No Linux IdeaPad For Lenovo's US Customers

narramissic writes "When Lenovo's new IdeaPad 'S' series netbooks hit stores in October, U.S. buyers will only be given one option: Windows XP on the IdeaPad S10 (making it not so much a series as a single offering). Meanwhile, people in most markets Lenovo serves, including Singapore, China and the U.K., will be offered both of the company's new IdeaPad netbooks (the S10, which has 10.2-inch screen, and the S9, which has an 8.9-inch screen), and the choice of either Microsoft Windows XP or a Linux OS. Before you start feeling too sorry for yourself, consider the price tag: the S10 will sell for £319 (US$629) in the U.K., but in the U.S. the starting price is $399." Liliputing (a cool site for anyone interested in sub-notebook computing) has posted a few bits on the IdeaPad, including some short videos.

Comments

US Europe price differential ..

[rs232]

"the S10 will sell for £319 (US$629) in the U.K., but in the U.S. the starting price is $399"

Why is this, does it cost more to ship it to Europe or is it we're supposed to subsidise the US market?

Re:US Europe price differential ..

[DragonWriter]

Why is this, does it cost more to ship it to Europe or is it we're supposed to subsidise the US market?

No, its because they think they'll make more profit in Europe charging more, either because Europeans have more money they are willing to throw at this kind of tech, or because its a narrower, richer segment of the market willing to consider the product at all in Europe; its simply a matter of segmenting the market and charging as much as the market will bear in each segment.

Cost probably has next to nothing to do with it.

Re:US Europe price differential ..

[BlackCreek]

Add to that the fact that the European web-market for bargains is terribly fragmented due to:

1. The different languages;
2. the fragmentation of the delivery market that makes prices for shipping across many national borders much higher than what it should, say in the US you often get single fee for continental US, but here you get single fee for ... Belgium or The Netherlands!

Re:XP

[pheared]

Actually it seems that they think the UK consumers are stupid, given the price hike they are imposing.

UK getting charged more? There's a shocker...

[Channard]

Actually, we usually get screwed more on the price. More often than not, UK folks end up paying in pounds what US folks pay in dollars.

Re:UK getting charged more? There's a shocker...

[maxume]

You can switch out "end up paying" for "are perfectly willing to pay"...

So I guess it was a good idea...

[gillbates]

To buy an Asus EEE PC. Not that IBM has a bad reputation with respect to being Linux compatible, but it was nice to have it come installed and just work out of the box.

No clit?!

[sznupi]

Ehhh...Lenovo had a chance of replacing ridiculously small touchpads found in all netbooks with a trackpoint, ending up with THE best netbook on the market.

Instead...they're only average/good... :/

Re:Not just US and Lenovo

[BlackCreek]

Here in The Netherlands it's impossible to get the Linux version of the eee pc 901.

Did you actually found the Eee 901 for sale in the NL already? (Just asking because I haven't seen it anywhere).

Re:not linux

[BlackCreek]

this is the distro used in acer low end notebooks, no X, just a black screen. Great for presenting a Windows alternative!.

and I would take that anyday instead of paying for XP / Vista.

Please, note that Dell is only selling Linux pre-installed in "selected" markets...

Re:XP

[sayfawa]

People in countries with higher wages pay more for products. Who would've thought? Maybe that price comparison should factor in the two countries' average incomes.

In other news, rice costs more here than in India. They must think we're stupid.

Re:Price Difference

[KGIII]

VAT and basic marketing principles. They can sell for more so they do.