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iPad international release delayed one month
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Australians were told this morning that they will have to wait another month before the iPad is available to them, bringing the availability date to late May, which may end up being some time in June.
I don’t really care if it’s been delayed, but I would like your opinion on something.
The release that came from Apple’s Oz PR office stated that:
“We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason?the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far.”
Now, telling Aussies that they come in second best to the Yanks is generally not a good idea. While there are strong ties between Australia and the US, and while many Australians will tell you they have good friends who hail from the home of the brave and land of the free (and are being genuine about it), there remains in a fairly general sense a measure of distaste for the USA and many of its social, political and historical facets that, to put it bluntly, get up people’s noses.
NB Not trying to incite any hatred, OK? Just saying.
So, the thing to remember is that press releases are typically penned in the US at Cupertino (or wherever the head PR honchos are) and the local offices put their name on it to localise it. So the question I have is this:
Do you think it’s tactless on Apple’s part to effectively say to the rest of the world: “Hey, we’re making bucketloads of money selling iPads to our #1 preferred market. The rest of you will just have to wait in line.”
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Karate ni sente nashi
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Pah! You think you’ve got problems? We’ll get to pick up the crumbs once you lot have finished with them. If we’re lucky, we’ll get the third iteration of the iPad. And think we’re grateful for the privilege.
We do have an alternative, which I’m considering looking into - an independant Apple retailer, Tosh, is apparently legitimately parallel-importing iPads, at a non-ridiculous price.
On the other hand, Australians will soon be able to buy New Zealand Apples. Or rather apples. No Macintoshes, of course, because it’s a variety not grown here, but you’ll be able to bite into a delicious sweet Braeburn or Jazz or Pacific Rose.
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Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
@LaurieFleming
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No Fujis? Love Fuji apples.
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Karate ni sente nashi
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David Nelson
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So the question I have is this:
Do you think it’s tactless on Apple’s part to effectively say to the rest of the world: “Hey, we’re making bucketloads of money selling iPads to our #1 preferred market. The rest of you will just have to wait in line.”
I definitely sympathize with those who are waiting to get their iPads…
One possible reason that comes to mind is simple profit. I suspect there are a lot more Apple-owned stores in the US than other countries, and I also suspect that items sold in those stores yield a higher margin than those sold at other retailers who take a cut of the profits. So they may stand to make more money by favoring those stores.
(I could be wrong on this! Please feel free to correct me. I also realize that Apple has online sales to other countries which helps maintain their margins. So my theory is obviously not bullet-proof.
[ Edited: 15 April 2010 01:44 PM by David Nelson ]
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Apple is not a charitable organisation. It is in the business to make “insanely great” (ahem) stuff for us to buy and by doing that, making money. Over the last few years it has been ridiculously successful. Hooray for Apple. And for us.
But Chris is right. Advertising press releases are all marketing bollocks, written by people who aren’t going to be affected by what they write. So it dribbles out of the writers’ fingers without any attempt at thought. If they had said, “Look, we’re terribly sorry but the iPad has been a runaway success in the US. So you’re going to have to wait a bit longer”, it would have gone down better.
Additionally, Apple products cost more here and in Australia, even taking into account shipping and sales taxes. The profit per item, I would aver, is more than in the US. Hey, it’s a US company, and that’s where stuff will be sold first, but I’d appreciate it if it didn’t treat us like dirt. As the ridiculous Teabaggers love saying, “Don’t step on me!”
I think I’ll pop into Starbucks with my pistol and shoot out their dripping tap. http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/663697
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Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
@LaurieFleming
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...... will have to wait another month before the iPad is available
What does Apple mean by INTERNATIONAL? Has anyone seen a list of the countries where the iPad will be available next?
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initial countries are:
Australia
Canada
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Spain
Switzerland
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I spotted a couple of iPads in a computer shop downtown, outside the list of countries you listed, with the price of the 64Gb at around $NZ1,600. Parallel importing?
As the young people would tweet, FFS!
Five minutes later, to my great good fortune, I was able to have a taste of a 1985 Grand Cru Pomerol. An astonishing wine, at around $750 a bottle. I will probably never taste its like again.
Oh, happy day.
[ Edited: 03 May 2010 05:32 AM by Laurie Fleming ]Signature
Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
@LaurieFleming
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From techday.co.nz
Set to launch in New Zealand in July, the iPad will likely release along with its iBookstore application.
Apple released the information today, after confirming that the iPad will launch in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on May 28th.
The company plans to release the iPad to nine more countries in July, including New Zealand. Pricing and pre-order availability will be released at a later date.
In addition to New Zealand, the iPad is planned to launch in July in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico and the Netherlands.
And though Apple originally said that the iBookstore wouldn?t be available internationally until later this year, MacRumors found that Apple indicated in country-specific press releases that the iBookstore would be available in Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and France alongside each country’s iPad launch.
While it hasn?t been announced whether the iBookstore will be available alongside the iPad launch in New Zealand, it seems likely due to the fact that so many other countries will receive the app along with the iPad.
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Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
@LaurieFleming
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We may be doing astonishly well in the World Cup (headline in the Sydney Morning Herald after Germany 4, Australia 0: Australasia 1, Slovakia 1!; this morning we held the Oscar-winning Italians to another, stunning 1-1 draw), but when it comes to 3G pricing plans, we’re at the arse-end of the world. $US30 a month for unlimited access? I get $NZ50 a month for 50MB on my iPhone.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/3832736/iPad-prompts-call-to-revise-mobile-data-prices
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Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
@LaurieFleming
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At last - the iPad arrives. On Friday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/3934691/Apple-announces-NZ-iPad-release-date
(Picture thousands of New Zealanders below the salt at the big table, scrabbling for the crumbs, muttering, “Thank ‘ee, master, thank ‘ee.”)
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Laurie Fleming - the singing geek
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