Following the introduction of what appeared to be a value-pack in the UK where the 600Mhz non-bluetooth Q1 Ultra was being packaged with the keyboard and organiser pack for 500 pounds [aff link] , it appears Samsung Germany are dropping prices too. The price for the 800Mhz Q1 Ultra, 60GB, 1GB with XP at Amazon.de has just dropped from 1100 to 899 which brings it nearer to the 850 price of the R2E. The HSDPA version is steady at 1200 which is very expensive in comparison now.
200 Euros is a great price saving but you’d think that after one year of sales, Samsung would have some flexibility and drop it into a consumer pricing zone. 900 Euros still isn’t attractive to most consumers.
Compare it to an Eee PC 701 and you get these features with my estimated end-user value in brackets.
- Higher screen res + Touchscren (100 Euros value)
- 60Gb storage (50 Euros value)
- Bluetooth (20 Euros value)
- Lighter and smaller (value depends on user but no keyboard offsets that.)
- XP Tablet edition (100 Euros value)
- 1GB RAM (50 Euros value)
That’s a total of 320 Euros value for 600 Euros higher cost. Personally I regard the Samsung Q1 Ultra as a much better device than the Eee PC and I put a very high value on its mobility and flexibility but for most people, that’s simply not the case.
Update: Marc points out that the 600Mhz version in the UK can be had for 449 pounds (565 Euros) making it very comparable with the Eee PC 701 + 40Gb HDD + XPTE + Touchscreen + Higher Res + 1GB upgrade + Lighter and smaller.
Here’s a question: If the Q1 Ultra was 599 Euro, which would you buy. The Q1 or the Eee PC 701?
I think a better comparison would be with the eee900 due to the screen resolution.
Also try Saveonsamsung (where your Q1U came from), the pack described above is £449:
http://saveonsamsung.com/Product/id/410507
Just a warning for anyone looking to purchase a laptop from SAVEONSAMSUNG(JOKE OF A COMPANY AND PATHETIC CUSTOMER SERVICES)
A summary of this pathetic excuse for a company:-
They charge you to check the laptop is working before shipping!
I didnt take this service and received a dead one.
They refused to refund my Saturday delivery charge even as a gesture of goodwill.
They insisted I use the manufacturer warranty even though I received it dead from them.
Eventually after much arguing arranged for a refund. They collected the laptop(after trying to make me pay for the return), then they sent another one!
Still trying to get my money refunded over a month after they receivied the laptop back, excuses galore – cant see it in their stock etc (even though it is their delivery firm bringing it back to them).
This is the worst company I have ever dealt with on the net and almost makes me want to cease with Internet Shopping.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
But its the 600Mhz, no BT version right?
449 is 565 Euro BTW.
Maybe it’s better to compare the A100 600Mhz version as the 701 is a 633Mhz Celeron and also has no BT.
In that case you get 40Gb, 1GB, HDD, Touchscreen, Higher res, XPTE, lighter, smaller. Near full size keyboard included. Is that 265 Euro better than a 701? 165 Euro Better than a 900? I think so.
Steve.
i dont think that XPTE deserves a 100 euro value since you have already discounted the lack of touchscreen. Furthermore ASUS adds xp for about 50 euros more on the EEE.
Hi Tovarish.
Theres a big cost difference between XPTE and XPHome. I also think that people would pay 100 for XPPro/TE over linux in most cases. However, in some cases and in many cases at the low-cost end, XP is probably worth less than 100. Point taken.
Steve.
I am baffled by why XPTE is now priced at a PREMIUM over Vista. For this platform why do they even bother with Vista? I know MS is forcing it on all of us, but Samsung should really push back on this point. A base unit with 12G or 16G SSD like with the Asus would be a better match against Asus than continuing to ship with the SLOW 1.8-inch hard drive.