OQO 01+ sells out in 9 hours
On Woot, that is. Today’s deal was for a brand new Tablet Edition OQO Model 01+ (MSRP $1399) for an outstanding $799 (plus $5 s/h). Woot sold all 250 units they had between midnight and 9 a.m. CST, with 33% of the stock selling within the first hour. The deal was so good, in fact, that 21% of customers bought three! (I have a sneaking suspicion that OQO listings on eBay will experience a little spike in the next few days.)
You may remember that refurbished Samsung Q1s were available at Woot for $750 a few months ago. Regardless of whether the "refurbished" tag was partially to blame for the slower pace of sales (193 units in about 15 hours), I agree with ctitanic of Ultranauts about what these figures suggest. Is the high price point the only thing standing in the way of the handtop form factor’s ultimate success? For a lower cost, are consumers willing to overlook their other top complaints (battery life, power, etc.)? What will happen when the $600 barrier is broken?
I echo ctitanic’s sentiments that there is most certainly a market for the devices. Among other things, Microsoft just has to zero in on that market with better advertising. The amount of showtime UMPCs are expected to get at CES is definitely a good start.