The blogosphere kicked up a fuss when two publications reported the Motorola Xoom tablet's price between $700 and $800, more than the $499 Apple iPad. But the reported pricing is similar to an iPad of comparable specs.

According to alleged Best Buy documents posted on Engadget, Motorola will launch its tablet on Feb. 17. The document calls the device a "Motorola Xoom 3.0 Honeycomb 32" (suggesting 32GB of memory) and lists an in-stock date of Feb. 16. Engadget later updated the story with a source pricing the Xoom at $699.99. By comparison, Apple's 32GB iPad with 3G connectivity costs $729. (At its unveiling at CES, Motorola said the Xoom would have 3G.)

But casting some doubt on Engadget's source is a report from Friday at Androidcentral.com. The fan forum published a pricing chart from an alleged Verizon source pegging the Xoom tablet at $799.99. However, the source notes that the price listed is a minimum advertised price (MAP), and that retailers are free to sell below that price. The device could also be cheaper if it's subsidized by service providers (Verizon in the U.S.).

"I would not be surprised if some of these vendors would price the tablet same or above iPad price, but in long run, the price of Android tablet has to come down below current iPad price" to get significant market share, said Mikako Kitagawo, a principal research analyst at Gartner.

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show, the 10.1-inch Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to run on Google's tablet-optimized operating system, Android 3.0 "Honeycomb." It includes a 2GHz dual-core processor. The Xoom will launch on Verizon in early 2011, but pricing and launch date are still unknown.

PCMag analyst Tim Gideon said the Motorola Xoom is "perhaps, the first tablet truly armed to take on the mighty iPad."

For more details, see PCMag's hands on with the Motorola Xoom.