ipads cheaper in the states? true or false?

Since Apple is a US company, can it be rationalized that iProducts are a domestic product for us, thus making sense it would retail for cheaper. Plus they have been keeping the price consistent since the launch since they don't want to lose business to competitor products.
 
su_hy said:
Are those after tax salaries or before tax? I assume after tax (what you finally get as an employee).
For Poland it would be:
Avarage monthly pay: 2552,99 z? = 807.04 USD
Avarage weekly pay: 638,25 z? = 201.73 USD

Price for the cheapest iPad in Poland: 2099 z? = 663.54 USD

Sooo, you have to work 82,21% of a month to get one, or for easy comparison 328,8% of a week ;)

Good thing I don't want one anyway.
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And I'm sure that a large portion of that price comes from wonderful Soviet style red tape that I'm sure is still alive and well in Poland. You can't really expect prices for luxury items (no matter what a tablet is NOT in any way a necessity) to be in any way tied to average income. None of the former Warsaw pact countries are on the level of the rest of the "developed" world thanks to the wonderfully corrupt governments.
 
IceBone said:
The screen is larger, has more pixels, the same number of cores @ the same speed twice as much RAM, it has a dedicated USB host port, dedicated hdmi-out port, external storage and the battery life is roughly the same. It runs Android 4.0, which is a much better operating system. It doesn't flow as smoothly, but that's down to the way the different operating systems handle their rendering threads/streams. There are more apps in the market for Android now than they are for iOS and you can literally do everything you can with an iPad and more, 10 fold.

Your point?
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I feel like there is too much focus is just numbers. Who cares if it has twice the RAM if it doesn't run nearly as seamlessly? As much as I like ICS, I don't think its as good as iOS, mainly because of the tablet specific app selection (or therefore lack of). The lack of a tablet-optimized Facebook or Twitter app is huge turnoff for most buyers. iOS by default has the advantage of being integrated. iBook is awesome for reading PDF files and the music player UI is excellent. I also wish they could have implemented some form of gestures in the OS. Using four fingers to switch between apps and pinching to close an app is a real delight and convenience that Android just doesn't have now. My biggest complaint about iOS is the rated looking homescreen layout. I really feel they ought to be a little more innovative and maybe start introducing a few Android-like widgets as a feature.

I would also argue that the Acer feels much cheaper and plasticy than the iPad and nowhere near as elegant in terms of the industrial design. Overall I still feel that Android tablets still aren't as good as the iPad, even with the excellent Google services integration and Google apps. ICS was a step in the right direction, and I'm hoping that they could encourage their developers to make more tablet optimized apps.
 
edkwon said:
Since Apple is a US company, can it be rationalized that iProducts are a domestic product for us, thus making sense it would retail for cheaper.
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Not from a trade standpoint. The production is in China by Foxconn, thus Apple should pay the same import duties in the US as any other company importing from abroad. FTA's may bring the import duty to 0% but the fundamental principle is the same.

Lower margins and a pricing excluding tax (vs European pricing that always include local tax) is no doubt the real reasons.
 
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AiR said:
Not from a trade standpoint. The production is in China by Foxconn, thus Apple should pay the same import duties in the US as any other company importing from abroad. FTA's may bring the import duty to 0% but the fundamental principle is the same.

Lower margins and a pricing excluding tax (vs European pricing that always include local tax) is no doubt the real reasons.
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But that's kind of thing they are not importing from abroad, they are based in the US and do all of their design work in the US but produce in China simply because the US does not have the necessary capacity to do so. If US started charging import taxes on Chinese produced goods from American companies we would run out of money very quickly :p
feel like there is too much focus is just numbers. Who cares if it has twice the RAM if it doesn't run nearly as seamlessly? As much as I like ICS, I don't think its as good as iOS, mainly because of the tablet specific app selection (or therefore lack of). The lack of a tablet-optimized Facebook or Twitter app is huge turnoff for most buyers. iOS by default has the advantage of being integrated. iBook is awesome for reading PDF files and the music player UI is excellent. I also wish they could have implemented some form of gestures in the OS. Using four fingers to switch between apps and pinching to close an app is a real delight and convenience that Android just doesn't have now. My biggest complaint about iOS is the rated looking homescreen layout. I really feel they ought to be a little more innovative and maybe start introducing a few Android-like widgets as a feature.

I would also argue that the Acer feels much cheaper and plasticy than the iPad and nowhere near as elegant in terms of the industrial design. Overall I still feel that Android tablets still aren't as good as the iPad, even with the excellent Google services integration and Google apps. ICS was a step in the right direction, and I'm hoping that they could encourage their developers to make more tablet optimized apps.
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My problem with Android is that it is STILL the Blackberry clone with aspirations. Unlike iOS it wasn't designed from the ground up as a touch screen OS it was designed more like WinMo or BB OS and this is why you still have things like menus and an "applications" folder where you have to move things out to the homescreen for quick access. They are starting to somewhat move away from that in ICS but that clunkyness is still there.

Another thing to keep in mind is that originally Apple started working on a tablet and then decided to make a smartphone while Google was making a smartphone and then decided to go into the tablet business when Apple opened up that door. So in a sense Apple had an OS that was already made for tablets and just needed a few tweaks to be production ready while Google had to adapt their phone OS.

Something else to keep in mind here about Android is that it is very fresh in the tablet space, they only been around a year or so with a true tablet OS. iPad is on 3rd generation already and that means that plenty of things that could only be seen "in the field" have been addressed and devs had enough time to optimize their code and develop new apps.
 
China is not in the United States, thus it is abroad. US customs is very clear on that. If you started charging import taxes on chinese goods (which assumes that you do not at present, which I doubt) then the treasury would of course recieve more money, not less.

