Verizon didn't do it, Motorola did. The only way they can get the Xoom at even its current price point is to get Verizon to subsidize some of the cost in this manner.
The Xoom is already dead. The iPad 2 killed it the day it was announced. The execs at Motorola are freaking out right about now because with the company in such terrible financial shape they really cannot afford this kind of debacle. But its their own fault. They don't have the manufacturing and procurement skills Apple has and they rushed it to market half working with a lousy screen, poor build quality, cheap buttons, buggy OS, and no apps.
Yes it would. But there is none on the horizon. Google can't make a UI to save their life and their only interest is selling ads on the thing which means they don't have the sort of focus on the entire user experience Apple has. If Microsoft hasn't been able to do it all these years I don't know why anyone would think Google can when they show no signs of it. The only Android device that may be worth looking at is whatever HTC comes up with but they will also be saddled with a big honeycomb OS and lack of apps. Android has many issues like fragmentation but heir biggest problem is developers simply can't see a revenue stream in developing for Android. The Google marketplace and all the other places you get Android apps are a mess, piracy is rampant, Android owners seem to not want to buy anything. So Google is reduced to paying developers to crate an Android version of their apps just like Microsoft does. Which is pretty pathetic.
