PC Corner Lists Astone UMPC, Blue H1, Eee PC 701 all at $203

Philippine-based PC Corner is selling the Astone UMPC, Blue H1, and the original Asus Eee PC 701 4G all at P9,995 or roughly just USD203, which is practically the original announced $199 price of the latter. At this price, as expected, PC Corner has been enjoying brisk sales, with both Astone UMPC and Blue H1 outselling the Eee PC.

Both the Astone UMPC and the Blue H1 incidentally have conventional hard drives, the former with 60GB, the latter, 40GB. In addition, the Astone has a touch screen.

At the $200 price point, these netbooks are already much lower than high-end smart mobile phones such as the Nokia e90 Communicator or the Apple iPhone 3G (without contract). In fact, they are at the same price point of popular mid-level mobile phones, officially making them commodity items.

PC Corner Astone UMPC Product Page here.

Astone UMPC tech specs here.

PC Corner Blue H1 Product Page here.

Blue H1 tech specs here.

PC Corner Asus Eee PC 701 4G Product Page here.

Asus Eee PC 701 4G tech specs here.

Blue H1 Website Price

Submitted by Steve -

Blue Digital Systems has deleted the deeply discounted price (now at PhP9,995 (roughly USD215) from the original price of P16,995) from its H1 product page. We are still try to find out the reason for the move, although we suspect anticipated sales were affected when online reseller PC Corner dropped the price on the original Asus Eee PC 701 4G down to the same P9,995. At the same price, it is a no-brainer for consumers to go with the Asus.

Blue H1 user reviews

For actual user reviews of the now deeply discounted Blue H1, check out this thread at the Philippine based Eeeph forum - Blue H1. Apparently it has some quality issues with reports of loose battery connections and auto shutdowns.

Blue H1 reviews

Here are some good reviews of the Blue H1 which just went on sale (see previous post) -

Just Another Dreamer provides a thorough review. Conclusions -

Pros:
- Small pocket-able size
- Sexy-glossy finish
- Simulated 1024*728 resolution
- 40 Gb HDD
- Excellent battery life (thanks to the VIA processor)
- Excellent value

Cons:
- Default 800*480 resolution
- Slightly underpowered processor.
- Can't upgrade processor to C7 1.2 Ghz or 1.6 Ghz
- Only known service center is in Gilmore
- Just like Creative Zens which beats Apple iPods on almost all grounds, Deep Blue H1 doesn't have enough market share to make it a brag-worthy gadget like Asus EEE PC

Yehey! News also has a good review here.

Blue cuts H1 Mobile PC price almost in half

With the low-cost subnotebook segment experiencing booming sales for quite some time now, just about every major manufacturer/reseller has brought out their contenders in time for the back to school season, which serves as a lead-in towards the holidays.

With so much competition, a shake-out, and resultant price war was bound to happen sooner or later. Philippine-based rebadger Blue, which has just this April introduced its Via C7M based 7" H1 at P16,995, roughly USD415 at that time (see post here), has now slashed the price down to just P9,995, roughly USD214.

Given that it is being advertised as a limited stock and limited offer promo, it looks like Blue will be phasing out the model. At P16,995 the H1 was a so-so contender against the Asus Eee PC, having a slower processor and heavier weight due to the bigger storage (albeit a conventional hard drive). But at P9,995, which is actually quite close to the USD199 original announced price of the Eee PC, it is actually attractive as the "tote-anywhere, throw-anywhere" subnotebook that the Eee PC was initially made out to be (but be careful of the hard drive though).

Now considering that Blue apparently only sells locally (in the Philippines), the question now is how to get hold of one before they run out of stock.

Blue H1 product page here.

Deep Blue H1, latest to the Eee-clone party

Submitted by Brad -

Philippine computer makers Blue Digital Systems are busting out another Eee clone, this one with a 40GB hard drive, and $400 price tag. Specs include a VIA Esther 1.0GHZ CPU, 1GB RAM, the ubiquitous 7" 800 x 480 LCD, wifi, webcam, among others.

No word on pricing or availability outside of the Philippines.

More details are available at Brad's Liliputing site.

You can access Blue's website here.