back to article Newtonian Rock shop leaks iPad prices

Apple has announced that it will reveal international pricing for the iPad on May 10, but that hasn't stopped one Gibraltar-based mart from jumping the gun. If that outfit, Newton Systems, is anywhere near correct, and if its pricing parallels that of more-northerly UK outfits, picking up a 'Pad in Blighty may be a pricey …

COMMENTS

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  1. Steve Todd
    FAIL

    £600 for a 16GB WiFi only model

    Not a chance of that being the RRP. The usual Apple method of pricing is to convert from $ to £ at current exchange rates, add VAT and then round up to the next convenient price point. That would put it at about £400.

    1. Annihilator
      Unhappy

      Old model

      That pricing model worked in the days of a $2:£1 pricing ratio. We're not nearly so fortunate as to enjoy that these days.

      1. Steve Todd
        Stop

        Eh, why would that not work?

        Why would a model that uses the CURRENT exchange rate (about $1.53 to the pound) not work now that the pound is below $2.00? If the pound was at $2.00 then the RRP would come in at about £300.

  2. tony

    a title,

    saw a 16gb in a Berkeley Square for a 'premium' price of £900...

    Then again if Jobs keeps his volcano base erupting to stop the grey imports, it may seem cheap in a few weeks

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Wow, cheap at 10x the price...

    ... plus an arm and a leg.

    I love you Steve.

    You are truly the savior of mankind with your glorious devices.

    Our lives will be incomplete without the life changing iPad - the device we never knew we needed until you told us we did.

    Hoorah for his Jobness! Hoorah!

  4. Stuart Halliday
    Happy

    Not unusual

    It is perfectly normal for shops to try to gather the cream off before selling the rest of the milk of a new product.

    This is perfectly normal business practise for the last 2000+ years!

    Gee you guys really need to go to business school.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Pint

      Exactly!

      Fleece the muppets prepared to be early adopters of anything new and then lower the prices as competition grows and the number of your customers drops.

      Economics be damned, this is plain, simple common sense!

  5. MacRat

    VAT?

    How much is VAT in the UK?

    1. fatchap

      VAT

      It is now back up to 17%.

    2. LinkOfHyrule

      Too bloody much

      17.5% unless they've bloody changed it again!

  6. Daniel B.
    Jobs Halo

    Newton a tablet?

    I was under the impression the Newton was a PDA, not a tablet PC. However, the name did bring a couple of giggles...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Nice PR work from Apple as usual!

    The cynical amongst us (i.e. most of the Reg readership) might wonder whether this "leak" was engineered to make the real UK price seem reasonable by comparison?

    So when we see the real UK prices, instead of thinking "Holy Mother of Jeebus, are they insane?!?" we'll think "oh thank Jobs, it wasn't as bad as we thought".

    I'm sure no-one in the Apple PR/marketing department would be that evil though ;)

  8. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    For something I don't actually need...

    ...it's still expensive at $100.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Flame

      Ermmm

      If you don't want or need it, why did you look at it?

      If you don't need or desire it, the price of anything is irrelevant, surely?

  9. The Dark Lord

    This is substantiated

    When play.com released the price earlier in the year, it was around the same level though. I seem to recall them stating £700 for the 32GB WiFi/3G model.

  10. LinkOfHyrule
    Joke

    Expensive

    Expensive for a type of pad thingy that you plonk on your lap aint it! It better be really absorbent and not just exorbitant!

    1. wondermouse
      Coat

      I read that as

      "It better be really absorbent and not just exorbitant!"

      I read as

      It better be really absorbent and not just exfoliant!

  11. Newton Systems

    Mistake

    This price posting on our web site was a mistake. It has now been corrected to TBA.

    We have no UK prices for the iPad.

    1. Stef 4
      Welcome

      Damned dirty apes

      Did and infinite number of those cheeky Gibraltar apes climb through a window and type randomly at a keyboard until one of them managed to alter an advert, add pricing info, then place it on the internet? Impressive indeed, Maybe the office security needs to be tightened to stop this kind of 'mistake' happening again?

      I for one welcome our new price-gouging simian overlords.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        "an infinite number of those cheeky Gibraltar apes"

        are at the door wanting to discuss a draft manuscript of Steve Jobs memoirs they have cobbled together ......

  12. Dan 10

    False alarm methinks

    Everything's more expensive in Gibraltar, IIRC. Don't panic!

  13. Bear Features
    Flame

    again?

