pricing
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Microsoft: Xbox One games are $60
Xbox One will not see an increase in games pricing. New Xbox One games will cost $60 each, Microsoft has told GameSpot, continuing the pricing model established with the Xbox 360. As for the competition, Sony's Jack Tretton has stated that pricing on PS4 games will range between $.99 and $60. Wii U games are also priced at $60, a $10 increase over the suggested price of games on the Wii.
Apple's Eddy Cue acknowledges e-book price increases at antitrust trial, reveals talk of Amazon deal that would split books/music control
The issue of e-book prices, and alleged price fixing, has come up again and again in recent years, with the focus most recently shifting to a Manhattan courtroom where Apple is at the center of an antitrust trial. After revealing new details of the company's market share yesterday, Apple's Eddy Cue has today offered another piece of surprising news: that he and Steve Jobs once discussed a potential deal that would see Apple stay out of the ebook market if Amazon agreed stayed out of music. There's no indication that went beyond the early discussion phase, or actually involved any discussions with Amazon, but it would obviously raise considerable antitrust questions had it gone any further. As CNET and The Verge report, the DOJ is hoping that revelation will bolster its case that Apple engaged in antitrust practices to inflate ebook prices across the market. On that front, Cue, who the DOJ describes as the "chief ringleader of the conspiracy," reportedly acknowledged that the prices of some ebooks did go up from April of 2010 (when it opened its iBookstore) through to 2012, but he attributed that to publishers unhappy with Amazon's $9.99 pricing. Cue's facing further questioning from Apple's attorneys this afternoon, with the trial expected to wrap up by the end of next week. Update: AllThingsD has further testimony from Mr. Cue indicating that Steve Jobs didn't even want to build iBooks -- at least, not until he got his hands on the first iPad.
Gigabyte reveals prices, availability for NVIDIA-equipped U-Series Haswell notebooks
Since not everybody wants to lug an eight pound gaming machine or settle for a lightweight but graphics-challenged notebook, Gigabyte unveiled its U-series at Computex: two notebooks and an ultrabook with discreet NVIDIA graphics and 4th-generation Intel CPUs. The models build on the company's last-gen 14-inch U2442 Ultrabook, which unlike most models in that category, carried GeForce GT640M graphics and a generous supply of ports while still maintaining a respectable 3.3 pound heft. Gigabyte's looking to continue in that vein with the new models, which will all arrive by early August. To see a breakdown on all the pricing and specs, head after the break. %Gallery-190389% %Gallery-190388%
Microsoft said to cut prices for OEMs who push Windows RT on small tablets
Acer has already managed to cram full Windows 8 into a $380 8-incher (shown above), but ARM-based Windows RT tablets have the potential to drive prices down even further -- if only someone, somewhere would see their merit. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is now trying to help things along by offering discounts to OEMs who'll use RT in smaller tablets. The prices in question are confidential, so it's hard to gauge the likely impact for consumers, but with Dell's XPS 10 still costing $400 with its dock, and with Surface RT fetching $500, there's definitely scope for improvement.
BlackBerry Q10 priced at $249 on two-year contract in US
BlackBerry just confirmed to us the target pricing of its upcoming QWERTY smartphone in the US, and the quick takeaway is that keyboards don't come cheap. According to company representatives, the Q10 is intended to be sold for $249 on a two-year contract when it arrives at the "end of May," which positions it as more expensive than the Galaxy S 4, iPhone 5, One and Z10. Now, the one hiccup in this equation is that carriers may turn around and do whatever pricing shenanigans they please, but outside of special promotions, you can rightfully expect the Q10 to be one of the most expensive on-contract smartphones of the day. With so few compelling QWERTY handsets on the market, however, it seems that BlackBerry is hoping you'll value a keyboard more than your hard-earned dollar. If it the company's correct, that'll mean a lot more profit. If not, well... you know the rest.
Panasonic prices and ships its first media streamers, newest Blu-ray Disc players
Don't look now, but Panasonic has just gone public with pricing and availability information for its inaugural line of streaming media players. Announced a few months back at CES, the 3D-capable DMP-MS10 is shipping today for $79.99, offering up VIERA Connect (for easy integration with older Panny HDTVs), inbuilt WiFi, external HDD playback and access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, CinemaNow, Vudu and YouTube. An extra $20 gets you the DMP-MST60, which is also shipping today while adding 2D-to-3D conversion and Miracast functionality. Over on the BD side, the DMP-BD79 is moving out now for $79.99, while the BD89 is going for $10 more; these two are 2D-only models, with the latter being equipped with WiFi out of the box. For those still (somehow) enamored with the third dimension, the DMP-BBT01 ($269.99), BDT500 ($349.99), BDT330 ($199.99) and BDT230 ($129.999) are also hitting store shelves within the next few moments. The full releases are just past the break -- you know, if you're into such things.
