I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Q1 Ultra pricing and having some time in the train right now has allowed me to distill some thoughts.
In the press conference for the launch, Samsung said they were aiming for the same price as the Q1. Then, a follow up comment by Samsung was something like ‘In Germany the price of the Q1 is around 1200 Euro’
I then asked a question about repositioning of the Q1, Q1b and Q1P which wasn’t answered properly. All I got was a rather fuzzy answer about the Q1P which is understood as meaning that at least the Q1P would stay in the market. Subsequent chit chats lead me to believe that all the Q1 range will continue although re-positioning will occur.
So where does that leave us? a little confused! Let me think this though aloud a little bit more…
The average price for the Q1’s around the world has dropped recently. In the US the Q1B is now sitting at $799 minimum. The Q1 at $899 and Q1P (Vista) at $1200. Price drops have also occurred in Europe. The Q1 Ultra has to sit above the Q1P Vista right? This gives us a minimum price of, say, $1300 but what is stopping the price from going higher? There are no competing products at the moment so its going to be a decision based on what the customer will tolerate. Considering the Flipstart is $2000 there’s a lot of room for play but also consider that this is a consumer-focused product.
Other websites and publications have been talking about prices of $1500 but these seem to be direct currency conversions from the $1200 Euro price mentioned in the press meeting. Direct currency conversion would be the wrong thing to do here.
My best deduction at the moment is that it will launch for something near the $1300 mark. This is a lifestyle product aimed at consumers, not professionals, so the price has to be kept close to $1000. If we see more movement on the Q1 pricing in the next four weeks then we could be looking at $1200 but I don’t think it would go much lower. In Europe it translates to around 1200 Euro with the usual premium in the UK. (add 10-15% to the Euro price.)
Is it good value at that price? Are there other variables to consider? I think yes and yes! It is confirmed that on April 18th there will be four more McCaslin-based UMPCs announced. There could be direct competition amongst them.
