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Motorola Xoom priced at whopping $1,199.99?

Rumors suggested Motorola's 10.1-inch Android tablet would be priced at $800. But now Best Buy has it priced at $1,199.99 on its Web site, with preorders starting in stores on February 17.

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David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
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David Carnoy

Motorola's iPad competitor will be available for preorder on February 17 in Best Buy stores. Best Buy

Is Motorola's Xoom being priced not to sell? That's the question a lot of folks are asking as a tipster pointed Engadget to a listing on Best Buy's Web site, showing the upcoming 10.1-inch tablet priced at $1,199.99, with preorders starting in Best Buy stores on February 17.

Over the last few weeks, some reports suggested the Xoom, which has impressive specs and is the first tablet to run Google's Android 3.0 operating system (Honeycomb), would be priced at $800. But for now, anyway, the Best Buy Web site seems to state pretty emphatically that the price is $1,199.99. And to add insult to injury, you also have to activate a month's worth of Verizon data service, though you aren't locked into any sort of contract.

We'll wait to see if that $1,199.99 number sticks. But for those hoping for a strong iPad competitor, that price certainly wouldn't bode well, especially with the iPad 2 just weeks away from being announced.

Update: Some new reports suggest the $1,199.99 is actually "placeholder" pricing and that the Xoom may very well be available for $800 on February 17. Stay tuned.

Update #2: At around 6:30 PM EST on Sunday (2/13), Best Buy shut down the web page with the Xoom's pricing/preorder information on it. In fact, the Xoom appears to have been completely removed from Best Buy's website. We'll let you know when it returns.