Newtonian Rock shop leaks iPad prices

Newtonian Rock shop leaks iPad prices

Neither welcome nor believable

By Rik Myslewski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 20th April 2010 19:08 GMT

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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 proposition, indeed.

That said, we would advise prospective iPad purchasers not to worry too much - Newton Systems' projected iPad pricing is, not to put too fine a point on it, bizarre.

The entry-level Wi-Fi-only iPad, weighing in at 16GB, is listed for £599 ($920) - that's a hefty 84 per cent premium over the $499 (£325) for which you can bag that model in the States. But from a Gibraltarian perspective, that premium drops significantly as you work your way up the pricing ladder.

The 32GB Wi-Fi+3G model is listed at £679 ($1,040) - the US price is $729 (£475) - and the good folks at Newton Systems will sell you a top-of-the-line 64GB Wi-Fi+3G iPad for at £749 ($1,150), which you can pick up in the States for $829 (£540). The premiums for those two 3G iPads are 43 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.

Of course, the US pricing doesn't include the shipping costs to that far-flung outpost of the empire.

But an 84 per cent premium for the low-end that drops to a 28 per cent premium at the top end? Something smells fishy here - and we're not referring to low tide at Europa Point. ®

Bootnote

The Reg is duly amused by the name of the Gibraltar retailer, seeing as how the iPad is Cupertino's second attempt at a tablet. That first attempt didn't end happily.

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Apple's 3G iPad will go on sale on Friday, 30 April, the company has just said.

This will, of course, come as no relief to UK buyers, who won't get their mitts on the thing - or on the Wi-Fi only model - until the end of May.

Punters Stateside will have to wait until 5pm on the big day before they can get one across the counter, though folk who have already ordered on should receive it earlier that day, Apple said.

Apple will announce UK pricing for all six iPad models on 10 May, and begin taking advance orders on the same day. ®