According to Engadget tipsters, the price of the upcoming Motorola XOOM Honeycomb-powered Android tablet will be $699 or $799. That’s quite a chunk of change. Even assuming the lower price of $699, some are suggesting that this is an outrageous up front cost.

But is it?

We all want the gadgets we covet to be more affordable rather than less.  And whatever we might think a tablet should cost, the 2010-2011 pricing model is the product of two factors: 1) the price of the materials and construction, and 2) Apple’s iPad.

Putting that first factor aside for a moment, let’s look at the price of current 1st Generation iPads.  The 32GB 3G + Wi-Fi model, the iPad most comparable to the XOOM, sells today for $729; that’s not a subsidized price, that’s just what it costs.  Even assuming that the XOOM ends up going for $799, that extra $70 buys you a fairly respectable number of goodies.

Like a dual-core Tegra 2 processor.  And a slightly larger screen.  And four times the RAM.  And forward and rear-facing cameras.  And HD video recording.  And built-in HDMI 1080p HD video output.  And a microSDHC memory card slot for up to 32GB of extra storage. 

So assuming that the XOOM sells for $799 – and we’re not entirely sure that by the time the thing is actually available for purchase that this will be the out-the-door price (or that it won’t be subsidized if you’re willing to sign a two-year Verizon contract) – it’s not really outrageous at all.  More than we’d like to pay, to be sure, but not outside the realm of good taste.

ChevronWP7 may have gotten the axe, but that doesn’t mean unofficial jailbreaking of Windows Phone 7 is a thing of the past.  According WinRumors, developer Julien Schapman is working on a new tool that will allow users to access now-restricted aspects of the Microsoft OS.

“My unlock method is similar to that of ChevronWP7 in the way they both use a fake registration server, but my method is different and more reliable… For example it automatically detects when a WP7 is plugged in and will check if this is a registered developer phone, if not it will register it once and for all, so the device will never re-lock like with ChevronWP7.”

Included tools in the Unofficial Windows Phone 7 Device Manager will allow users to manage and manually install applications, add ringtones, backup data locally, and browse the file system.

Schapman says the tool will be released following Microsoft’s first major update to their new mobile OS, which is due in February.

The Pocket PC Central Hands-On Samsung Galaxy Tab Review has been posted.

Read the full review…

If you’ve been eyeing Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Tab, Sprint has a bit of good news for you: the carrier has lowered the price of the tablet to $299 with a two-year contract.

Of course, since it’s being sold on contract, you’ll have to agree to spend at least $30 per month for wireless data (2GB/$29, 5GB/$59).

Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T have also adjusted the price of their respective Galaxy Tabs, but all remain higher than Sprint with out-the-door prices of $499, $349, and $549.

View other Android-powered tablets…

Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Tab…

Read our hands-on Galaxy Tab Review…

Google officially introduced Android 3.0 to the world today via an ad-like YouTube video (shown below).  The video was short on details and long on fluff, but it’s safe to say that Honeycomb will hit tablets in a big, big way later this year.

The few details to be gleamed from the video are these: the UI is an interesting mix of 2D and 3D effects, including a “holographic” selection menu for books, YouTube videos, etc.  There are redesigned widgets to take advantage of larger tablet screens.  Gmail has also been updated for more screen space, and a tablet-sized version of Google Talk with support for forward-facing cameras is part of the mix. 

In the blog post accompanying the video, Google also says that they’ve refined multi-tasking in 3.0 and have upgraded the web browser.

We expect to see much more about Honeycomb in the coming weeks, though two Android 3.0 tablets have already been announced this afternoon: the Motorola XOOM and the LG G-Slate.

In September we told you Amazon was rumored to be working on an Android app store of its very own. Nothing much has been said about it since then, but this morning Amazon made it official.

Today the Appstore Developer Portal opened, which allows Android software developers to submit apps for the “upcoming launch of the Amazon Appstore for Android.”  No specific date is given for when the Internet retailer’s app store might go live, or how the apps would be distributed, but the release does state that once it does it will be tied to a user’s Amazon account, making it easy to purchase apps on their computers and Android-powered mobile devices.

“At Amazon, we start with the customer and work backwards, and we’re always looking for ways to improve the customer experience.  The sheer number of apps available today makes it hard for customers to find high-quality, relevant products – and developers similarly struggle to get their apps noticed.  Amazon’s innovative marketing and merchandising features are designed to help customers find and discover relevant products from our vast selection, and we’re excited to apply those capabilities to the apps market segment.”

The good folks at Droid-Life.com have obtained several photos of an upcoming Verizon Wireless Android phone, the HTC Thunderbolt.  What makes the Thunderbolt interesting, aside from its badass name, is that it’ll be an LTE handset.

LTE is the next generation of wireless data. Verizon currently has the 4G technology available in a handful of U.S. locations and hopes to have it everywhere 3G is now by 2013.

Essentially an HTC Ace, the HTC Thunderbolt (or Thunderbolt 4G) looks to have a 4.3-inch display and a smooth, rounded shell.  No other details on the Thunderbolt are yet available, but it’s expected that HTC and/or Verizon will unveil this new smartphone at CES 2011, which begins next week.

Take a look at the Droid-Life.com post for more photos.

We wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.  We hope you stay warm, enjoy your family and friends, and have some fun!

Site updates will be suspended for the Christmas holiday and will resume on Monday, December 27, 2010.

The newest Galaxy S Android phone from Verizon Wireless, the Samsung Continuum, is now available from Amazon.com for $0.01, shipped, with a new two-year service agreement; if you already have a Verizon account and want to upgrade, the price is $29 with an extended contract. 

Features include a 3.4-inch AMOLED primary display plus a smaller ticker display below, a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird CPU, a 5MP camera with HD 720p video recording, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 7 hours of talk time, and an 8GB microSDHC memory card (32GB max).  The Continuum runs Android OS 2.1.

The direct Verizon Wireless price for the Continuum is $299 with a $100 mail-in rebate for a final price of $199.

The Pocket PC Central Hands-On Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid Pro Review has been posted.

Read the full review…