I feel it necessary to point out that while translating Yen into USD shows that this is a $600 unit, that's only because the USD is in the toilet. Engadget has been doing a lot of overseas price comparisons lately, and I'd be willing to bet that is comparably priced to similar $400-450 items. You can't exactly do a flat comparison of prices across markets if one currency is actively in a nose dive.
why not? Is that not the price you would pay today? You want to wait till the dollar is strong to make a comparison? By that time they will have 6 new models, lol.
Brads got a point. As I am planning on moving back to Japan near the end of next year (god willing) I follow the Yen to Dollar conversion pretty closely (the currency conversion gadget included with vista almost makes it worth the money...not!). About a month ago it was hovering around 110 yen to the dollat. I haven't seen it today, but it's probably around 98 to the dollar. Big drop over a short period of time. I'm probably going to have to buy yen in cash with what savings I have so far and keep it in a shoe box just to try to freeze my money's value...
My point isn't that Americans visiting Japan and buying this with converted dollars wouldn't be paying more, its that there isn't really a "price jump" as the article puts it. The fact that the US Dollar is in the shitter means that any time you compare prices to an overseas counterpart and they're not coming from an American company, you're going to see a "price jump". It's just not a valid comparison. It's like saying "They pay $10 for a loaf of bread in Canada!!!" because our currency has lost 30% in the last 2 years and theirs has remained relatively stable.
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I feel it necessary to point out that while translating Yen into USD shows that this is a $600 unit, that's only because the USD is in the toilet. Engadget has been doing a lot of overseas price comparisons lately, and I'd be willing to bet that is comparably priced to similar $400-450 items. You can't exactly do a flat comparison of prices across markets if one currency is actively in a nose dive.
why not? Is that not the price you would pay today? You want to wait till the dollar is strong to make a comparison? By that time they will have 6 new models, lol.
Brads got a point. As I am planning on moving back to Japan near the end of next year (god willing) I follow the Yen to Dollar conversion pretty closely (the currency conversion gadget included with vista almost makes it worth the money...not!). About a month ago it was hovering around 110 yen to the dollat. I haven't seen it today, but it's probably around 98 to the dollar. Big drop over a short period of time. I'm probably going to have to buy yen in cash with what savings I have so far and keep it in a shoe box just to try to freeze my money's value...
My point isn't that Americans visiting Japan and buying this with converted dollars wouldn't be paying more, its that there isn't really a "price jump" as the article puts it. The fact that the US Dollar is in the shitter means that any time you compare prices to an overseas counterpart and they're not coming from an American company, you're going to see a "price jump". It's just not a valid comparison. It's like saying "They pay $10 for a loaf of bread in Canada!!!" because our currency has lost 30% in the last 2 years and theirs has remained relatively stable.