Corona introduces an SDK starter, will raise Pro price to $599
Unity is probably the most popular tool for cross-platform development out there right now -- last week at GDC, I heard a lot from developers of all sizes about Unity and how it was helping them to build games for iOS and other platforms. But Corona also has a following out there. It's a Software Development Kit (SDK) that has been updated quite a bit lately, and I did hear a few devs say it's what they use to make their titles. One game development student even told me he's being taught how to use Corona specifically at school, so the tool definitely has its fans. Today, Corona has announced that it's hoping to make its platform more accessible than ever, with a new "SDK Starter" program that will allow developers to make and sell apps with Corona for completely free. The SDK is available as a free download, and as long as you don't need certain features (like in-app purchases or analytics services), you can publish apps made with Corona for exactly zero dollars. Some other SDKs require you to use a certain splash screen on your app or advertise the service in some other way, but Corona's new program doesn't even require that -- it's really free. Of course, the company does offer those other services, and more, with a Pro account. Corona also says it's "re-imagining" what Pro will mean for the service, which essentially means a price raise, to US$599 a year on May 1. The current subscription is $349, and anyone can still get one at that price until the first of May. Pro users will have access to in-app purchases and various analytics, as well as the option to use Corona's high-end graphic features, and the plugin system. But even if you're not interested in a full Pro subscription, it's nice to see that Corona's offering the free option for developers to try out the service for themselves. Unity, I would say, is still the leader in this area, and they offer a free version of the tools for developers to try. But you do need to pay to publish a commercial game on that platform, so maybe Corona will grab a few more users (and see a few more published titles) with this free opportunity.
Vizio brings pricing and release information to spring line of laptops and desktops
For those opting to "replace" instead of "clean" this spring, Vizio's got a bit of news for you -- the outfit's latest line of touch-friendly laptops and desktops now have firm pricing details to pore over. Starting with the portables, the 14-inch Touch Thin + Light (CT14T-B0) will ship soon with an AMD A10 APU and a base price of $1,089.99; the Core i7-equipped CT14T-B1, however, will start at $1,419.99. For those needing a bit more screen to stare at, the 15.6-inch versions of these guys will go for $1,189.99 (AMD A10) / $1,469.99 (Intel Core i7). Sliding over to desktops, the 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) will ship momentarily for $1,279.99 with an AMD A10 APU, while the Core i7-infused CA24T-B1 will start at $1,439.99 and the 27-inch CA27T-B1 will get going at $1,549.99. As you'd expect, Windows 8 will find itself on home across the entire range, and those looking to buy in immediately can do so at the source links below.
iPhone 5 cost comparison: $649 from Apple, $579 from T-Mobile
A big part of T-Mobile's UnCarrier plan revolves around the iPhone 5, and it turns out that T-Mo's offering the Apple flagship at a previously unheard-of price: $579. As CEO John Legere announced today, his company will be offering its AWS-equipped version of the iPhone 5 for $99, plus 24 monthly payments of $20. That's contract-free, but the device is locked until it's fully paid for, and the cheapest monthly plan to go with it is $50 for 500MB of data and unlimited voice and texting a month. By contrast, the same 16GB phone unlocked direct from Apple costs $649, while AT&T offers a locked model for $199 -- if you sign a 24-month contract -- and the cheapest possible plan to go with it provides a mere 300MB of data, 450 minutes and no texting at a cost of $60 a month. So, T-Mo seems to be winning the iPhone price war, and doing so handily.
Apple Australia VP puts markup blame on media rights holders
Yesterday TUAW reported that Apple, Adobe and Microsoft representatives would be meeting today with members of the Australian Parliament to address allegations that the companies charge an unreasonable markup on IT products sold in the country. That meeting was held today, with an Apple VP putting the blame squarely onto the shoulders of media rights holders. Apple Australia VP Tony King (right) was questioned about the pricing disparities, which a MacStories study showed are particularly onerous for Australians purchasing music through iTunes. According to King, "The pricing of this digital content is based on the wholesale prices which are set through negotiated contracts with the record labels, movie studios and TV networks." King noted that Apple's iTunes pricing in the country is "comparable to other Australian and online stores," and said that "the content industry still runs with the perhaps old-fashioned notions of country borders or territories or markets," which creates confusion for customers. Labor MP Ed Husic, part of the committee raising the inquiry on IT pricing, asked King if Apple might be able to influence the price of digital content in Australia. King replied that it was all up to the rights holders, but added that Apple "would love to see cheaper, lower prices in the Australian market."
