Home News Tablets UK put off buying expensive tablets

UK put off buying expensive tablets

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apple ipad
apple ipad

apple_ipadIn the run up to Christmas, Apple may find that there will be more than a few iPads left on the shelf as a new survey finds that most customers are put off by the expensive price tag.

With a brand new iPad costing more than £400, a survey run by comparison website Broadband Genie found that more than 60 percent of UK consumers said the iPad was ‘definitely not’ worth £400 or more. More than 200 more said it ‘wasn’t really’ worth the price tag, putting the total thinking it was poor value up to 80 per cent. More than 1,300 people were polled for the study.

The news is also bad for Samsung and its Galxy Tab, which is even more expensive.

Broadband Genie editor Chris Marling commented: “There’s a clear message here from British consumers – while they like the idea of a tablet, they aren’t willing to pay through the nose for one.

“With ereaders, smartphones, netbooks and even laptops now available for a fraction of that price, it’s a tough ask for people to see the value in a tablet costing up to £700. And with cheaper tablet models already appearing, some running on the popular Android OS, its easy to see why.

He said that the tablet is likely become a standard gadget in the majority of UK households. “Essentially right now they bring nothing new to the party, so are very much a luxury – especially in this price bracket,” Marlin added.

He added that potential customers would wait to see how much mobile networks are willing to subsidise these top end tablets via 3G SIM contracts and would balance this against
the quality of the cheaper models that are now arriving and make a decision accordingly.

“British consumers are a wily bunch, especially when it comes to mobile broadband devices. On the whole, they simply won’t pay ludicrous prices for this kind of technology, even if it does come branded with the Apple logo.”