Hi, I'm starting this thread because I haven't noticed any decent discussion about the pricing policy by entourage. At least not towards Europe.

Some heartbreaking facts for us here, on the other side of the pond.

US & Canada vs Europe
$539 vs $750 !!! (July 2010 rates)

For the option of different colours it's actually more than $800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it will get even worse as € tends to gain momentum against $.

(And please don't tell me that I can buy it in the USA or that someone can send it to me. My home is my castle, right? If Europe is supposed to be a market than treat it like one.)

I know that electronics are ridiculously expensive in Europe. But they are even more expensive in central Europe. On top of that we need to face huge problems with most online application/electronics stores. If you want an example, AppleStore doesn't work from Poland although iPhone sales here are ridiculously high. So far I haven't been assured by entourage that while Europe is supported by their shop, central Europe won't be excluded from the privilaged league...

I come from Poland, one of the strongest economies in the region, and actually one of only a few countries in the world which survived the last economic crisis. We will probably be the best European economy for the second time this year! And 1) electronics are more expensive here than in western Europe, which are more expensive than in USA, which are more expensive than in Asia... 2) we still earn a fraction of what is understood as a decent salary in Europe and USA, 3) there are around 38,000,000 of us in Poland! We are one of the biggest markets on the continent! And there are millions of other Europeans in the same situation.

OK, coming back to the topic.

eDGe seems to be a masterpiece and a breakthrough not only for students and academics. But it won't do so nicely in Europe, especially central Europe, for the price.

For $750 (or actually around $900 when everything is taken into account) I can have :
- two netbooks & two e-readers
- a good notebook & a good e-reader
- a fantastic laptop, maybe even a desktop replacement

On top of that, in order to turn eDGe into a netbook you need an additional keyboard. There is a nice thread about some great USB devices that work miracles and enhanve eDGe usability. But it's extra $30-60 on top of $750-800+ we already need to pay! Plus packing&posting... So, eDGe has already hit $900 before it is delivered to my doorstep...

So my advice to entourage is, lower the price and you'll make an unforseen profit. Keep the price and you'll remain another fancy gadget that people talk about on Facebook...