To import LCD monitors with equipment for recieving television broadcasts (ie LCD TV's) from China into the EU the customs duty is 14%, thus very few assembled TV's are imported from China. Instead Sony, Panasonic and every other TV manufacturer have set up assembly plants in Slovakia and Poland and similar where the duty-free components are assembled and you have one TV. Similar schemes would be one way for the US to earn back some of it's long lost manufacturing base, if they do not already exist.

I have not found a good resource for checking US customs duties, but according to Wikipedia the US and China do not have any free trade agreement, so there should be some duty levied.

To find out EU customs duties you can play with my national customs agency, who in their usual exceedingly friendly manner offer English descriptions as well. They give me plenty of pens every time they visit.

http://taric.tullverket.se/taric/bin/tagAvdelningar.cgi
English under "Spr?k:"
 
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Well, the new one is on sale here now. The 16GB 4G model (not counting that there is actually no 4G network in the country), goes for $800.
 
AiR said:
China is not in the United States, thus it is abroad. US customs is very clear on that. If you started charging import taxes on chinese goods (which assumes that you do not at present, which I doubt) then the treasury would of course recieve more money, not less.

To import LCD monitors with equipment for recieving television broadcasts (ie LCD TV's) from China into the EU the customs duty is 14%, thus very few assembled TV's are imported from China. Instead Sony, Panasonic and every other TV manufacturer have set up assembly plants in Slovakia and Poland and similar where the duty-free components are assembled and you have one TV. Similar schemes would be one way for the US to earn back some of it's long lost manufacturing base, if they do not already exist.

I have not found a good resource for checking US customs duties, but according to Wikipedia the US and China do not have any free trade agreement, so there should be some duty levied.

To find out EU customs duties you can play with my national customs agency, who in their usual exceedingly friendly manner offer English descriptions as well. They give me plenty of pens every time they visit.

http://taric.tullverket.se/taric/bin/tagAvdelningar.cgi
English under "Spr?k:"
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There is a difference between US based companies producing in China and non-US based companies. Apple goods come in under the "Apple" brand, which has HQ in Cupertino, CA...
Well, the new one is on sale here now. The 16GB 4G model (not counting that there is actually no 4G network in the country), goes for $800.
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It has support for all 3G networks as well. Gotta love former Soviet block...

I have to say I find it funny all this bitching about Apple being too pricey, simple solution is don't buy it :)
 
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It surprises me when people can justify a 30% for a premium branded vehicle and at the same time dismiss Apple for selling premium products.
 
Wizegui said:
It surprises me when people can justify a 30% for a premium branded vehicle and at the same time dismiss Apple for selling premium products.
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I can't see anyone but Ice doing so. And Ice is a self-proclaimed Android fanboy and pretty well knows he's trolling.
 
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IceBone said:
I just don't consider Apple as a premium brand.
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I know I shouldn't (obvious troll is obvious...), but designwise and in terms of build quality the average apple product kills any other product in the respective category. If you don't see that, get out of apple related threads or buy new glasses... Apple is THE premium brand right now.
 
The ASUS EEE transformer is built extremely well, I'd put it right up there with the iPad in terms of hardware. That's just one device I know from experience. Software of course is a different matter.
 
thevictor390 said:
The ASUS EEE transformer is built extremely well, I'd put it right up there with the iPad in terms of hardware. That's just one device I know from experience. Software of course is a different matter.
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Sure the transformer is built well, but it doesn't have the same "premium" cachet as a iPad. when you hold an iPad it manages to ooze quality in a way that I've personally found no other tablet I've held can match. I'm pretty sure that its due to the materials. Although the OG Transformer no doubt feels good, one can't escape the slight plastic feeling of its shell.

All of them beat the HP touchpad. I like mine but the whole device feels somewhat hollow when rapped upon. I wish the plastic wasn't glossy either and its quite thin, resulting in cracks around device openings. the home button also feels insubstantial.
 
thevictor390 said:
The ASUS EEE transformer is built extremely well, I'd put it right up there with the iPad in terms of hardware. That's just one device I know from experience. Software of course is a different matter.
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My friend just killed his Prime today with a 2 foot drop, as in it no longer turns on :( I will not be testing how my iPad fairs with that though...
In tablet world you can't really decouple the two though, the software is part of the premium feel as well.
I just don't consider Apple as a premium brand.
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Spectre doesn't consider Audi a premium brand... Does it make it so?
 
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prizrak said:
There is a difference between US based companies producing in China and non-US based companies. Apple goods come in under the "Apple" brand, which has HQ in Cupertino, CA...
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Can't find any source for that statement. The brand is meaningless as far as the customs is concerned, they're interested in product. What it does, what it's value is, quantity.
 
prizrak said:
My friend just killed his Prime today with a 2 foot drop, as in it no longer turns on :( I will not be testing how my iPad fairs with that though...
In tablet world you can't really decouple the two though, the software is part of the premium feel as well.

Spectre doesn't consider Audi a premium brand... Does it make it so?
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having seen a work ipad take a 2ft fall, not great either
 
Hidden_Hunter said:
having seen a work ipad take a 2ft fall, not great either
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So don't drop expensive electronics got it :) I'm surprised tho the only weak point should be the screen and in my friend's case it didn't shatter. I've had plenty laptops take a tumble and be ok
 
IceBone said:
I just don't consider Apple as a premium brand.
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Unfortunately those with too much money to spend do, hence Apple continues to command those prices. Wish I could pay less for a Porsche with the same mentality.
 
edkwon said:
Unfortunately those with too much money to spend do, hence Apple continues to command those prices. Wish I could pay less for a Porsche with the same mentality.
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I disagree with that, there are certain features found on Apple products that are not found elsewhere, whether you agree that they justify the price premium is irrelevant.
 
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