Zepto US website and possible resellers

We are getting a lot of email and interest from people in US-Canada about Zepto machines and I just wanted to get some feedback from some of you. Are there many or indeed any potential US-Canada customers who post on this forum? We are looking at resellers to sell using our website configurator. We have been in touch with a company called thevmachine.com have you guys heard of them?

 

I would consider myself a potential customer (US), as I've been interested in a few models that you guys have over there that aren't available here -- namely that one 14.1" + 8600 laptop (forgot the model). However at the moment price and hassle of ordering from overseas will most likely make me buy a different notebook from a US-based reseller. That also means it'll be at least a few years 'til I'm on the hunt for another machine, but at that time if your products were available in the US I'd definitely be interested.

I've personally never heard of thevmachine.com, so I can't give any input there.

 

Maybe Zepto could contact Powernotebooks or MilestonePC. Both already sell custom notebooks from Clevo, Sager and Compal. They have a good reputation and would be able to provide good service. I think atleast the 6224W and 6324W would be a great hit. The 6225WD and the laptops with the weaker graphics would have alot of competition.

 

Thank you , they have been contacted as well..

 

One to try could also be XoticPC.

 

thevmachine.com looks a bit sketchy in my opinion. But then i don't trust websites which don't look half decent...

 

I would jump on a Zepto in a heartbeat if you started selling in the US.

 

I really love the idea of having Zepto sell notebooks directly in the US. Pursuant to this, I definitely second the powernotebooks.com recommendation. They are a very well respected reseller with a great reputation for customer service.

As for thevmachine.com, I checked their website and they only seem to be selling about 4 notebooks right now. The rest seem to be desktops. So, you may want to reconsider seeing what their primary focus is. Plus, demostrike brings up a good point.

c9tech, RJTech, PCTorque, CyberPower PC, ExcaliberPC, Voodoo PC, MilestonePC, PortableOne and ProPortable are some other resellers you may want to check out. Please note that some of them do ship internationally and I don't know what kind of territorial agreements you are looking for.

Regards,

zakaluka.

 

If my XPS m1330 gets canceled again, and if zepto sold in the US I'd definitely be a potential buyer. The 6224w is a very attractive machine (specs and appearance-wise). I always see people searching for a notebook in the 'which notebook should i buy' forum that's 14.1" and with a Nvidia 8600m GT gpu, and it seems like right now this zepto is the only notebook to fit the bill.

..and i haven't checked up on thevmachine.com, but i agree with the others that i'd be a bit skeptical to purchase from a site that isn't so popular or well rated by others.

 

Having just returned a 1520 by Dell, I'd buy from Milestone PC if a Zepto was sold there (I'm a Canadian customer). If you could customize the orders just as you've mentioned, I'd buy pretty quickly.

 

Thanks again for your feedback on this matter...I hope to have some more news later on this week..any more potential US-Canada customers(that use notebookreview.com) can they please make themselves known so I can see what kind of demand we have...

 

I would definitely buy a 6224 if there was a US reseller - I was ready to pay the shipping and exchange fees until I heard you might have a US reseller.
Don't forget to look into student discounts! (I am not sure if that is government or company-subsidized but that would just make zepto THAT much more attractive).

I just hope the reseller keeps your relatively low upgrade prices (4gb ram for ~$200 makes it more attractive than buying ram myself, even if I can get 2x2GB for ~180).

Kudos to fitting a 8600gt m in a 14.1 inch notebook btw. That is just breaking the convention of what a notebook can be

 

I would buy a Zepto 6224w as soon as it was offered in the US. I was allready planning on purchasing one and messing with the hassle of overseas, but a US site would be better than that. I GUARANTEE that the 14.1 inch models with the 8600gt would sell VERY well, as it is the only one of its kind! I am very disappointed that no other manufacturers have stepped up and made this kind of spec.
Questions: Would the computer still be made overseas? Would it still have the same amount of customization options? Who would handle support?
I like the way you select the customize options on the Zepto.com site, so it would be cool if you could update us.zepto.com to be like the other zepto sites.
Either way, I am going to buy a 6224w, whether it is from the US or not.

 

I take that back. I will only buy the 6224w when the faster processors come out for it.

 

I dont want to open old wounds but they may not be back again for the 6224, but that is another thread

 

I may get that 14.1 8600GT in Canada, depending on its performance/quality/price compared to upcoming ASUS. I thought of importing 6224W, as Zepto rep I talked with online made a good impression, however, all the hassle of importing one hold me back.

 

I'm interested in a 6625WD...

 

I would buy a 6324W if it came out fast enough...but I kinda need it by the end of August. Though I guess I could wait a month or two for a 8600M on a 14.1".

 

I'd certainly buy a Zepto. I'm in the US.

 

Id buy one also, im in Canada.

 

I'd bite and I know two other people who'd be interested too. 6324W availability in USA please.

 

If that US reseller pops up before Asus releases the V2S/F8sv (haven't decided), I might jump the gun and get a Zepto

 

Same here. I am either getting the new Asus or Zepto depending on which comes to market first.

 

I just bought a 1520 inspiron, but I have to say the 14" zepto with the 8600m gt really tempted me. It's just that the price and international shipping made it a bad choice compared to the dell. I'd get a zepto if they were more easily gotten in north america.

 

I'd snatch up a Zepto if I could get one in the states...

 

I might if there was a US distributor whose reputation I knew about.

 

I would for sure be interested in a 6224 if sold in the US.

