From: smcgerty@unix1.tcd.ie (Stephen John McGerty)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: So when do we get a 1200 with HARD-DRIVE??
Summary: When is the 1200 going to be sold with a harddrive? No rush like..
Keywords: 1200
Date: 16 Nov 92 01:10:45 GMT
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin

It's getting quite close to Christmas, and the good old 
computer market doesn't seem to have got into shape yet,
as far as C= are concerned...

At the bottom of the marketplace we have the old reliable
C64. People keep buying them, so C= should keep selling
them - I believe that's what they call Economics(tm)!
I imagine it rivals all these cheep console thingies.

Now the A1200, priced at 399 UK pounds, seems to be aimed
at the same market that the A500 was targeting about two
years ago. But with the arrival of the A1200, and the new
name (A600) it isn't the machine it used to be.

As an example of how NOT to do it, one of my local computer 
shops were selling the A600 for only 50 Irish pounds less 
than the A1200. The sales guy did his best to play down the 
specs of the A1200, in defence of his high A600 price!  

But there is hope! I keep hearing about the A600 being cut 
in price, so will they get it right...?
Does an A600 for 199 UK pounds sound okay? I hope so.
Why? Because it competes favourably with the more expensive
consoles. Goodie; more converts to the Amiga camp...

This all leaves the A1200 holding the fort at the 400 UK- 
pounds mark. I think it will do well there. It fights of
the Falcon fairly well, and those ever-cheepening PCs 
can't quite meet that level of price and performance.

But what of the more serious user? The A3000 is very
well priced now, but I think a lot of people will not
back old technology. They like the sound of AGA... 
{I can't help thinking what the Amiga market would be
like if C= had launched the A3000 at the price it is
now... Missed opportunity perhaps? Back when PCs
weren't quite so cheep... remember? The world might
be a different place...}

Anyway, back to reality: The A4000 is very nice. It's
just that I don't have _quite_ that much money to 
spend on a computer, thank you very much! How about
halving the price or something? I wonder if even that,
would break the PCs hold on the market?

Lots of people seem to think there will be a A2400. 
I imagine it will be to the A1200, what the A1500 was to
the A500. (ie, the same, with slots and a big box.)
However, if history is anything to go by, a '2400' 
will be substantially more expencive than an A1200.

So, although I think there is lots of room for a
2400 - be it a boxy 1200, or a very cut down 4000 -
I don't think it's the primary pot-hole to fill in 
the C= marketing stategy.

People are turning to harddrives more and more these
days. This is obvious. As a result of this, harddrives 
are now cheep and accessable to the games playing populous. 
And like it or not, that's been the life-blood market of 
the Amiga since the very start.

Now credit where credit is due.. C= have an A600 with
a built in harddrive. Very good move. But then they
go and release the A1200 - the power home users computer!
Great, but where's the harddrive?? Surely if the A600
marketplace requires harddrive support, the A1200 should
too? If not even more so??

There is a real need for the A1200 to be packaged with 
a harddrive RIGHT NOW. And no messing about - at least 
40Megs please. This really should be done before Christmas, 
or a good market share will be lost. People in the Amiga world
regard harddrives as far more affordable and _necessary_
than they did a year or so ago. It's simply not the 
minority market it used to be. So HURRY UP Commodore.

What annoys me is the fact that I see commodore selling
lots of portable PC clones with built in 40Meg HDs (2.5"??). 
Now, the A1200 already has an IDE interface, and C= seems 
to have the drives, so what's the delay??

Stephen.

......................................................................... 
: / T | /  Stephen John McGerty (C.Sci)  "Theory must never   Amiga  // :
: / | |/   smcgerty@unix1.tcd.ie          precede creation"       \\//  :
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