Motorola’s Xoom tablet said to land at Best Buy Feb. 17 for $700

Update: It now looks like the Xoom will launch on February 24 at Best Buy for $800.
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Looking to get your hands on the best-looking Android tablet from CES? You won’t have to wait much longer.

Motorola’s Xoom tablet will be available at Best Buy stores on February 17 for $699.99, according to internal documents sent to Engadget.

While the Xoom’s price may seem high compared to the iPad, which starts at $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only version, it’s actually competitive given what the tablet has to offer. It will come with 32 GB of storage and, as we’ve previously reported, will support Verizon’s 3G network (and will be upgradeable to its LTE 4G network eventually). Apple’s 32GB iPad with 3G retails for $729, so the Xoom is actually cheaper in comparison. And of course, the 10.1-inch Xoom also features front and rear facing cameras, as well as a higher resolution screen than the iPad.

A previous pricing leak hinted that the Xoom would retail for $800 at a minimum, which would have made the tablet disastrously uncompetitive against the iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

There’s still a chance that the Xoom could be offered for less than $700 if purchased together with a Verizon mobile data contract. But with Verizon-compatible iPads on the horizon, it’s unlikely that the carrier would want to invest much in making a competing Android tablet cheaper.