Price ​ ​ .

[barmas 0]

Hi everybody

I think the price of the PRO1 is too high compared to its specs

There are models with similar specs (processor, ram, rom, display) that costs half its price like Nubia Red Magic and OnePlus5T

I know that the implementation of hardware keyboard is expensive due to engineering and materials, but it seems too much, compared to RedMagic and OP5T

I think it needs:

- a lower price (500-549)

- or the same price with better specs (at least a 4000mh battery, a SD845, a removable battery, IR port, etc)

 

What do you think about it?

[EskeRahn 5,464]

In my book it is well worth the price. But I have been waiting for many years, so are perhaps more eager than you.

[Siani_8 105]

Price seems fair to me considering this isn't a major brand that will mass produce quantities large enough to keep the price down. Also, I just looked at the specs on the OnePlus 5T and there is no comparison really. No keyboard alone should be enough to keep out of a comparison but also little things like no stereo speakers which is a rarity, and no multi colored notification light which is like finding a unicorn these days. This doesn't just have a keyboard. it's got a sliding keyboard which is even more rare, landscape keyboard making it even rarer and 5 row qwerty with dedicated number row which is just unheard of nowadays. Can't wait to get my hands on one.

[blubbeh 1]

You can get phones with the same SoC for half the price. Yes.

Now try it the other way: Look for how much you can get a current phone-like device with a hardware keyboard. For non-sliders there are a few options, but those won't let you get away much if any cheaper and may even sport slower hardware.

 

This is the price of niche hardware. I don't doubt we all wouldn't mind a lower price.

But there are many factors in this. Low volume, unknown demand, high development costs, just to name a few. Economy of scale makes it worse. They also need to profit a bit on this to stay afloat.

[netman 1,424]

For me also the price seems more than fair, companies like oneplus work with very small profit margins and sell huge volume, and they don't have a keyboard. This is for people that really need the keyboard rather than best specs per dollar eh :). The shutter button is also something pretty rare that does add some value, these things are for me all more important than what SoC it runs etc although I'm really happy it ain't mediatek. Some people are willing to throw over $1000 at a folding phone also while for me it just seems even worse than the normal ones that exist :D.

[AnnieC 115]

Some reviews mentioned that the BlackBerry KEY2 came out with a similar price tag with weaker hardware so in that regard the price seems fair.

650 USD seemed like a great deal when the announcement was made and I immediately opened the pre-order page and it was 650 EUR for me which is 12% more from where I'm standing(and even more for GB). I understand that sales tax and VAT are handled differently in different regions, but this has just pushed the price out of my instant buy range so I'll probably wait a little more, even if I risk loosing the pre-order gifts.

[Val 75]

It's a niche phone so the price will be higher. What I don't understand, is that the price is the same in different currencies ;)

 

I'm willing to pay extra for a Pro1/2 with some "minor" changes:

- 4.5" to max 5" NON-curved screen with small bezels;

- removable battery. I'm still using a Relay and I have a spare full one with me when I know there is no power source and I'll use the phone much more than usual (weddings, funerals, courses :D). I wouldn't mind if it's a little bigger (3600-4000);

- dual sim + SD card simultaneously;

- IR port.

 

 

 

[AnnieC 115]

The USD price does not inculde the taxes while the prices in EUR and GPB do. The best deal would be to buy it from a US state where the taxes are low.

[Val 75]

Wrong ;)

 

Available for pre-order now at $649 | £649 | €649 *

*plus shipping and sales tax for customers in the US.

 

Shipping and taxes are not included for the customers from US. Country is not the same with currency.

Also, if I'm from EU, the same taxation level (%) is applied if the price is in EUR or GBP.

[netman 1,424]

+1 I'd also be willing to pay extra for a phone with the changes Val describes, those would be high up on the want-list when a pro2 is on the horizon :).

[EskeRahn 5,464]

+1 to val and netman, I hope the pro¹ becomes a smashing success, so they will make a Pro², And hopefully there will be enough users to sustain both a Pro²- and Pro²+ of different sizes, but identical logical specs (Like SE in he old days). I for one would prefer a compact.

[netman 1,424]

Yes, the pro1 being a smashing success is what all of us need so there is enough demand for more niceties like it :). For sure there has to be many more people like us who waited for this to come, it's almost exactly the phone I've always dreamed would exist.

[AnnieC 115]

I think the line Please note that sales tax will be added for customers in the US on the pre-order page means that they will have to pay extra sales tax on top of the 650 USD price, while for people in the EU for example the VAT is already included in the 650 EUR price. Still not exactly the same price but it's closer.

 

Edit.: just checked the pre-order page without actually sending the pre-order:

 

SUBTOTAL €649.00

(incl. VAT)

TOTAL €649.00 charged at a future date

(includes €108.17 VAT estimated for Hungary)

 

And as the pre-order page says:

Shipping costs to your location will be added to your order. And that applies to everyone.

[Val 75]

The VAT percentage in the pre-order page is the one in UK (20%), regardless of the currency. That the way it works.

The price should be the same in EUR and GBP, parity wise. At least, until the hard Brexit :D

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

To be honest, I wait for this phone since my N900 gave up on me.

