iPad Singapore - nice price, no telcos

I was so-o tempted to buy one in Japan last week, so I'm happy that TODAY reports the Apple iPad will go on sale here in Singapore on Friday (23rd Jul 2010, with iPhone 4 expected on the 30th).

The biggest surprise for me was that it's only selling through Apple and authorised resellers. None of the local telcos will be offering it directly at this point.

Now, I definitely prefer not to have an operator or service provider involved in any of my device purchases, but I'd still be intrigued to know the inside story (Apple asking too much? Apple not interested in a deal for such a small market? Telcos don't see any real benefit without exclusivity? TODAY - go investigate and report on that, not just the pricing press release maybe?)

Secondly, and not so surprising: the pricing is real nice. Probably one of the lowest worldwide, and not encumbered by contracts.

The WiFi-only models will retail for $728, $878 and $1,028 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, respectively. iPads with WiFi and 3G connectivity will retail for $928, $1,078 and $1,228 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, respectively.

I was in Japan last week and checked out the iPad (of course). I now know it's true: once you touch it you must have it. It is just so responsive and smooth to use, and the size and weight are just right for casual browsing and apps.

Remember the reports of 1km queues for the iPad in Japan back in May?. Well, now of course you just walk in and there are more demo units and helpful sales people than customers.

btw, I don't know where all the Japanese iPads went .. traveling all over Tokyo for a week and I only saw one being used in the wild (and the owner appeared to be American), with everyone else still glued to their flip phones. I wonder if it's just not private enough to be used on crowded public transport?

I didn't have the SG prices at the time, but as a general rule Singapore tends to be cheaper for tech. I [just barely] managed to resist temptation, and it turned out the right bet - at least from a financial standpoint.

Now I can go queue for an iPad in Singapore;-)
<brain style="state:on;fanboy:off;">..or maybe just wait a few more days</brain>


Blogarhythm for this post: Bachelor Pad - Fantastic Plastic Machine