[DBMandrake]

"iPad will be available in the UK for a suggested retail price of £429 (inc. VAT) for 16GB, £499 (inc. VAT) for 32GB, £599 (inc. VAT) for 64GB for Wi-Fi models and £529 (inc. VAT) for 16GB, £599 (inc. VAT) for 32GB and £699 (inc. VAT) for 64GB for Wi-Fi + 3G models. "

http://www.9to5mac.com/ipad_goes_international

[Ben]

Think I'll be putting my name on the dotted for the £429 16GB model tomorrow. I'm somewhat fortunate in that I "need" an iPad to act as a glorified remote for the home automation system at the new place. I'm rather hoping that it'll be significantly more useful in practice.

[3GScottishUser]

Sadly yet another very overpriced Apple product.

The real winners will be those who bide their time for the competition to react and produce Chrome and Windows 7 tablets with useable connectivity. I bet within a year a comparable spec will be available for 1/2 of Apple's asking price.

[Hands0n]

Fancy putting something behind that bet? :) A year is not to long to wait ;)

The iPad, although priced higher than in the USA, will be a similar success in the UK and elsewhere. Not for any other reason than the paradigm that Apple have implemented lends itself entirely to the larger-than-iPhone device. Chrome and Windows 7 paradigm are not the same, and in all likelihood Windows 7 will have to be skinned to deliver similar practical functionality to the iPad.

Not for nothing has Apple shifted more iPad in its first month than the eagerly awaited iPhone in its day. Regardless of technical specification the public have already spoken with their wallets.

[DBMandrake]

The iPad, although priced higher than in the USA, will be a similar success in the UK and elsewhere.



Sadly yet another very overpriced Apple product.


A lot of blogs are claiming that the UK price is much higher than the US price, (some say 150% more) but they all compare the VAT inclusive UK price with the US tax excluded price, which is hardly fair.

In the US you pay anywhere between 0 and 10% sales tax depending on which state you buy it in and the type of product, with the tax exclusive price being the sticker price, while here in the UK there is a flat 17.5% VAT with the VAT included in the sticker price.

If you do the comparison, $499 US is currently £337, after adding VAT it is £396, so £429 is only a "premium" of £30, or 7% which doesn't take into account expenses to Apple like shipping the product across the Atlantic...not too bad really.



The real winners will be those who bide their time for the competition to react and produce Chrome and Windows 7 tablets with useable connectivity. I bet within a year a comparable spec will be available for 1/2 of Apple's asking price.
And 3 years after Apple redefined how a touch screen interface should be done, some people still don't seem to get why a touch screen tablet running a desktop OS like Windows has always failed, and is doomed to continue to fail. Yes there will be some competing tablets a year from now, but they will NOT be running a version of a desktop OS like Windows 7. They will be running Android or WebOS. A desktop OS simply does not work on a touch screen tablet, something that Microsoft has proved over and over for 10 years now.

[Ben]

I agree, successful tablets from the competition will likely be running Google Android. This is the single mobile OS that has "brought it" to Apple, and the extension of that into tablets seems inevitable now given the early and staggering sales success of the iPad.

However, I doubt we'll see a worthy iPad competitor within 12 months. It'll take time to reproduce that same level of quality, just as it has taken HTC years to catch up in with their mobiles.

[Hands0n]

Yes, an Android tablet would be a worthy opponent to the Apple iPad. The rumour mills are all saying that Android tablets are on their way.

To see an example of how a manufacturer can try and take on the iPad and, frankly, fail one only has to look at the Joo Joo (see https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?8033-Move-over-iPad-make-way-for-the-JooJoo ). So much promise but missed by a wide shot by a poorly designed and implemented UI. Too often the UI paradigm is not considered strongly enough by manufacturers. They all think it is raw spec that will win but that is [very clearly] not a route to success.

[DBMandrake]

Well done "The Gadget Show" for screwing up the iPad UK pricing! :p

"The basic iPad with Wi-Fi and 16GB costs £249, compared to $499 (£335) in the US. The 32GB model comes in at £499 and the top end 64GB effort costs £599. However, if you want 3G thrown in as well, then you’ll need to stump up more. The 16GB edition costs £529, while it will set you back £599 for a 32GB iPad and a whacking £699 for the 64GB 3G version."

http://fwd.five.tv/gadget-show/gadget-news/apple-ipad-uk-pricing-unveiled

Good to see "real media" fact checking their stories ;)

[Ben]

Channel 5? Wassat? ;)