Despite my little moan about JEITA battery life tests yesterday, the SC3 is looking very interesting as a UMPC. We’ve been in touch with Direct From Japan (DJF-Store.com) a company that operates out of the Akihabara district in Japan and they tell us that they will be able to ship the SC3 and from the 3rd of July. The SX3 should be shipping from Japan at the end of July.
Prices:
- SC3KP06A Black (and available in white) $989. (approx 640 Euros)
- SC3KP06GA Black (BT & GPS) (and available in white) $1049. (approx 680 Euros)
- The SX (8.9″, 1.2KG, DVD writer) is also available for $1199 (Black or white. Shipping at end of July)
Remember that you are responsible for import duty on the shipments. In Europe, you’ll have to pay your local sales tax/VAT/MSt etc. Shipping charges are also added to those prices [Update: DFJ offer free global shipping.] but with the dollar rate so low at the moment, the prices are looking excellent for Euro and Pound customers.
We’ve agreed to carry a DJF-Store advert in the SC and SX product pages (that will be up soon) in return for an early shipment and a discount so naturally I’ve placed an order for the SC3. I’ll be able to report on the DFJ service and detailed specification of the device (keyboard, language options, manuals etc.) and hopefully, get down to some hard work with Silverthorne. This could be one of the first Silverthorne devices to ship so there’s a lot to learn from it.
Click on the images below for full size versions of images that I pulled over from the Kohjinsha website into the gallery.
Click for SC3 and SX3 product details.
(UMPCPortal database.)
Hm, this looks like it could finally be a worthy replacement for my jvc mp-xp731. So no msi wind for me (at least until you have done a review of the device).
Free shipping is also nice. So only tax is added. The prices in €really sound very competetive.
It’s a good price but I wouldn’t touch this with Vista on it. Not only does it have too little RAM with just 1GB it also has a processor that is not up to the task of running Vista if the A110 is anything indication to go by.
“We’ve agreed to carry a DJF-Store advert in the SC and SX product pages (that will be up soon) in return for an early shipment and a discount so naturally I’ve placed an order for the SC3.”
I’ll keep this in mind when reading any reviews you offer on service and things as clearly your special treatment will not make you an unbiased and “regular” client. Thanks for selling your credibility for a special deal on a shiny piece of electronics. I didn’t know your price was so low. But since umpcs are clearly dead, your site will be soon. may as well milk whatever you can for a bit longer i guess.
Michael. You clearly are not interested in UMPCs so your comment just appears to be a rude attempt at provocation. For the benefit of others though who might be wondering what you’re talking about, let me explain how this site survives and nip your thought in the bud.
UMPCPortal survives only because of advertising which is sold throughout the site directly and through agents. We tend to keep our advertising away from the front and news pages and put it in the products pages where it has better value for customers and guests. Where we make direct advertising sales, we choose our partners carefully so guests can be sure that there’s minimal risk when buying a device through them. I don’t sell direct to OEMs. Only resellers so that there is clearly no brand bias.
Direct advertising sales help to cut out the google-man and is possible because we get a lot of visitors. When I get paid from advertising, the money then goes back out to keep the site going, give me some income (not much, I can tell you!) pay for trips to shows and exhibitions and buy devices to review. It would be great to get free devices sent to me but that doesn’t happen very often. Actually i think most would agree that buying a device outright is better than being given a free device.
There is no ‘selling out’ and under no circumstances do devices get reviewed differently if they are part of an advertising deal. In fact, because the advertising is paid for outright and not on a per-click or affiliate basis i’m not under any temptation to drive traffic to the advert.
Take a look through my reviews and see if you can spot which devices I bought with cash, which devices I bought by trading, which devices were loaners and which devices were given free. You won’t find a difference and I I hope that makes it clear to you about how honest the reviews are.
If anyone has questions, i’m happy to answer them. I’ll be as open as I can.
Regards
Steve.
Steve,
I am clearly not interested in umpcs yet I subscribe to your RSS feed, and others like it, and read all there is about them. Great job on the bringing out what is “clear”.
What is “clear” is that you are NOT obtaining your device through the same channels that I would obtain such a device. You should note that I mentioned “service” specifically as something which I would disregard your feedback on. The plastic itself is not going to be different, clearly. But you WILL receive special treatment on shipping, priority of inquiries and any service issues that arise.
When products such as these are available only through importers or different purchasing channels than your neighborhood amazon.com store, the service and support is JUST as important as the plastic. The warranty and international treatment of fees, shipping and after the sale service are ALL very crucial in the purchasing of these types of items.
I am doubtful that I am the only one who sees these sorts of “connections” as casting a (perhaps small?) shadow on your words. I’m sure you are an honorable person, but the source of your opinions is worthy of note.
–Michael
Michael
Reporting on resellers service not a core part of what we do here as we tend to focus on devices and technologies but I like to do as much as I can in an industry that badly needs more information on resellers. It *is* difficult to get a clear picture of the reseller with a name like UMPCPortal (however I buy or obtain a device) but over time, it works. I’ll report what I get form DFJ in terms of service to you all and I continue to make it clear to everyone my relationship with them. This is far better than having a relationship and keeping it quiet and in fact I’m quite proud of myself that i’ve published this information to you all.
