What is a bit unbelievable there is that we’re getting remarkably close pricing to the US, at least on this spin of Apple’s magical wheel of price fixing. But getting the local Telcos — and especially Telstra — to deliver some surprisingly good and genuinely competitive 3G data pricing? Now that is unbelievable.
I think its called competition in some circles.
I think Apple are making a calculated bet on this iPad launch. I think they are betting on the Aussie Dollar. Where the world is right now at a macro-economic level and the state of the US economy, Apple is positively hedging on the Canadian and Aussie dollars versus the US dollar. If the C$ and AUD$ go up 5%, that’s a pile of extra profit for Apple without having to do anything.
I also think we’re seeing competition at play in the telecommunications market which is excellent. By not having the device to sell, the carriers are having to compete on the price AND value of their networks. Traditionally the carriers make a small fortune on effectively you lending customers money to buy a handset at credit card type rates OR overcharging for network access – its a bit of both really because the contract locks you in. Apple has removed that and that gave the carriers two choices: offer nothing and miss the iPad boat OR compete.
In light of Microsoft’s and Adobe’s latest price gouges for Aussies, Apple seem downright benevolent.
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