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nowarninglabel

The 2nd paragraph: "Now, even putting quality aside, competitors can’t match Apple’s prices."

Does not jive with the prices mentioned later:

Apple Ipad - $599/$699 for the 16/32 GB models

Samsung Galaxy S - $594

HTC A8181 Desire - $527

I don't know what the author's definition of "match" is, but seems to me Android tablet makers have matched prices quite well. *Edit: fixed my formatting

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He's talking about cost of actually building the device. A big part of the iPhone's consumer price ($700 for 32gig) is markup, as he points out in comparing it to the price of the iPod touch, which is $300 for a comprable model.

In other words, he's claiming that Apple could undercut the A8181 Desire or the Galaxy S on price, but keeping the customer choose between "FREE* shiny new phone" or "$200* shiny new phone" reinforces the perception of Apple as a premium brand.

* with 2 year contract

If that is what the author is talking about, then the author is still off (at least based on this analysis):

Galaxy S $205 build cost - http://bit.ly/bocdoe

Apple Ipad $264.27 - http://bit.ly/aW8mvu

(bit.ly links cause the links are huge, goes to Isuppli)

Uh, the iPad costs a lot more to build than $264.27: do the math on their earnings reports: Apple is hardly making any profit off of them. And the iPad has a screen 4x the size of the Galaxy S. You just can't compare the two...

Again, the author was the one that used the Galaxy S as a comparison, it's in the article. As for the figure, I gave the caveat that you have to believe the source, though I think the source is pretty well researched.

" as he points out in comparing it to the price of the iPod touch, which is $300 for a comprable model."

But the iPod touch has some corners cut. No anti-oil coating on the screen, for one. It also retains the former body shape, not the flat-glass-on-both-sides iPhone 4 style.

One other downside for the Touch: no IPS display.

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/features/retina-display.html

It's not clear if that's an IPS LCD identical to the iPhone 4's, or if it's a non-IPS LCD with the same resolution.

His definition of "match" seems to be device dimensions, performance, and battery life.

Juxtaposing the iPad with a smartphone in an attempt to compare the prices doesn't seem right (you linked to an HTC A8181, but mentioned the Galaxy S). Did you mean to compare it to the Tab?

The author is the one comparing to Galaxy S, I was just pointing out:

"These prices compare quite well to the competition. The Samsung Galaxy S — a decent choice for the current “Best Android Phone on the Market” title (check back next week, though) — costs about $600 unlocked from Amazon, and only has only 8 GB of built-in storage. The HTC Desire costs just under $600. Google’s Nexus One, while they were selling it, cost $529."

7" screens vs. 10" screens?

Actually the linked item is an unlocked phone with a 3.7" screen. The parent comparison is invalid. Gruber is actually comparing it to an unlocked iPhone for $599/$699 as he should be, he is not comparing it to an iPad.

7" vs 10" screens but failedl to mention that the Galaxy Tab also has dual cameras, a GPS chip, a cellular chip, and etc - things not seen on the ipad.

I think the Tab could have been priced lower but Samsung wanted to see if they could technically compete with the ipad at the same price point first. And if things don't go well, reduce the prices later. Why shoot yourself in the foot to begin with?

And additionally when Android lifts the hardware requirement to obtain the Android Market, you will definitely see much cheaper tablets such as Archos and even the Galaxy WiFi Tab.

The (admittedly more expensive) 3G ipad has both a cellular and a GPS chip. $629/$729 for 16/32 gigs.

I'd bet that some of the 3G iPad's $130 premium is also a concession to ATT for the contract-less data plan options.

Possible but in the UK there's a £100 premium and it's available on all carriers

The A8181 Desire you link to has no built-in memory and a screen that is less than a quarter the size of the iPad's. You're comparing apples to oranges.

For the record, the iPad is $499/$599 for 16/32 GB (WiFi) models, not $599/$699 as you stated:

www.apple.com/ipad

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad?...

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