Chief, isn't what I was saying exactly what you highlighted from engadget about the zoom... Again I read it and it seems like the powers that be that control xoom does have the ability of withholding wifi connectivity unless you sign up for 1 month...as stated in your highlighted quote, "ridiculous and astonishing" wifi is wifi as everybody knows but verizon and motorola has something up their sleeve
ok sabi ko na your misinterpreted the article, linawn lang natin
1) 2 model and available sa Xoom the $799 3g/4g with WiFi(wifi activation depends if bough on a 2 yr subscription for $599 or 1 month subscription for $799) and the Xoom WiFi $599($539 at Sam's Club)
2) the article above came out Feb 6 pa and the pricing for the Xoom Wifi came out only this week so THE ARTICLE ABOVE DOES NOT APPLY to the Xoom wifi
3) nowhere in the article above is the Xoom wifi only model even mentioned once, only the $799 3g/4g model is mentioned is under the control Verizon for the wfi functionality, kaya nila ginawa yng sa article was to discourage peopl from uin the Xoom 3g/4g so they can cash in the money of 24months contract of monthly data
here is the Engadget march 3 artice about the Xoom WiFi price and nowhere does it say that Verizon has anything to do with the WiFi only model kasi WALA NG PAKIALAM an Verizon sa Xoom na hindi naman makakakonekta sa 3g/4g Broadband network nila kasi WALANG 3g/4g radio ang Xoom WiFi kaya mas mura sya sa Xoom 3g/4g ng Verizon
You might have seen Motorola's WiFi-only Xoom popping up at European e-tailers, but it's reportedly flying the red, white and blue today, having materialized at Sam's Club in the good ol' USA. Droid-Life stumbled upon several snapshots of these Xoom Wi-Fi vouchers, with a $539 price tag hanging above their heads -- plenty cheaper than a cellular Xoom, and also slightly more affordable than a similarly specced iPad 2. Of course, Sam's Club deals in wholesale merchandise, and even should this price be accurate the tablet may not be widely available at the same rate, so don't count out $599 as the Xoom Wi-Fi's MSRP. Meanwhile, let us know if you manage to find and ring one up at the register, eh?
hehe sana naman malinaw na kasi i dont know how to explain it any simpler to you na 2 model ang Xoom na isa controlled ng Verizon at isa na walang pakialam ang Verizon