We’re not too sure why everyone is getting so excited about the HTC Athena pricing. Original estimates for the device ranged from $1200 to $1700 and it appears to have gone on sale for a subsidized price of $600. That’s subsidized with a two year contract meaning that the real price of the device is, in fact, over $1200.
So perhaps the answer to the problem of expensive UMPCs has been found. Put a cellular modem in them and sell through a subsidized sales model. Lets see what you might get if you apply the same pricing model to UMPCs.
- Nokia N800 – Free with a basic 3G phone and 2 year contract. (The 770 is already available for free with certain deals)
- Flybook V33i broadband – $900 on a two0year contract.
- Samsung Q1B (HSDPA model due in Europe) – $300 on a two year contract.
Of course they are just pricing guesses and as yet we haven’t seen any UMPC being sold through this sales model. (The Sony UX280 nearly qualifies but there’s no contractual obligations.) Lets see what happens when the HTC UMPC turns up though. The bulk of their sales are through their mobile phone carrier partners. If they introduce a cellular capable UMPC it could well go through the same channels and we’ll be dancing at the checkout by the looks of it! Here’s a question then. Does a subsidised $500 UMPC really count?
News on the pricing via Pocketables.
