AT&T and Verizon say the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone and Xoom tablet are selling just fine, disputing analyst reports that the devices aren't moving quickly off the shelves.
The Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone and Xoom tablet are selling just fine, say
their respective carriers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
The comments from the two carriers came after separate April 6
reports from Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette and Deustche Bank indicated
that sales of the devices were lower than Motorola and many industry observers
expected.
"Based on our checks [with channel sources], we believe
overall sell-through trends for the Xoom and Atrix have been
disappointing," Faucette wrote. According to
Forbes, Faucette consequently slashed his
2011 revenue forecast for Motorola from $13.7 billion to $12.2 billion, while
warning that the device maker needs to "quickly adjust and refresh its
product portfolio" for the second half of the year, or else it may put
itself at greater financial risk.
For its part, Deutsche Bank in its report estimated that
Motorola has sold about 100,000 of the Android-based Xooms since the tablet was
first released in February. Those are disappointing numbers for a device that
was tagged as a serious challenger to Apple's powerful iPads.
Both reports echo the findings announced last month by Global
Equities Research, which said that checks with its channel sources found Xoom
sales to be sluggish. The report also suggested that the vaunted Google Android
3.0 "Honeycomb" OS
is
actually the Xoom's problem.
Motorola hasn't issued a formal statement, though a Motorola
Mobility spokesperson, when asked for comment, answered, "We are in quiet
period and decline to comment." Verizon Wireless, however, told
ComputerWorld, "We are pleased
with customer response to the Xoom."
AT&T, making an effort to embrace the Android operating
system since losing its exclusive status with the Apple iPhone,
began
exclusively offering the Atrix 4G for $200 March 6. In addition to boasting
a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, it offers the option (at an additional
cost) of being paired with a laptop of sorts that the phone can dock into, to
not only charge but act as the brains behind a laptoplike, big-screen/full-keyboard
experience. AT&T similarly responded by telling ComputerWorld, "Our
customers are very satisfied with the Atrix, and we are equally as pleased with
the results to date."
Neither carrier, however, shared its sales figures for the
devices.
Pacific Crest's Faucette added that Motorola will need to
"substantially differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. If they
fail to do so, we believe shareholders may be looking at another meaningful
step down."
Motorola does seem to be trying to offer differentiators. In
addition to the Atrix 4G's unusual form factor options, the Xoom offers some
alternative features to those found on the iPad, including a larger screen, the
Android OS and 4G capabilities. However, along with the iPad, the Xoom will be
facing more competition in an increasingly crowded market from the likes of
HTC, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Research In Motion.
Regardless, Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis,
told eWEEK, "Even if [Faucette's figures are] accurate, they're not bad
unless you compare them to the iPad/iPhone, which are in a different league
than anything else."
Apple, setting a high bar for all those following, sold
300,000 iPads in the device's first weekend. During the first weekend of the
iPad 2, 14 months later, Apple reportedly sold approximately 1 million units.
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