One of our readers, K2000, sent in word he recieved via e-mail from ASUS on a future release of the Eee PC in Portugal.
The Portugese will finally be getting their hands on the ASUS Eee PC 4G version sometime in April. It will cost 350 euros, which is about $517.
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Seems really expensive…is that common with other countries that are just now getting it? ….does the nationalization to the different language cost that much?
Nationalization/localization may have part to do with it. I’d guess that distribution may be what costs more, however.
-Ant
It doesn’t make sense. Portugeese should be a great language for the Eee considering that you have to add the huge Brazilian market into the equation.
What I do find weird though, is how the Eee has started selling in countries in the EU with lower ratios of internet users, where as other markets such as Scandinavia where a lot of people would even settle for an English or German model, have not seen a start date for the Eee yet.
yeah, that is odd…I would have figured a standard version of the EEE would at least be available to countries whose first language isn’t “on the list”.
To American guys – you are lucky because the prices for mostly everything in US are lower than in i.e. Europe. Because it’s lucarative market for every company and competition is high.
Have you ever noticed flocks of European tourists that go to US to do shapping for electronics, clothing, even real estate now?
Even if I go to Burger King in Dublin, Ireland I will pay 9-10 (~13$) euro for XL Double Bacon Cheesburger meal to compare to what – 7-8 US$ ?
I am Portuguese and just bought the UK version last December at Expansys. I use it for programming, so no need to bother with a portuguese keyboard…
what is unusual is not really the price point, but the delay, I really was expecting the eee way sooner. In the meantime, I ordered one from clove, 50 euros for a portuguese keyboard and two more months of waiting, no thanks.
I’ve been waiting for a long time, I’m sick of heavy and problematic windows laptops, so I asked one Eee as present last x-mas (no one could find it on shops here), now I’m asking again for birthday in middle of February, but I guess I’m still out of luck.
I don’t care if Portuguese key symbols are very expensive and difficult to print on keys, just put out any keyboard layout and I’m sure there will be no missing clients to buy them.
Sweden gets it in April as well. Bummer!
We haven’t seen that yet and although Swedish people will easily set for an Eee with an English keyboard, they will want the 8 GB.
Mind you, there are a lot of people among those that are waiting that have chosen not to order from the EU or the US, in a vague hope that the problems with the 8 GB would get better with time and that it would be worth waiting for three little digits on the keyboard.
By the way, I emailed Asus today and they really couldn’t tell when it was going to start selling in Sweden. This tells me it is not going to be April. I have found no shop neither in the UK nor in Germany that carry the 4 GB.
To me, the Asus consumer service said it would be out in March. How recent is this info, K200?
I’m Portuguese to.
What? Even Portugal will get Eee PC sooner than Spain? Can be possible?
Leinad, the e-mail I received is from 29/01 and a friend received the same information 2 days later, I would say it’s pretty recent.
BuD, maybe Portugal and Spain will get it at the same time?
K2000, thanks for the info. I asked for info on that subject and received an e-mail on the 16th of January, setting March as the launch date. Funny how ten days later it gets put back a whole month. This is sooo typical.
@Jer: http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.139465
lixy: That article is several weeks old. My information is based on a reply I got from Asus yesterday through e-mail.
Leinad, might be a matter of days? End of march, beginning of April maybe…
“End of march, beginning of April maybe…”
Let us all hope you’re right. I want my EEE PC. *insane laugh*
@lops: hugely off topic but you brought it up
– I don’t think McDonald’s has any sandwich over like $5(US) 
and no combo meal is over like $6 or 7(US)….
Bah, a set of Shure e2c here cost roughly twice as much here as in the USA. ‘Nuff said.
/offtopic
@fadumpt
Thanks for reply. I know it’s off topic, but still – the latest gadgets I bought were mainly from US:
1) unlocked iPhone for my wife: 500$ from US
2) 2 Gig AData RAM for Asus Eee – 45$ from US
3) 16 Gig AData SDHC card for Asus Eee – 100$ from US
@Jer
If you cannot order an EeePC from Germany or UK, why don’t you try ordering from Lithuania or Latvia? The EeePC is available there according to the info I got from a topic on EeePC on a Russian language forum. As far as I understood, they sell an English version of the EeePC there and not a localized one. And Lithuania and Latvia are close enough to Sweden, so the shipping charges should not be very high.
@Jer,
Milen is right, at least in Latvia we have English version Eee-s, no company will localize laptops for a country with population of 2 million
Here is the link for one of shops. 219 Lats (Latvian currency) is almost the same as 219 english pounds (or ~300 euro).
http://ms.lv/?q=UutRzyfnz8xPa2LPr8wPzPfnzBxxl89Y
Milen & Lops: You guys are great!
Thanks for the tip!
it is a real nice thing- i wish that some of my portugiese friends would get it…
it very very useful and by the way stylish too. cheap and easy to take with u on travel. i got my eee in austria and i am very happy with it.
have fun – buy one
I’m Portuguese too, and I’m waiting to get my hands on one of these babies since it came out. I really don’t understand why Asus is only targeting some countries while others are left out. Their criteria is simply ridiculous, they release the EEE in richer countries, while poorer countries (a better target for the low priced goodness of the EEE) are left out. A Portuguese version suitable for Portugal and Brazil surely would be a huge success.
Somebody teach some basic marketing skills to Asus reps please!
Well, we’re in mid-May already and no sign of the EEE PC in Portugal. Damn this.
Hum… maybe I’ll buy an electric car before, is it April 2009 or April FOOLS ?
As payment for this delay, I think asus should force steve balmer to ofer an Linux Eee to our prime minitrer in public news and make him say: See how easy this one is?… (showing the screen).
the eee pc 4gb linux is available at fnac, the price is 299 euros. saw it today, have no idea when it arrived, but it was almost sold out already.
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