Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Can Steve Jobs say price parity????

According to this Globe and Mail article Apple's iPhone is rumoured for a January 2008 rollout date in Canada, but it is this reference to the alleged value of the iPhone that made my jaw drop:
It looks like Apple Inc.'s iPhone may soon be headed to Canada, although not in time for the holidays.

Molson Dry beer is giving away iPhones, valued at $800, as one of a number of prizes in a marketing contest. The rules note that the iPhones will only be available as of January 2008 on the wireless network of Rogers Communications Inc. While winners will get the cool new cellphones for free, they will need to pay for the service themselves.

Apple's iPhone retails for US$399.00 so can I hear someone say price parity? Speaking of parity, just when will Canadian Apple stores drop their prices to reflect the power of the Canadian dollar? And don't even bother trying to tell that doing business in the Big Apple costs less than the Centre of the Universe cause I know you are lying.

7 comments:

Fib Dynamo said...

I've been following the price changes quite a bit lately. So far the only company that seems to be working fairly on both sides of the border is Dell. The prices at dell.ca and dell.com are about equal. Good for them.

Note that sometimes when you go to dell.com you will be forwarded to dell.ca.

K. Shoshana said...

I didn't realize Dell wasn't following the herd...good for them. And if Dell can afford to do it why can't the rest?

Balbulican said...

Well, the way it was described to me by my Conservative friends, the market gets to charge whatever the market will bear. No?

If it's not obvious, append a large ;)
to the above.

Anonymous said...

1. My copy of Leopard is due to arrive tomorrow; $129CAN vice $129US.

2. Perhaps the G & M has no idea what an iPhone would cost.

Cheers
J.M. Heinrichs

K. Shoshana said...

JM, that's great about the Leopard, and I am envious you have a Mac but, check out this price differential:

iPod shuffle Cda $89 vs iPod shuffle US$79

iPod classic Cdn $279 vs iPod classic US$249

MacBook 13" white Cdn $1249 vs MacBook US$1099

Those are the online prices. Steve Jobs needs to be a little more proactive here.

Balbulican, my market doesn't bear the difference...and my book addiction is so horrendous that I am often buying used books online.

K. Shoshana said...

Looks like the Molson contest offering an iPhone has become iPhone hype victim.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/270115

Anonymous said...

Kate
I take your point. The unmentionned cause is the difference between US and Canadian business regulations. An iPod touch at the US store is $399US; at the Canadian staore, it's $449CAN. Much of that $50 difference is buried under "cost of doing business" in Canada. Same problem occurs when comparing car prices across the border.

The price difference in 2001 when I shopped for a PowerBook Ti was above $1500CAN, if my memory is correct. Apple is going to set its prices at what the market will bear, but it generally doesn't doesn't go overboard. I would guess that the iPhone will be priced at about $450CAN, similar to the iPod touch.

As I flaunt my iPod touch, 16GB of course ...

Cheers

J.M. Heinrichs