Things are starting to shake out on how pricing will look for the coming onslaught of Windows 8 machines.
Samsung has now revealed the pricing for its coming ATIV line of Smart PCs as well as its more traditional offerings. The Smart PCs get the ATIV branding, these are the machines that we associate with being hybrid designs, detachable keyboards and such. These garner most of the interest in the coming Windows 8 hardware, but will Samsung be pitching them at the right price point to convert interest into sales?
The two devices that interest most is the ATIV Smart PC 500T and 700T, both of these machines are touch screen compatible, have detachable keyboards and are based on Intel processors. That means they will run all your WinRT apps in the new touch UI as well as running just about anything you care to throw at it, no restrictions on what you can install. For many these devices will be just what they are looking for while fitting the criteria for what a Windows 8 machine should look and feel like. Really a best of the old world and the unknown new world of WinRT apps.
The cheaper of the two is the ATIV Smart PC 500T which comes in at $750 (£466 GBP) with keyboard or $650 without. It's certainly no powerhouse, coming with a dual core Atom CPU and only 2GB of memory. That could be a little on the high side for a device with such limited specs and considering that the matching keyboard is going to be a must for most it might push it beyond what many are willing to pay. On the other hand you’re getting a lightweight (1.65lb) convertible tablet with a touch screen that runs the old and new software.
Second up is the ATIV Smart PC 700T, a device that’s much closer to a normal laptop in the specs department. It comes with an Intel Core i5, 4GB memory and almost everything else you’d need on a normal laptop. It comes in at $1200 (£745 GBP) so it really is in line with what you’d pay for a fairly high end laptop. In fact its not far off the price of Samsung’s top of the range Series 9 Ultrabook. Of course it comes with the detachable keyboard and weighs in at 1.89lb. Will that be the right price to tempt people who were considering a traditional laptop to grab a new form factor?
Here is the full list of prices:-
- Samsung ATIV Smart PCs (hybrid laptop/tablets)
- ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T — $1,200
- ATIV Smart PC 500T — $750 (with keyboard) / $650 (without keyboard)
- Samsung Mobile PCs (laptops)
- Series 9 Premium Ultrabook — $1,400 (15 inch), $1,300 (13 inch)
- Series 7 Notebook — $1,100 (15 inch)
- Series 5 Ultra Touch (13.3-inch touch screen laptop) — $860 (Core i5), $810 (Core i3)
- Series 3 Notebook — $450 – $900 depending on configuration
- Samsung All-in-One PCs (desktops)
- Series 7 All-in-One — $1,700 (27 inch); $1100 (23.6 inch)
- Series 5 All-in-One — $800 (21.5 inch)
The only thing we’re missing from this list, if of course the ticker price for those Windows RT devices. We’re still waiting on those details and without these prices we are left to speculate on what they will cost. Are they being held back until the iPad mini is announced, are they just waiting for the Surface to be fully announced?
We’d like to know your plans for Windows 8. Is it an Intel device your after or do you want one of the smaller and lighter ARM based units? What are your expectations on pricing?
Source: venturebeat
