flash support vs. no-Flash (and we know many who keep running up against this problem, despite how Apple tries to position it).
• Stereo speakers vs. one speaker
• Front and rear cameras vs. none
• standard microUSB connector vs. proprietary connector (note there is a separate charger connector on the Xoom)
• microSD card support
• 4G support will be enabled later vs. only 3G
• Barometer vs. none (although we still don't get the barometer)
• DLNA support on Xoom, none on iPad

Since the iPad wi-fi + 3G model that has 32GB of storage runs $729, and the Xoom $800, we'd say that the extra $70 is more than covered by the difference in hardware specs, and that not only does the Xoom match, it surpasses the iPad's pricing.

It is true there is no $500 Xoom as there is an iPad. It is, however, a big mistake to try to compare the $500 wi-fi only, 16GB only iPad vs. the Xoom at $800. There will, however, be a wi-fi only model of the Xoom, selling at $600. However, that model has 32GB of storage, which means it is equal in price to the 32GB iPad. At the same time, it shares most of its higher-priced sibling's HW advantages over the current generation iPad.

None of this has anything to do with how much money the OEM makes off of each tablet, as are covered in the two stories mentioned above, or why Apple has advantages (iTunes, higher volumes, etc. etc.). It also doesn't mean the iPad isn't a splendid device (althogh magical goes a bit far)  All it does is discount the claim that alternative tablet manufacturers cannot meet the iPad's price.

They can, and do. Naturally, it remains to be seen what the iPad 2 will bring, but Apple's history around its refreshes of iDevices don't seem to indicate that if it matches the Xoom's hardware it will slash the iPad 2's price below the Xoom's ... at least if Apple to Apple (pun intended) comparisons are made.