British consumers will have to pay far more than their U.S. counterparts for Apple's latest must-have gadget, the iPad.
Apple has announced that the starting price in the UK will be £429 for the 16GB model with a wi-fi link to the internet - around 25 per cent more than in America.
The equivalent price for the same device there is around £340.
British consumers will have to pay around 25 per cent more than their US counterparts for Apple's new iPad
Apple will charge £499 for the 32GB model and £599 for the 64GB device. Again, these are around £90 more expensive than they are in America.
The U.S. company also said yesterday that the iPad will be available in the UK and some other countries on May 28. It can be pre-ordered from May 10.
It said these will start at £529 for the 16GB model, £599 for the 32GB and £699 for the 64GB.
In an effort to explain the price difference between America and Britain, Apple pointed to the fact that there are different, and higher, taxes in Europe, as well as higher transport and other costs.
The international release was postponed after the company decided to meet huge demand in the U.S. where it has already sold around 1.5million iPads.
The iPad, touted as a replacement for lap-top and netbook computers, lets users browse the web, email, share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, and read ebooks.
It is just half an inch thick and delivers up to ten hours of battery life.
More importantly it is able to download tens of thousands of software apps, or applications, previously devised for the iTouch and iPhone.
To date, U.S. consumers have already downloaded 12million apps as well as more than 1.5million ebooks from Apple's iBookstore.
In the UK, the mobile phone networks Vodafone, O2 and Orange have all signed up to supply the iPad to customers.
However, there are no details of the prices they will charge for connection to the internet over their networks.
The other countries getting the iPad from May 28 are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland.
The decision by Apple to charge more in Britain will add to concerns that multi-national companies see this country as a Treasure Island where they can get away with imposing higher prices.
Apple imposes strict controls over how and where its products are sold, consequently there is little or no value in shopping around.
When Apple launched the new iPod nano in 2008, UK prices were some 30 per cent higher than in America.
A similar pattern has been seen with sought-after games consoles from other manufacturers. Sony charged UK shoppers more for its PlayStation and PSP, while Nintendo marked up the price of the Wii.
U.S. fashion chains such as Gap, Banana Republic, and Abercrombie & Fitch also charge British consumers far more than their counterparts in America.
The companies blame the greater cost of doing business in this country.
