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    Horrible price on the X200s !!!

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by noam23, Sep 19, 2008.

  1. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    Taken from here:
    http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10045970-1.html

    Taken from here:
    http://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-thinkpad-x200t-tablet-pc-x200s-ultraportable-announced-1816691/

    NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Guess I'll be going with the regular X200 after all... :-(

    I think what Lenovo did with the X200s was to wait for Dell to announce the price of the E4200, and then set its price to compete with that. We already know that the X200s could have been released at a much lower price, as seen from the prices advertized at the Baptist university site (which were there well before Dell announced the E4200 price).

    Here you have a weird example of competition working against the consumer (if Dell didn't have an offering for the UMPC line, Lenovo would have released the X200s with a similar price to the X61s, which is close to $1000 USD).
     
  2. Mr. Cameltoe

    Mr. Cameltoe Notebook Consultant

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    Gosh, please no. :(

    That's just plain stupid (at least from the consumers view).
     
  3. kenen

    kenen Notebook Enthusiast

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    Please no.

    Hoping a fake is founded: both aren't well informed, they refer to "notebooks.com" (which aren't well informed too: an ultrabay battery for X200 series - err where the f*?), a 8-cell battery, the exactly same release dates etc.
    Presumably refering to the same source.
     
  4. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    If this pricing is correct, it is a sign of unprecedented greed by Lenovo.

    Let me remind you that in contrast to the basic model of the E4200 (which is cheaper!), the basic model of the X200s comes without a SSD drive and without a LED screen, and without a sleek design and look and without the Lattitude ON feature (which is basically another CPU), and all this while the X200s is actually heavier than the E4200 (by 13%).

    Lenovo = GREED.
     
  5. martin255

    martin255 Notebook Enthusiast

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    ( http://www.notebooks.com/2008/09/18/thinkpad-x200s-and-x200t-announced/ )

    I think the 64Gb SSD option is about 400$, so the basic price could be far more reasonable.
     
  6. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    Now that's quite a difference in meaning than the re-quotes I gave above !!!

    We can safely relax, for now.
     
  7. lanxsworld

    lanxsworld Notebook Guru

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    How can you hope a new laptop, especially a thinkpad X200s to be cheap just at the beginning?
    wait for the THX giving day and then the price will drop down
     
  8. SockMan!

    SockMan! Notebook Geek

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    Well, it is a premium laptop (at least that's how I perceive it). $1000 premium over the x200 is a bit high though. Perhaps it'll go down once it's been out for a month or two?
     
  9. Prince_Phoenix

    Prince_Phoenix Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    If those are the US prices, it's going to mean it's going to start at $2.5k-3k in Canada. Glad I ordered my E4300.
     
  10. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    With all due respect, $1500 USD is not cheap for a 12.1" LED screen laptop with a 5400rpm drive, 1.6Ghz CPU, and an integrated graphics.
     
  11. lanxsworld

    lanxsworld Notebook Guru

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    are u kidding :eek:
    weight, size and batttery life are most important
    for those, X200(s) is what you need
     
  12. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    Size is the same.

    Weight and battery life are both mainly a by product of using a LED screen, and lower voltage CPUs. I already took these into the price consideration.
     
  13. joseluis

    joseluis Notebook Guru

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    The LED screen is WXGA+. Maybe that adds a couple of hundreds to the price?
     
  14. Supermans

    Supermans Notebook Consultant

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    I don't see what the big deal is about the prices of the X200s. Remember that the X200 was about $1,464 without any discounts even though all the reviews claimed the starting point would be in the $1,100 range based on what Lenovo told them it would be, Lenovo raised the price at launch to make more money. A month and a half later, Lenovo lowers the price to the one they originally had plans to be at anyways.. I think they will use the same strategy with the X200s and tablet versions.. The price will be high at first and then go significantly down in a month or so. This is all normal behavior for new products.. You can still get CPP discount on it at launch.. Furthermore you do have the option of getting the regular X200 for much less and the X61 tablet where the prices are lower than the newer models by a lot.
     
  15. mikec

    mikec Notebook Evangelist

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    At those prices, I'll take two T400s...the T400 is not that much bigger than a X200.
     
  16. Rick36

    Rick36 Notebook Enthusiast

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    If you have to ask "How Much Does It Cost?" or "Why Does It Cost So Much?" for anything, you can't afford it in the first place.
     
  17. SockMan!

    SockMan! Notebook Geek

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    That only applies to super-expensive stuff that are considered luxuries and have no equals (Example: multi-million dollar supercars). That logic breaks down when you go grocery shopping.
     
  18. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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    I wish NBR allowed - rep.
     
  19. msb0b

    msb0b Notebook Consultant

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    It is a free market. Lenovo prices their product at what the market will bear. Their main market is the corporate road warriors who are willing to pay a premium for an ultraportable laptop.

    If the price is above your willingness to pay, you can either not buy the product or buy an equivalent product from another vendor.
     
  20. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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    The price for an SSD "optimized" X200 has an MSRP of $2674. MSRP prices mean nothing - we all know this! :) Whether or not the X200s price quoted is MSRP or retail we don't know. However, we do know that the SSD alone is an $824 upgrade for the X200. Take that amount off of the $2242 "optimized X200s" price and we are at $1418.