Yes it isn't my dream phone in every aspect, but if the keyboard has a nice feel to it, I am gonna buy it even if it is expensive. Other phones are way more expensive and you gonna use that keyboard all the time, while the faster processor in another phone will mostly idle.

 

I hope this phone will be a smashing success. I hope it sells so good, that every other company sees what stupid error jobs did by removing it.

[_DW_ 628]

Price is spot on. Be nice if they could reduce it but I doubt they can.

[zurvan2 125]

For a V1, this price point is spectacular.

 

The biggest spec people keep pointing out is the chipset, and CPUs have really been plateauing recently. Battery life is far more important, and it's great that they are focusing on that.

[nbtodd 0]

blubbeh explained well. Some of you have unrealistic expectations (especially with the battery, how much more can you cram in there?)

Not sure why US customers are being charged sales tax when we're not taxed for online purchases. Unless the firm has their own facilities in your state, I've never, ever seen this happen before. Seems more like an opportunity to milk.

[barmas 0]

I'm the only one who disagrees about the price ;-)

Perhaps you are forgetting that the phone will be in your hands probably by july-august

Are you aware that in July-August, the specs of Pro1 will be more outdated than now and with €.649, it will be possible to buy three phones with identical processor, display, ram, rom, camera etc except hardware keyboard?

I think that at that price, it needs an hardware compensation (better battery, ram, IR)

 

 

 

[netman 1,424]

But how will you type? Typing on a touchscreen slows me down way more than the lousy mediatek chipset in the phone I own now, so i rate input method as a greater importance then ram etc. And the pro1 is by no means a low specced device, it'll run nicely. That plus I doubt fxtec could make much of a profit if they made the device cheaper / higher spec.

[EskeRahn 5,464]

I agree with Netman here.

barmas, Remember that sliders are still a niche product, so the production volume is going to be low, so the development cost distributed per unit is MUCH higher than for a device sold in many millions of specimens like say a Samsung S8/9/10.

...Actually I had expected it to be priced higher for that exact reason....

[skkayman 0]

For a small company and low production volume, the price seems OK - you cannot compare it with OnePlus and others big companies.

KEY2 costs similar price, it has bad form factor, worst keyboard from all Blackberries I have used (Q10, Classic, Passport), bad keyboard integration, closed android without any possible changes (no root, not possible to unlock bootloader) and as unhappy user of Key2 LE, I can continue for a long time :(.

And that is reason why I want Pro1 and cannot afford it now, I cannot buy two expensive smartphone during one year. And it would be impossible to sell k2 in my country without loosing a lot of money. (I wish I knew about Pro1 sooner..)

 

So am I am waiting and hoping that Pro1 sells good and there will be Pro2 and Pro2lite in future (with noncurved screen :) ).

[damion 60]

$649 + sales tax + shipping is still way cheaper than £650 ($820). But TBH I think the price is completely justifiable. You're paying for research and dev into the nicest keyboard phone since the n950

[MortisAngelus 2]

For a V1, this price point is spectacular.

 

The biggest spec people keep pointing out is the chipset, and CPUs have really been plateauing recently. Battery life is far more important, and it’s great that they are focusing on that.

 

Warning - angry rant (not targeted at you, more like a continuation of what you commented)

 

It is the bloody stigma of the tech enthusiast industry; I mean of course I get excited about new tech, and of course it is awesome to see new chipsets and CPUs on the market for various devices etc.

 

But especially in the smartphone market, there seems to be an ironic amount of elitism amongst reviewers and also consumers. As was the case with the Nokie 9 PureView. Everyone was like "this is a really great phone, with some new awesome never-seen-before camera technology in a phone, but it "only" has a 845, which is kind of a bummer bla bla bla so it should not be this expensive"

 

I got really fed up this criticism. Critics and users alike were pretending like the 845 was so bad and out of date and trying to bash the Nokia for "high price" compared to e.g. OnePlus completely forgetting about the things that really makes the phone special; the camera - which certainly had a huge R&D budget.

 

Now the same critique comes flying at the Pro1. 835 is too old, too weak, phone is too expensive... Bla bla bla. Why do people forget A) niche products cost more, and B) There is additional tech to be developed; Software and hardware wise for a phone like this. But no; apparently the chipset and CPU is the ONLY thing that should dictate what a phone should cost.

 

But thanks to Oculus, we now have a legit showcase and argument for how competent a Snapdragon 835 really is: The Oculus Quest runs on said CPU/Chipset and manages to render full dual screen 3D VR with inside-out tracking at 72 fps in very high resolution. Sure the games have lower graphic quality compared to the PC counterparts, but the fact that it does this is still amazing. So bring that up next time someone complains about the 835 in the Pro1.

 

I've said it before; I've yet to experience that my current 821 would be too slow, except for playing asphalt 8, which I really don't play anyways.

 

Sigh.. Rant over. Thank you for reading

[netman 1,424]

Well rant or not, I wholeheartedly agree this focus on needing the best SoC is madness. The 835 is a pretty nice choice in my opinion, saves some cost over the newest bestest, and it is miles ahead of mediatek etc. I could understand that people want better if they chose to go with some low end chip or so, but SD835 is faster than any phone I've ever had, or would consider buying if it wasn't for having a keyboard (I wouldn't normally pay 650eur for a phone, but in this case it'll be well worth it)...