Any supplier that gives me different service than others knows that they risk setting a standard that they can’t replicate for others resulting in customer disappointment. They know we have forums and any problems with their service will get highlighted immediately. DFJ have taken a risk with us that I respect. Over time, we’ll learn about the true DFJ. The advantages for you and the other guests here are only positive.
I can assure you that I am only running this business because I love UMPCs and I give all my efforts to get the best info to you all. Making money on niche products is difficult but there’s a growing market there and a bunch of passionate guests that I want to make sure get good info. I will continue to do everything I can to get and test the new devices, get the best news info from the best contacts in the business.
It’s only remaining financially possible because of advertising and the support of my good wife who works hard and is tolerant me working my 9am to 11pm days. Any other business model would crash UMPCPortal and put me out of a job. Comments like you’re really don’t help me either.
Steve
Steve,
I think you have the balance right, that you inform us what deal is going on so that everything is clear.
Like Michael I would expect you to get preferential treatment, but I can factor that in. If your service is rubbish, then I know that the rest of us might as well forget it, so DFJ in this case need to deliver.
Of course your review of the device itself is the key bit of info we need. The rest is bonus! And by knowing how you are getting it, this allows us to make an informed decision – which is crucial for understanding how things are working.
Steve, keep on being honest – it’s what we ALL want.
;-) I’m glad you can make some money out of it too!
What are the specs on this beauty? Better than the M704?
Michael your opinion is not shared by everyone so please don’t be disrespectful. You are welcome, but I encourage a closer look at the reviews posted here at umpcportal to see how Steve “Chippy” Paine points out Company XYZ’s product’s negative and positive points, regardless of banner ads placed here for them. He really can be brutal if a device is bad, even if the company sent him their pre-release to love.
Also, heavy site traffic uses bandwith which must be paid by advertisements that are in this case UMPC related, but there is no “i’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” happening here. As a longtime member I can attest to that. Put plainly, this place is managed and contributed to by a man who is passionate about mobile computers and in turn has drawn many of us here to watch their evolution along with him. I haven’t seen a better place for this burgeoning niche and am thankful it exists. We should all be so lucky to have a job like his(and a significant other that supports our “hobby”).
Jerry
IMO, the main thing is being open about these issues, and the fact is Chippy/Umpcportal clearly is. As also shown by the fact we can have an unmoderated discussion about it. The readers can make the ultimate choice in credibility and reputation of the website/author. But bloggers including Chippy IMO are by in large much more open to stating their sources and their insider discounts/deals, which many old world journalists might never dream of mentionning! The ability of Chippy to get preferential treatment (e.g. top of order list) should work in our, the readers, favour. Assuming you don’t get carried away by some gravy train one day ;) Thanks for all your work Chippy.
@Michael
You have no idea about Chippys integrity. Ive read his reviews for over two years and he shows no bias or paid for reviews on any product. Because these products are not available at stores people who have a need/interest/obsession for Umpcs have a heavy reliance on people like Chippy to review and tell you the facts about products, not what some sales executive has written in the specs. Your comments are uncalled for.
Michael, not only does Chippy expend considerable time and energy on UMPC Portal (when it certainly can’t provide for a young family) he does so with great generosity and always goes out of his way to answer questions and educate newbies. I’m glad advertising, what there is of it, can alleviate some of the financial burden of this site. In the best of all possible worlds, the site would be supported by ALL manufacturers and we would be able to get 1st hand information on ALL devices in the thorough and fair manner to which we have become accustomed.
Additionally, this site maintains a well indexed and very useful forum, where I have often found my questions answered when answers weren’t forthcoming anywhere else. It is a major resource.
Chippy. please delete before posting.
Jeez, Chippy you spend enough time on this; let the wanker be–too hostile.
Richard
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Really really appreciated.
Chippy.
Clearly I was completely wrong in suggesting that I would simply take into account this potential conflict of interest in my readings. I am very interested in this product in particular, and do look forward to the reviews. I’ve been out voted and hereby withdraw all of my comments and apologize as I should not have any skeptism of any future reviews made. Henceforth I am a mere wanker who clearly is not thankful for chippy sacrificing his family life and time with with his wife to write reviews in partial exchange for small kickbacks and preferential treatment. In the future, please delete my posts as suggested and thereby avoid all this to begin with. What was I thinking? Thanks for setting me straight you guys! My mother will be thankful for that. :-)
You have won this weeks “Douchebag of the week” award. You won it even though we are only three days into the week.
You are silly and should be ignored for talking nonesense.
I have an advice for you, just go and take a walk, will ya.
@Cajun_Mike: Thanks. Please contact me privately for an address as to where you can send my award. I will display it with pride.
@TK4killa: I agree with the first sentence, but won’t be taking your advice in the second one.
nobody likes you and nobody wants to hear your opinion…
so, why are you still here?
Guys,
Let’s not get flaming. Michael made a point. We all disagreed with him. And gave Chippy a big vote of thanks. No need for name calling. Let’s get back to what we want to know, which is all about these machines.
What is the shipment date for the SC3?
SC3 arrives at resellers on 3rd July.
Exporters probably need two days to get them out.
I haven’t heard from VYe about US/EU availability yet.
Steve.