    Apple are pretty desperate for this useless piece of kit to sell. Everyday in the news there is some stupid Apple revelation to keep their name in there. Bit silly really. Other than the disciples, this puppy is going to be an expensive frisbee. It'll probably be a crap one of those too! :o)

    I love the way nobody has questioned it as a 'games machine'. It can't even multi-task and best of all with that stupid 'steering wheel' driving game... hello? How long before you realise you cannot hold it, waving it in the air before your arms ache? Yeah, great idea that was. Duh!

  14. detritus

    Gib

    I'd just like to add that, despite Gib's reputation as a cheap booze and cig stop off on the day tours around southern Spain, its shops suffer from eye-wateringly expensive, typically outmoded computer tech.

    Afaik, people there tend to either order from mainland UK or pop over to Spain for computers and such. Conversely, Spaniards pop in to Gib to stock up on cheese and umbrellas, illicitly stuffing 200s of ciggies into their grunts as they wobble back across the border.

  15. Popup

    Maybe not altogether unreasonable - if you look at cost instead of price

    In fact, if you look at component cost, rather than US street price it makes slightly more sense.

    According to isupply the 16/32/64Gb versions cost USD260/290/350 to produce. With the Newtonian prices that gives a price-to-cost ratio of 3.5/3.6/3.2. Not altogether unlikely, even though the margins are typically higher on the top-of-the-line models

    1. Jerome 0

      Still bizarre

      The point is that Apple have already declared their intentions via the U.S. pricing. It's the discrepancy between these two sets of prices which is bizarre, the build costs are irrelevant. If Apple has decided to cream more profit from the higher end devices, while keeping the headline "from as little as..." price relatively low, why should that decision change on a per-country basis?

  16. DavidK
    FAIL

    At that price

    I'd buy a full-fat laptop that could play games, flash, whatever and have more connectivity options as standard than I could shake a stick at. Why would I pay more for less?

  17. The First Dave
    Boffin

    Newton

    The Newton was a large PDA, meant to rival the Palm Pilot etc

    It was never a general-purpose PC, so it was only visually similar to a tablet.

    1. Stoneshop
      FAIL

      So what you're saying

      is that the iPad, as a tablet, _is_ a general-purpose PC? Would you mind telling us what you've been smoking?

      Apart from that, do check the Newton and Palm Pilot production timeframes, 'kay?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    But really.....

    Apple fan/foes aside, given Dell, HP, Asus and others are also investing heavily in similar devices with various other OSes.....

    ...can someone explain to me why this 'form factor' is desirable or better than a netbook or similarily priced dinky laptop. I don't get it - seems to me MS has already over-egged the tablet PC pudding and its unlikely they've really seen a return in the investments they made in that direction, certainly with their earlier iterations of Windows and Office even if it suddenly makes sense in 7 & 2010.

    I've seen the demos and read the hype from both Apple and its opposition, still I just don't see it. Perhaps its just there's a huge raft of consumers out there I don't understand - if so what are they going to be using it for that wouldn't be improved by a real keyboard [its not just the haptic-free typing I'm thinking of, but the loss of screen estate when you actually need to do something] or the ability to plug in cameras, printers, phones, memory sticks and various other increasingly ubiquitous gubbins.

  19. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Big iPhone

    People may think it's a high price, but it's only a bit more than an unlocked iPhone would cost you and this device is more powerful and costs more in materials.

    Those who are saying you might as well get a laptop are missing the point, where's the ultraportable laptop that has 10 hours battery life and near instant switch on?

    I'll wait to see the real price, I think these prices are a bit high.

    1. blackworx

      Battery

      I don't care what the reviews say; Unless Apple have severely upped their game with their batteries I'd be surprised if anyone gets ten hours use out of an iPad on a single charge beyond the first couple of months.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    More likely imports...

    Far more likely is that these guys are greying them in from the US and the price reflects the effort and extra costs involved in doing so. Plus a healthy margin

    1. blackworx

      So...

      You didn't read the entire article then.

  21. James Pickett
    Coat

    Leaks

    How about a version with wings? That should be more comfortable...

  22. Sarah Davis
    Coat

    Oh Please,... !!

    is anyone really surprised that it's overpriced ? What were you expecting ? seriously, it's a Mapple, it will be over-priced but that won't stop every fickle little fanboi running our and getting one - the more intelligent will first ask "do i actually need this"

    mine the one with the HTC in the pocket

  23. El Guiri
    Pint

    Easy tigers

    I used to work for Newton Systems, the managers are good, honest family people, and the prices may seem high as the Apple products are imported from America. Even though you don´t have VAT in Gibraltar, you do have to pay import duty, so this is reflected in the price. Plus the dollar is so strong against the pound compared to a few years ago.

    It´s easy to try and critise a company when you don´t have all the details - perhaps a phonecall to the company could have helped?

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