We've been watching the jostling at the low end of the laptop market with some interest. Last week we saw signs that Intel is going to collaborate with Chinese chipmakers to get even cheaper Intel architecture chips to the market. Makers including Rockchip and Spreadtrum were named in a Reuters report. Later in the week we heard that Lenovo and ASUS were preparing Google Chromebooks to launch at the $149 price point. Surely that would make it hard for Intel-based 'BingBooks' to strike back…
However is a $149 Chromebook really that cheap? This weekend I have been seeing reports that the Intel Atom powered ASUS X205TA is having its price slashed deeply for the American Thanksgiving Black Friday season. It is also subject to a more permanent style of price cut in the official Microsoft Store.
First let's look at the "Extreme Deal" from Staples US, which is offering the Asus X205TA-RHATMN01 at an astonishing $99.99. This is an in-store only promotion and limited to 1 per customer "while supplies last". Staples says its been cut from a regular price of $249. The specs of this ASUS laptop are as follows:
- Intel Atom Z3735F 2MB Cache, 1.33GHz, up to 1.83GHz Processor
- 2GB System Memory (DDR3L)/ 32GB Flash
- 802.11abgn + Bluetooth 4.0
- UMA Intel HD Graphics
- Inputs: 2x USB 2.0, 1x Micro HDMI port
- 11.6" HD Display
- Windows 8.1 with Bing
- OneDrive includes 15GB of perpetual storage plus 100GB for 2 years
- ASUS Web Storage includes 500GB for 2 years
The above deal is also limited to the 'Black Friday' period, valid from 27th to 19th November. It's hard to say if many people will get that in-store deal or it will be a bit of a wild goose chase.
The easily attainable Microsoft Store deal is probably more attractive to those who wish to avoid a bricks and mortar store scrum. Microsoft is offering a "Signature Edition" ASUS X205TA-UH01-BK for US$179 online and in-store now. The specs look identical to the Staples ASUS laptop. However the Microsoft Signature Edition benefits from the following:
- "No Junkware or 3rd party trialware
- The best computer meticulously configured
- World-class security software"
So Microsoft is selling the above for $179 right now, on sale. There is no indication of the length of the sale or if it will become a permanent price however other retailers are selling the ASUS X205TA at $199 on average. It will be interesting to see how low can the prices of these entry level Windows laptops can go by this time next year and what impact there will be on Chromebook sales. Here's hoping for some similar deals in the UK!