 

i would consider it if they started becoming available in Canada. 14.1" and 8600 gt.....sweeeeeeet

 

I am another that would be pretty interested in the 14" models (the 6224 and 6324), but I don't like the design much and would thus be more inclined to go for a 6625WD since it is pretty light for a 15.4" notebook. I'm currently looking at the Asus F8Sv, which has comparable specs to the 6224 and 6625, but falls in between the two in terms of weight, and is far costlier.

 

Definitely interested. In the market to buy within a couple months, any 14.1" (or 13.3") with a 8600gt or comparably better chip.

If anybody's heard about a 13.3" with the 8600gt can you pm me with the thread link? I can't find aaaaaanything in this regard... only the upcoming Asus F8 and the current Zepto's offer the 14.1's with it. Shucks.

 

No 13.3" laptop has, or will have anytime soon, anything better than the 8400M-GS or it's ATI equivalent. If you want an 8600, you have to go to a 14.1" screen size.

 

I'd be interested in the 14" + 8600, that's for sure. Can't see how it would hurt to expand your market to the US...

 

Agreed, it would only give Zepto more business.

 

I'm Canadian (Ontario), and I'm interested in the 6224W.

And with good reason.

Currently, the 6224W is the only 14" laptop that offers 8600GT, so there's no doubt the demand would be huge in North America. Do you know how many people started playing games over these few years? Especially since the release of World of Warcraft, I'm pretty sure it's the first graphic-intensive PC game for a lot of people. The demand for gaming-quality machines is definitely present in North America, if anywhere.

But in all honesty, if you guys really want to bring it over here, you should make it quick because of 2 main factors:

1) School's starting in a month, and a LOT of people are notebook shopping right now. I mean, look at Dell -- they've got so many people ordering their Inspiron 1520s that they have shipments on waiting lists. I, for one, am in this situation right now. I'm looking for a 14" gaming laptop and if Dell had ever offered the 8600GT on their 1420s, I would've ordered one already. In fact, I might have to go with a 15" afterall since there are no good 14" gaming laptops around here right now. All in all, I'm sure there's a lot of other High School/University kids out there looking for a powerful laptop like the 1520, but want the mobility of a 14". This is a golden opportunity for you to bring your products to North America and cut a share off of Dell's profit.

2) As mentioned above, your 6224W is currently the king of the hill in the 14" form factors. So basically, if you do bring your products over here, when people think "14 inches" and "gaming" together, Zepto 6224W is pretty much the first thing that would come to mind. However, I'm not sure how long you'll be reigning for -- I'm sure you know that Asus just announced a week ago about the upcoming Asus F8. It's told that they'll be using either ATI HD 2600 or 8600 GT. Now, if they end up using 8600 GT, then they're on par with 6224W. But if they do in fact use the ATI HD 2600, no one knows how exactly it fares against 8600 GT. So, what I'm suggesting is, why wait until the F8 comes out? That'll only encourage competition and potential price drops. Just start selling it over here as soon as possible and take advantage of your reign as " the 14" gaming laptop" for as long as you can while you're still at the top of the food chain.

Remember guys, timing is key.

 

Don't forget that the 6224w is lighter and smaller than the F8 is expected to be, and at this point it isn't even confirmed if the F8 will have an 8600m gs or gt. So the 6224w would probably still be the premium and more portable gaming machine.

 

6224W uses GDDR3? Source please?

 

I thought it did, hold on I'll go check...

I guess I was wrong because I cannot find a source, but I could have sworn I read on this forum someone saying it had GDDR3...

 

NO it uses DDR2

 

Ok, sorry for wrong info. BTW are you still considering this whole US reseller deal?

 

If you do bring them here to North America, I believe you have to redesign the keyboard layout, correct?

If so, please (and I'm on my knees here) consider switching the position of left-CTRL and Fn.

I.e. Put the L-CTRL at the bottom left, put the Fn to the right of L-CTRL

Thank you.

 

whatevs, there is a version of the F8S with an 8600GT (F8Sv) and one with the HD2600 (F8Sa). They've got the specs, the only problem now is the release date, which the resellers have no idea about. Also, it weighs half a pound more than the 6324, and costs more as well. However, it doesn't need to be imported like the Zepto.

Unless of course, Zepto decides to sell their notebooks in the US? Please?

 

There is already a US keyboard I think. Since there is the option to ship to the USA from Europe.

 

Source? AFAIK it is not confirmed if the North American F8 will have an 8600m gs or gt. On the Asus global website it states that it will have the gs or HD2600 on two models.

 

The F8Sv-A1 (north american model) has been confirmed to have the 8600GT both by the PC World Ad, and by the resellers who have talked to Asus North American reps.

 

ZeptoUK, if you don't mind, can you please update us on this issue?

Are you guys still trying to see if there's enough demand in North America?
Or are you past that stage and are trying to contact resellers now?

Or have you concluded that there's not enough demand and gave up on this idea?
And if this is true, is there any way to order a laptop if I'm in Canada?

 

We have had some discussions last week and we need to check out some issues before I can say anymore. We will keep you updates and hopefully will have some more information this week sometimes, We havent arranged anything with a reseller as yet. We can take specific orders but we need to look at having a service arrangement as well

 

Personally I would be very interested in buying a Zepto if they were available in the US market. Please keep us posted.

 

I would bye one this week if I could figure out how to do it living in the US...has anyone else done this?

 

Zepto ships world-wide, but last time I tried configuring and adding one to cart, I got a hefty 25% GST slapped onto the price at the end.

 

We are still trying to arrange US serive providers before we can really get going