    No need to worry - we can count on the X200s with WXGA+ costing slightly more than the X200 which is currently selling through Lenovo's regular web portal for as low as $1252. There are various ways to get a lower price than that of course. I'm planning on my X200s config coming in at <$1500 including the ultrabase and WXGA+ screen.

    BTW, I just bought my Lenovo L220x monitor and DiNovo Edge keyboard in anticipation of hooking it up to an X200s :)
     
  21. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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  22. gmoneyphatstyle

    gmoneyphatstyle Notebook Deity

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    I paid $2000 Canadian for my X40 when I bought it. :)
     
  23. mikec

    mikec Notebook Evangelist

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    Or if you are a sucker...
     
  24. mikec

    mikec Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm all for the free market. It's just silly to pay more for a commodity.

    I don't consider the X200 to be ultraportable. The old Sony X505 - Now THERE was an ultra-portable. 5 years ahead of the MacBook Air, and more functional.

    Buy whatever you like - just compare a X200 to a T400, and the difference just doesn't seem worth it.
     
  25. mikec

    mikec Notebook Evangelist

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    SSD are being way, way, overhyped right now. Not even close to be worth the money. Having them today are just bragging rights that show you have more money than sense.

    In a couple years, SSD will be vastly improved, much bigger, and much cheaper on par with HDD. Until then, stick with HDD and save the $$$ for your next laptop.
     
  26. T61W2008

    T61W2008 Notebook Geek

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    Lenovo = GREED? are you kidding? do you remember the thinkpad price when ibm had it? man it's a free market, buy something else if the price is not for you. by the same token, if nobody buys, the price will drop.

    btw, All Business = Greed, that's the nature of the beast
     
  27. monakh

    monakh Votum Separatum

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    Yep, I recall paying WELL OVER five grand for a ThinkPad 700 series in, gosh was it 1996, don't even remember.

    It's capitalism, guys. BTW, Dell appears to be using the same ridiculous strategy with the E4200 although I was able to spec a nice one MPP and DPA discounts for around $2500. Still expensive but much less than MSRP. It's too bad the E4200 doesn't have the WXGA+ screen. That's a real plus.
     
  28. Supermans

    Supermans Notebook Consultant

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    [​IMG]

    That was one powerful and sexy machine back then.. And people are complaining about the X200 leaving space on the sides of the 12.1 inch screen...

    Yes, back then when IBM was the sole owner, getting a Thinkpad and showing it off at work was equivalent to showing off your new Lamborghini or Ferrari in comparison to your neighbors Volkswagen Beetle. Quality and technology has improved and now we have ultra-portables with more processing power and much more efficiency than every single Pentium 4 and Pentium D desktop chipped desktop PC of not too long ago... Laptops are so commonplace now these Thinkpads get overlooked because there are so many of them. Lenovo was smart to keep the line going and making it affordable for the masses. Lenovo just needs to get their act together in the logistics dept. They are obviously taking in way too many orders and not making sure they can actually receive all the parts. For example, when this shortage of 9 cell batteries was noticed and the delays kept piling up, Lenovo should have temporarily taken out the link on the ordering page until they knew the company could fulfill more batteries and when.. They also need to streamline the shipping process so packages don't get stuck in customs. They need to take a lesson from Dell and HP and get these out in a more efficient manner. I don't mind waiting a month for them to build the machine if it trully is taking them a month to do it and test it. However we all know this isn't the case...
     
  29. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    How do you know for sure this is a X200s ?, maybe they just got the CPU wrong and it's a X200...

    If this is a X200s, I wonder how much will the LED screen add to the price, and also how much does the current configuration weigh...
     
  30. Mr. Cameltoe

    Mr. Cameltoe Notebook Consultant

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    Mkay, too much panic for no reason here, even from my reasonable side. :)
     
  31. ExZeRoEx

    ExZeRoEx Notebook Consultant

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    How are you supposed to decipher that bfp and xpp stuff on that costcentral site? and is it a reputable vendor? Any feedback on how they are?
     
  32. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    If a person from Merriam Webster's online dictionary asked me to design a website to be an ideal example of how a classic "internet scam" looks like , instead of designing one I would have just given him costcentral's website, since it can't get any worse than that no matter how much thinking I'll put into the design (shady misleading specs, outdated information (thinkpads by IBM ???), price too low, they hit each and every nail in the scamming book).
     
  33. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    I don't know about the X200, but one T400 laptop weigh exactly like two X200s laptops. This is enough of a reason for me to justify a large price difference.
     
  34. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    Interesting information (from PC Magazine, a respectable source):

     
  35. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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    The part number is listed as 74663HU which is not designated in tabook yet.

    Here is another vendor listing the same notebook as available Sept 23:

    http://www.neutronexpress.com/prod.cfm/888397/

    In regards to the LED screen cost...I really don't know what to think of how much this option will add to the price. The "ultralight" display (lighter and brighter) on the outgoing X61s was a ~$30 upgrade but the resolution was the same as the base diaplay. I am guessing that the WXGA+ LED upgrade, which is also lighter and brighter but also higher res, will add somewhere between $50 - $150 to the price.

