I think this post will create some real excitement Downunder. Not only has Australia officially announced the release of the ASUS R2H Ultra Mobile PC, and the R1F Convertible Tablet, via Tegatech Australia, but the specs look pretty good too.
Given the maturity of the IT market in Australia and New Zealand it comes as no surprise that ASUS has held nothing back. The package Downunder includes all the usual International specifications but also the Bluetooth Keyboard and an External DVD RW. Interestingly it is one hundred dollars cheaper than the TabletKiosk i7210 so it will be interesting to see how this affects overall UMPC takeup. It looks as though it will ship with the smaller battery here, no sign of he "big battery" my friends in USA have blogged about.
I know many of you were almost waiting for this announcement like little kids at Christmas time - so without further delay head on over to the Tegatech Australia website and have a look! Apparently this solidifies Tegatech as the only Company in the Southern Hemisphere officially entitled to wholesale all the Microsoft Origami Devices.
I had a play with the device recently and just loved the "all-in-one" concept. I didn't try out the GPS, or the camera but I did try the handwriting abilites and loved it. It seemed like a heavier device than some others but overall the quality is awesome.
Related Links:
- R2H Unboxing Videos (Aussies also get a keyboard and DVD RW)
- What's in the box? (Aussies also get a keyboard and DVD RW)
15 comments:
Great news,
Any idea what maps/streets software is going to be included to use with GPS in the Australian model?
How about a navigation software? It's included?
Hi Guys - I'm chasing ASUS on this and they are...ummmm...hesitating. I'll let you know once I know more.
Why so expensive????
if you look just at the $$$ Value it should be around the $1800 (with a us price of $1000)mark tops including shipping from the US for example... adding another $400 is a bit steep...
Waiting to see what GPS software it comes with for Australia myself to decide to get it here or from OS.
Hi Anonymous,
regrettably these mark-ups are very normal practice for Australian imports. The main reason is the overheads for getting the product through the Austrailan Standards process, and covering any "Australian-isation" that occurs to the hardware as a result.
If you look at any of the products overseas they never translate dollar for dollar, beit coke or computer.
I'm still waiting to hear about the software and will let you all know. (If you buy OS you better make sure the product is supported locally, otherwise you'll have no end of pain. I already know that the Q1 for example is not supported here if bought overseas).
I got mine from the US just last week $1500 shipped via its expansys equivalent. Do I want to pay $600 extra for aussie maps and a bluetooth keyb. Bollocks !!
oh yes, sorry, I forgot to mention the US pack doesnt have the external dvdrw - worth a whopping $50 :( Still doesnt make the extravagant aussie price attractive :(
Of course these things come with an international warranty, so that isnt a concern(as it is with imports sometimes)
hi Anonymous,
Well done, what a bargain. I can highly NOT recommend this for everyone!!! My problem with your comment is not so much your win (becasue I think you rock for that), my problem is that all your money went to some Yank that may never push a dollar back into our economy. At least the people that buy here will be supporting the computer guys here that struggle to make a living off of hardware.
Whilst I believe you are not to blame for this attitude as it pervades almost all industries now, I do blame you for being part of the problem, and not the solution. You did the right thing though - for you. God know the $600 diffrences won't exist for long as resellers susually strip all the margin out anyway so that margin will enevitably be closed for everyone esle.
Thanks anyway.
Any news on what GPS software it comes with yet????
Sorry Hugo, but if after paying for the item to be bulk shipped to the US, duties, taxes, sales taxes etc paid there. Then bought retail in US, individually shipped to Australia, GST and duties added here and its still around 2/3rds of the au retail price then someone is getting ripped off. That someone is me :(
I mentioned on another blog that for $1500 this fills my needs exactly. (My Win Mobile phone is too big really, and not powerful enough for what I like to do on the go, and I dont want to pay for a laptop - too much power/size).
At an increase in price of over $500 per unit I just can't justify it. I expect a lot of people feel the same way. In a sense I think Asus is killing the market with this pricing - the R2F targets more knowlegeable consumers / early adopters - the people that are more likely to research their purchase. I assume this reduces sales, and then increases the cost to launch here - a bit of a vicious cycle.
I understand your involvement with Tegatech, and I agree that we should be buying from Australian. This doesnt mean I'm going to allow my self to be ripped off though. I assume its ASUS providing the pricing, so really AU is only losing the importers markup (which im sure is reasonable) and ASUS is hopefully losing its inflated-price sale.
I feel really strongly about not supporting this continued shafting. I also am wary about buying from the US - but a cost premium of $500+ -> 35%!! for local warranty - I can live with that. That would pay express shipping 5 or 6 times - and if the damn things going to break that often I dont want it anyway :P
further to the above comment, the R2h doesn't come with mapping software in Australia...
so add another $400 plus to get software to use the GPS....
Not happy jan....
This is enough for me to hold off purchase and wait for a device that is built for australia... and comes with australian software.
I bought mine on ebay in Australia from a Sydney supplier for 1600 bucks - so I am happy. It also didn't come with DVD-RW, keyboard but thats cool because I am buying a funky BT cloth keyboard and already had an external laptop sized DVD-RW in a case (and that was a lot more than $50 - where do you get that in a case for $50 I don't know).
One thing I found is that after getting a small shoulder bag that just fits this R2H it became more useful. When on the couch or watching a vid in bet the bag acts as a stand an you can get whatever angle you like. Its really comfortable.
As for this topic of GPS software - I am lucky I move back to Europe shortly so I will get to try it over there, shame I couldn't use it in Sydney. What is the $400 product that is mentioned here?
Hello Grumpy Monk,
Sounds like you picked up the R2H at a steal. At that price you could almost sell it on ebay and make money on it. cool. THe shoulder bag idea I can really relate to; in my UMPC life I find the bags are really important. The Organiser Pack for my Q1 and the bump cases for my other UMPC. And yes, it does make bedtime and whole new experience!
Have fun in Europe and stay away from the snow...it's that sort of thing that will drive you back to the Aussie summers. LOL.
BTW, in Australia most people I heard were using Destinator Software as their perferred GPS software solution. Europe I think has many more options for this.
Hi I have come across your blog and was wondering is there a solution out there for the short battery life of R1F tablet from Asus? I love the tablet but the battery life is way too short. thanks
Hi Light Truth Freedom,
With regards to the R1F there is little that can be done. You can buy and extended battery: "3600mAH R1F 2ND BATTERY 6 CELL SUITABLE FOR R1F NOTEBOOK SERIES/20 PIECES
FIT VIA MODULAR BAY/OPTICAL DRIVE SLOT" as the standard battery is a "R1F BATTERY PACK 5200mAH (6 CELL)FOR R1F NOTEBOOK SERIES."
Don't forget to do your Windows Updates also as there has been a Windows Vista "Battery Patch" released.
Hope I've helped.
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