Staples ships Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi early
updated 12:20 pm EDT, Fri March 25, 2011
Staples gives Xoom Wi-Fi early to one buyer
At least one buyer has received the Wi-Fi version of the Motorola Xoom early courtesy of a slip-up by Staples. Using the phone ordering system to get around the website's official March 27 date, one Droid-Life reader managed to get the cheaper Android 3.0 tablet on Friday, two days ahead of its street date. As explained to Electronista at CTIA and proven here, it's cosmetically identical to the Verizon 3G edition with a matte, rubberized black finish.
A handful of retailers may also be breaking the official launch schedule, according to tips. ABC Warehouse in Michigan, Ohio is one of these, but it's also possible that other smaller chains and less attentive Best Buy or Staples stores might sell the Xoom early.
The tablet has the same dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2, 32GB of storage, rear five-megapixel camera and front two-megapixel camera as the 3G version but costs about $200 less. The 3G-only strategy may have cost it sales, as the company might only ship 800,000 Xooms in the winter.