    They are legit. They do have a terrible storefront though.

    http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Cost_Central
     
  36. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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    One would think that they are a reliable source but there has been more information that suggests otherwise. The Hong Kong student promos all list the screen as 1280x800, the X200s bestseller model number that is popping up for pre-order lists the screen as WXGA, and the specification sheet that was posted by :) :( clearly lists both WXGA CCFL and WXGA+ LED as separate options. Lastly, WHY THE HELL FRANCE?! lol...offering a basic display option would make sense if it were in developing countries or something, or offering a more advanced display would make sense if it was only offered in certain markets like USA/Japan (as they did with the ultralight display), but to offer a basic display option in a single developed market doesn't make sense to me at all...
     
  37. Jackboot

    Jackboot Notebook Deity

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  38. noam23

    noam23 Notebook Consultant

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    What an excellent config for an excellent price !, this is exactly the config I thought about, but I was sure it is going to cost much more...

    Regarding the 1440x900 issue, I just installed Vista and Explorer 8 (which has correct DPI scalling, in contrast to Explorer 7), together I get a pretty good scalling. I think I could live with a 1440x900 resolution.
     
  39. newskin

    newskin Notebook Geek

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    Best Seller configuration usually sell at the price that Lenovo will eventually drop it to after its initial launch.
     
  40. T61W2008

    T61W2008 Notebook Geek

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    Totally agree, Lenovo's logistics is close to to a joke. I am really surprised at the almost apparent chaos at their online ordering and fulfillment systems. As a world class company, their order tracking fulfillment is a shame comparing to Newegg!

    Not to mention those senseless typos on their commerce site, a company with 30 people could care more for the production site.
     
  41. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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  42. ddensity

    ddensity Notebook Guru

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    http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cg...tmlfid=897/ENUS108-614&appname=USN#h2-prodnox

    ThinkPad X200s 74663HU 7466 3HU
    (12.1-in WXGA+ TFT LED backlit panel,
    Intel GS45 Express chip set
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD,
    Bluetooth, Fingerprint Reader,
    Intel Core 2 Duo processor SL9400,
    160 GB / 7200 rpm ,
    Modem + 5-in-1 Media Card Reader, 2 GB,
    Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN (1 x 2),
    Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional downgrade,
    6-cell Li-Ion battery)​

    The only part that is unclear is how many DIMMs make up the 2GB configuration. Either way, I just ordered one. :)
     
  43. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    Very nice. I also ordered one. Let me know if there's any update to your machine. I received an email from Provantage that they're ordering from Lenovo. When Lenovo ship the laptop to them, they will ship it to me. But it's been one week and I still haven't heard anything from them yet. Hopefully they will receive the laptop from Lenovo soon. I can't wait to try it out!
     
  44. other

    other Notebook Enthusiast

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    Why would they put the Intel WiFi 5100 in there, and not the 5300? Can't be many dollars saved there.

    I know there are models with the 5300, but still! Are all the antennas in the X200(s) so one could just replace it with the 5300?
     
  45. The Oatman

    The Oatman Notebook Consultant

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    It would be useful to know if the X200s with the 5100 comes with all 3 antennas anyway, making the replacement of the 5100 with a 5300 (or perhaps even a 5350) a simple matter.
     
  46. xchric

    xchric Notebook Enthusiast

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    The cpp discount for x200s is up. But it is still a little overpriced compared to the Provantage top seller model.

    If I pull my trigger on the Provantage one, I still need to upgrade the memory (at least 3g) and extend the warraty. That would be something around 1507 + 100(ram) + 200(2 more years warranty) = 18xx.

    If you purchase the warranty separately, it is much more expensive than purchasing with the machine (around $80).

    Do you guys think the cpp price will come down to somewhere close to the price above with more ram and extended warranty in the next 2 or 3 weeks?

    I really hope I can configure a turbo memory and 5300 wireless card into it. Not sure how much is the difference on system performance and signal reception without them.

    Does any of you have experience purchasing thinkpad outside of lenovo.com and calling to upgrade the warranty?

    I am worry about what if the cpp price goes further down while I am waiting for the Provantage order.
     
  47. ddensity

    ddensity Notebook Guru

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    What's the main difference between the 5100 and 5300 wireless adapters?

    And is it possible to buy the turbo memory separately? I'm definitely interesting in adding that.
     
  48. xchric

    xchric Notebook Enthusiast

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    I found some 2G/4G turbo memory on ebay. But they are not specified for thinkpad. Not sure if you will receive 1802 error.

    There are 1G turbo memories for T61 though.
     
  49. other

    other Notebook Enthusiast

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  50. nacy333

    nacy333 Notebook Enthusiast

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    The new tabook.pdf file is now available from Lenovo with the x200s models:

    ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tabook.pdf

    I'd highly advise going over the list and determining which of the configurations from the PDF file best suit your needs and then do a price check on the machine type. You will most likely find something closer to what you want and have the ability to upgrade based on that.
     
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