We have set the pricing for the new range as follows:

 6Gb USD 1199  UKP  899
12Gb USD 1299  UKP  949
18Gb USD 1549  UKP 1149
36Gb USD 1949  UKP 1449

If you're in the EC you pay in Pounds. UKP prices include VAT at 17.5%. If you're anywhere else you pay in Dollars.

I think these prices represent great value, especially considering the new features such as Ethernet, nicer plastic, and so forth.

The price of the tuner module has not been fixed but is likely to be $50 - $100.

Rob

We have set the pricing for the new range as follows

How many drives will you be putting in each option? I'm assuming that you'll just have 6Gb and 18Gb drives and you'll be making up the 6Gb, 12Gb, 18Gb and 36Gb combinations from these.

The reason I ask is that I figure when I buy I want to be able to upgrade at a later date - if I buy a two HDD machine, I'll have to junk one later to put a bigger one in.

While I'm here, I didn't want to ask this question on its own, but have you got some sort of expected schedule for when they'll be offered. Basically I'm number 8000 and something and I'd like to know roughly when I'll be getting my new toy :-)

Cheers and thanks for all the information you've already provided - the service you guys have given so far is amazing.

Nick.

Oops, I should have made that clearer!

 6Gb - single drive
12Gb - single drive
18Gb - single drive
36Gb - double drive

Before anyone asks, I'll point that there are no 25/50Gb models because we haven't been able to get any drives. It seems that IBM sell most of them direct into major OEM channels.

Rob

Is 12Gb a mistake and REALLY a double-drive, or are you consciously eliminating the possibility of a 24Gb 2-drive unit made up of 2x12Gb drives?

I'll bet that it's not a typo. Rob can confirm this, but I'd bet that the price of a 12x2 ends up being at an odd price point that doesn't scale well compared to the 18x1 and 18x2 options, so they're not going to bother with it. Am I right? Or did Rob really make a typo?

Bummer about the 50G unit... was really looking forward to that.

Nothing to stop you from buying a 6g unit and swapping it for two 25's yourself.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

hey,

Is there more clearance for HDD's in the mark2's?
-mark

...proud to have one of the first Mark I units

Nothing to stop you from buying a 6g unit and swapping it for two 25's yourself.

Except breaking my warranty.

Hey Rob -- How about a plan where "we send the drives we want installed and the unit and service does the install for us so we don't void the warranty?".. charge a fee for it obviously, but what do you think? Solves the "I can't get big IBM drives direct" problem for those of us who CAN get the drives... Also allows upgrades down the road for "consumers" without breaking the warranty.

Except breaking my warranty.

Chicken.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

As I said, 12Gb is a single drive.

We don't have 24Gb because our experience is that clients who order double drive players usually want the greatest possible capacity. Add to that the fact that we don't configure these individually any more - we set production ratios and take delivery of sealed boxes ready to go out to clients. Any more than four capacity options would start to make for logistical headaches.

Rob

Sorry, we've always stated that we won't fit user supplied drives. We don't want to take responsibility for receiving faulty drives (we signed for the delivery, you claim they worked OK, it gets messy), and providing any kind of a warranty would be difficult. We'd also be sure to receive some oddball drives that won't fit, or that we can't get working. On top of that there is, of course, a financial factor. We need to make a margin on the drives to make the whole procedure worthwhile.

Rob

> Is there more clearance for HDD's in the mark2's?

Yes - BUT we haven't got test results back regarding the maximum height that will not only fit, but also perform well with the shock protection system. The 25Gb TravelStars MIGHT be a little marginal. As soon as we know for sure I'll report our findings.

Rob

Sounds like an opportunity for a third party to specialize in large-drive installations. That would work if Empeg limited provided "empty" empegs, and then the third party company will fit whatever capacities their customers request, and they will resell them effectively, and of course, they will take on warranty responsibilities.

Calvin

We will always make every effort to offer the largest capacities currently available. There simply aren't any 25Gb TravelStar drives available, anywhere, at the moment! Sure, they're listed, but they're either out of stock or available only in very restricted quantity.

It seems that IBM have full order books with their major OEM clients, and practically all units are going direct to private channels.

We certainly don't plan to supply car players without drives. We feel it important that the product should work right out of the box.

Rob

I'm planning a trip to Britain in September. Is it possible to pick up my unit personally? And how much alcohol would I have to bring to meet the people behind the empeg?

If I can avoid the import duties by bringing a personal item into Australia...

Save the whales. Feed the hungry. Free the mallocs.

If I can avoid the import duties by bringing a personal item into Australia...

Nice idea, but....

I may well be wrong - it's a while since I worked in the UK, but unless the VAT rules have changed, you'd have to pay VAT and fill in a form to claim it back. Of course, the action of claiming it back may well alert the Australian tax people to the fact that you imported it. They could then bill you accordingly.

Shame really, cos it would be cheaper for me to fly to England from Switzerland, pick the unit up there and smuggle it back rather than pay the import duties here.

It's also a shame that the Empeg boys have shown us how nice they are - I can't insult them by asking them to fiddle the export paperwork now. :-(

Ah well, all's fair, I suppose. When it comes it comes and what it costs it costs.

Nick.

The price of the tuner module has not been fixed but is likely to be $50 - $100.

Is the TV tuner an option that can be ordered/added later?

Ermm... not sure if you're serious!

We're not doing a TV tuner! It's an FM radio tuner, and it is sold as an entirel seperate product (although it needs an empeg to do anything) so you can buy it when you like.

Rob

I may well be wrong - it's a while since I worked in the UK, but unless the VAT rules have changed, you'd have to pay VAT and fill in a form to claim it back. Of course, the action of claiming it back may well alert the Australian tax people to the fact that you imported it. They could then bill you accordingly.

Shame really, cos it would be cheaper for me to fly to England from Switzerland, pick the unit up there and smuggle it back rather than pay the import duties here.

Heck! I forgot about VAT! I contemplated driving from Zagreb, so that I can arange for those guys down the road from Empeg to do installation (BTW, Dominic, are you around?). Pitty, it would have been a nice one-week vacation: one way via Chunnel, another by hovercraft, perhaps stopover in Paris.... Sigh!

It's also a shame that the Empeg boys have shown us how nice they are - I can't insult them by asking them to fiddle the export paperwork now. :-(

Yeah, that wouldn't do, would it? Sigh again...


Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
#5196

damn it! I'm sorry, I was not entirely awake when I wrote that. it was like 3AM or something. thanks for the info anyway. :)