If you read the article earlier about the US$1450 MID that’s for sale in Australia, you should read this as, following our article, the price has come down some 20% since we had our moan and now sits at around US$1100. That price might still sound shocking but for me it’s in the consideration-zone because it now translates to something like $750 in the U.S. Here’s why.
The cost of electronic goods in Australia is expensive compared to the US. Less demand, less competition and higher transportation costs means that pre-tax prices are at least 10% higher. Then you have to take the goods and sales tax into account. That’s another 10% that you don’t see on prices in the U.S. I would also take into account another 10% based on this being a pre-order ‘first available’ price. Typically, retailers will try and mop-up the cream of the ‘money no object’ buyers in their first shipment. You also have to consider that this is a recommended retail price and there’s going to be some flexibility built into that price. Probably another 10%.
Taking all this into account, I estimate that the price of the 3G-enabled M528 to be about $750 in the U.S. with a street price that could quickly hit $650. You might even see some retailers taking risks at $499 with the non 3G version of the device. In Europe we can expect slightly higher prices at an extimated 700 Euro for the 3G-enabled model but its still VFM compared to 800 Euro E90’s and HTC Advantages. At 900 Euros the M528 would have been a non-starter for me but I think we’re back on track now.
What do you think though? How much would you pay in pre-tax $US for the 3G-enabled M528. Vote below.
