If you like thin-and-light notebooks with plenty of processing power, you'll love this. Harvey Norman is holding an unprecedented $300-off Ultrabooks sale storewide starting today.
In what looks to be the most aggressive marketing yet on Intel's wunderkind
Ultrabook category, Harvey Norman is offering an unprecedented $300 cashback offer on Ultrabooks with a 4-day promotion special this weekend.
The sale is in-store only, so you won't be able to find the deals on Harvey Norman's web site, but if you're happy to make the trek to an outlet you'll be rewarded with $300 cashback (via redemption) on any Ultrabook in stock.
The savings apply to the retailer's normal ticketed pricing (not to any already discounted prices). To get an idea for what that regular ticket pricing is, you can take a look at
Harvey Norman online. The prices you see there are generally indicative of what you'd normally pay in a Harvey Norman outlet.
Where a model is already discounted in-store (for example, discounted models appear in red on Harvey Norman's web site, but remember that this sale is separate from the online catalogue offerings), you'll be able to choose the best deal -- either $300 off the ticketed price or the in-place discount, whichever saves you more.
There are no exclusions in this sale, which means you can pick any Ultrabook in stock. Note: this doesn't include all notebooks in-store, just the thin-and-light ultraportable PCs that classify as Ultrabooks per Intel's specification.
It's also worth noting that Apple doesn't manufacture Ultrabooks. The success of Apple's MacBook Air line might have helped inspire the Ultrabook category, but it's a separate beast in terms of market nomenclature. The Ultrabooks on sale in Harvey Norman's special (which starts today and runs through until Sunday) come from some of the industry's other heaviest hitters, with machines from Acer, ASUS, HP and Toshiba.
We're checking on some of the best deals available right now in-store and will update this story when we know more, but it's foreseeable (going off the online pricing at least) that entry-level Ultrabook bargains will start from around the $700 mark -- making a handsome $400 saving relative to Apple's entry-level MacBook Air at $1,099. At the top end you'll be able to net the premium HP Envy Ultrabook for about $2,000.
UPDATEHere's some in-store pricing we found across Sydney outlets, but bear in mind each Harvey Norman is operated independently so your mileage may vary:
ASUS Zenbook UX21E-KX007 - $998 normally, $698 after cashback
Acer Aspire S3-951-2364G34iss - $999 normally, $699 after cashback
HP Folio 13 - $1,294 normally, $994 after cashback
ASUS Zenbook UX21E-KX004V - $1,399 normally, $1,099 after cashback
Toshiba Satellite U840/00Q - $1,499 normally, $1,199 after cashback
ASUS Zenbook UX31E-RY009V - $1,499 normally, $1,199 after cashback
Acer Aspire S3-951-2634G25nss - $1,899 normally, $1,599 after cashback
HP Envy 14-3010TU Spectre - $1,899 normally, $1,599 after cashback
ASUS Zenbook UX31E-RY010V - $1,999 normally, $1,699 after cashback
HP Envy 14-3010TU Spectre - $2,299 normally, $1,999 after cashback
And remember: you only save the money if you follow through on the redemption process. Studies have shown that huge numbers of shoppers don't actually follow through on the redemption administration (understandably, because it's a chore). But it's a chore that will in this instance save you $300, so don't forget. Happy hunting, folks.
