Retail Markets supply/demand can vary by country, and thus prices can vary by country. Inflation and cost of living can effect prices differently. I don't think the price in one country is an indicator for the price in another country. An example is that my friends get their cell phones from England because they get them for much cheaper there. On the other hand, computers and almost everything else can cost almost double in the UK as it does here.

If you have some proof that computers in general, sell for the same in Taiwan as they do here, then maybe.

Let me see if I get your meaning here... are you saying that your lack of opinion based on no information is superior to my opinion based on a little information?

What I'm saying is the opinion you arrived at based on little information is flawed, because the little information you have, does not support your opinion.

it does support his opinion...his opinion is that it will pay off long...if you look at the payout statement (from the first post), you would see that if it comes out at more $499, it pays out long

Thanks pso7025,I was wondering if maybe my post missed the mark somehow. Glad to see it didn't.

But traderboi, let me go a little more into what I was getting at.

First of all, I've been trying to hunt down an article I read a few weeks ago about how the Taiwan computer market has been cutthroat lately because so many computers are manufactured there. Every manufacturer wants a piece of the local market, and the prices are rock-bottom.

Since I haven't found that article, I'll have to let that bit rest as an "assertion" for now.

Anyway, if you have manufacturers scrambling to have the lowest prices possible in their domestic market, then it's pretty safe to assume that prices in less competitive markets will be somewhat higher. In the U.S., if Asus releases the Top soon enough, they'll have the all-in-one market largely to themselves, and can safely charge a bit more.

Also, you have to take into account that there will be shipping and other costs associated with export, and those costs will be passed on to the consumer, raising the price.

But we have so much weird crap happening in the world economy that it's hard to guess what will happen when it's released here. Based on the current situation, I'd be REALLY safe in saying the Top will sell for more than $499 when it gets to the U.S.

But with the Taiwan dollar losing value, the market for computers growing so weak, and major retailers like Circuit City with their backs to the wall, pretty much anything can happen.

The Top might get released in the U.S. for $400 if Taiwan's currency keeps dropping. Or they may jack the price over $600 to make up for the ground the currency has lost. There might be a computer price war world wide, and prices will plummet. Or some manufacturers might reign in exports leaving Asus the all-in-one market to itself in the U.S.

For that matter, the Top might not even reach the U.S. if things get tough enough.

So even though I don't have a crystal ball or an all-encompassing scenario on which to make a prediction, I feel pretty safe in believing the price will be over $499 when it hits the U.S., barring any further economic upheaval to change the picture.

Nuff said?

Ok, so my original post should have said:

"If you have some proof that computers in general, sell for the same OR MORE in Taiwan as they do here, then maybe."

My point being that if computers sell in Taiwan for twice as much as in the US, then I don't see that article as proof. If in fact that article that computers sell for less in Taiwan exists, I can concur to your prediction.

Don't have the article handy, but the first one I found indicating the product was in production predicted a price of under $500 when it hits the USA.

One possible reason for a lower US price is we'll get the product later than Taiwan.

My main concern is $499 would be short, and $499.99 would pay long. Another is the prop doesn't specify if they're going by suggested retail or the "street price".

While "street price" is usually lower than retail, I recently saw the 6 cell acer aspire one netbook offered on Amazon for $200 above suggested retail. Demand was higher than supply.

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Before the latest article saying Taiwan was finally selling this computer, the other articles I've seen said it would come out at $499 but those articles were from months ago when the computer was first being discussed/displayed at trade shows. I think it'll be pretty close to the $499 mark. I don't have any evidence to support my theory but if people were expecting it to debut at $499 I think it'll be slightly higher than that, probably around $550. But that's just an opinion.

Well $499.99 > $499, not sure why it concerns you...but I do agree with your concern about suggested retail vs street price. However, I don't think Amazon will begin selling this as soon as it's out. I think Asustek will be the one selling it initially. So once it's out, that's the price we look at, not the price it is months after it comes out.

I would think we'd go with the MSRP: if ASUS sets the MSRP at $450 but, say, best buy sells it at $525, that's bb's loss/gain, but not ASUS's. Same other way around where the retail store would sell it at a discount below the $500 mark, while the MSRP would be above.

But that's the ting, if it gets MSRP'ed at the "$500" price point, it'll be at $499.99, not at $499.00 or $498.99 or $500.00. There has to be a cut-off price somewhere and the payout can change by as simple as a penny.

-NapkinG-