Apple, Microsoft and Adobe give reasons for higher prices in Australia, can't guarantee you'll like them
Talk about ants in their pants. After giving regulators the runaround and repeatedly dodging the question of why they charge Australians so much more than Americans for the same products, senior executives from Apple, Microsoft and Adobe have finally been forced to sit down in front from a parliamentary committee. They weren't always especially helpful, mind you, but they did at least offer some justification as to why, on average, their products cost 50 percent more in that country. Read on for a quick rundown of who said what. [Image credit: Delimiter]
Australia's 'Apple Tax' quantified by MacStories blogger
Tomorrow, Apple, Microsoft and Adobe face the Federal Australian Parliament inquiry into pricing of IT products. The companies are being asked about why prices for hardware and software Down Under appear to have a noticeable markup compared to those elsewhere in the world. All three companies were asked to voluntarily appear before the inquiry; when they failed to do so, the committee sent a summons to each company forcing them to appear. MacStories' Graham Spencer has prepared a detailed study of exactly how much of a "tax" Aussie Apple fans are paying compared to American customers. Spencer collected prices from Apple's US and Australian websites, removed the 10 percent GST (goods and services tax), converted the Australian price to US dollars and then calculated the percent markup of the Australian prices based on the original prices in the States. His findings showed that Macs and iPads have a relatively low markup, with that for the Retina display iPad only around 2 to 3 percent. Likewise, iPod prices generally have a low markup of between 3 and 7 percent depending on the model. iPhones, however, had a "more considerable" markup close to 20 percent with some models, although the iPhone 4 is actually less expensive in Australia. The largest markups appeared for products in the iTunes Stores, with music marked up about 61 percent over US prices, movies about 33.5 percent and TV shows almost 26 percent. Only apps were "reasonably" marked up by about 10 percent over their US counterparts. Should readers wish to perform their own analyses of the data, Spencer has made it available for download on the MacStories site.
The Art of Wushu: Winning in market PvP
Last time on the Art of Wushu, I promised I would write on how to sell production crafts. Crafting is a big deal in Age of Wushu, so it seemed like a reasonable topic to cover. However, I realized doing so would probably be a mistake. Why? If you followed my advice from two weeks ago, congratulations. You probably noticed a huge nosedive in a few markets: hemp, ramie, iron, and mint all took a huge hit. It's a bit flattering to see how I can write a post on what to sell and readers like you guys take it to heart, flooding the market with supply and crashing the value of these commodities. If I gave advice on production crafting, the same thing would happen. Instead, this week I'm going to talk about real market strategy. Pointing out things that sell doesn't help you if the market takes a nose-dive. Understanding supply and demand curves, market equilibrium, and the importance of market diversity are all long-term tools that will help you regardless of what you're selling.
HTC One coming to Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T in the US, arriving in UK on EE, Vodafone and O2
Now that the HTC One is out in the open, you might be wondering where to get one, right? Fortunately, a number of carriers have stepped up: if you're in the UK, you'll find it with LTE on EE "mid-March" for £70 on a 2-year, £41 1GB data plan and at O2 and Vodafone on March 15th, with pricing for the latter two still to come. If you'd prefer an off-contract buy, Clove is selling the 32GB model in black or silver for £425 (plus VAT); pre-orders are open now, with first shipments expected on March 15th. Stateside, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile will also offer 4G versions of the fresh handset -- but none have mentioned pricing or availability, yet. Meanwhile, Canadians will see the One on Bell, Rogers and Telus, and HTC said that that its new flagship would launch in "80 countries over 185 mobile retailers and operators," making it "the largest rollout ever" for the company. Naturally, we'll keep you up-to-date with all those dates and prices the instant we lay eyes on them.
Adobe CEO clumsily dodges pricing questions in YouTube 'farce' (video)
If Adobe has any love whatsoever for its non-US customers, it's not great at showing it. The video after the break reveals CEO Shantanu Narayen evading the genuine questions of a Delimiter journalist at a press conference in Sydney. The reporter wanted to know why Adobe's Creative Suite is priced $1,400 higher in Australia than in America, reflecting a geographic disparity that has long vexed Australian customers and lawmakers alike. But instead of answering, Narayen reverted to type and sought to shrug the journalist off with some marketing spiel about an entirely different product -- Creative Cloud -- ultimately leading Delimiter to condemn the whole episode as a "farce." If we understand Narayen right, he seems to be implying that Australian customers are being charged a high price for traditional boxed software in order to nudge them towards Adobe's subscription-based cloud service instead. Given that the Creative Cloud was itself hugely overpriced in Australia until a sudden and awkward u-turn just a couple of days ago, that sort of argument is hardly likely to win back much affection. However, this older Narayen clip actually might.
Adobe preemptively cuts prices to avoid wrath of Australian lawmakers
Adobe has suddenly knocked 20 percent off its prices in Australia just one day after it was summoned to publicly defend those prices in front of a parliamentary committee. The monthly fee for a subscription to Adobe's full Creative Cloud has dropped from AU$63 to AU$50, so it's now only $1 more than the US price when you factor in currency. The no-contract monthly cost has also fallen to match how much Americans pay -- from AU$95 to AU$75 -- which is exactly what Australian lawmakers have been demanding since 2011. We can't decide if this is a move of brilliant cunning on Adobe's part, or just a blatant effort to side-step blame for how much it's been charging up to this point. Either way, it puts Microsoft and Apple in a sticky situation, because they've been summoned to the same inquiry and may be left with fewer excuses to cling to.
Australian Parliament summons Apple, Microsoft, Adobe to justify higher prices
Had we been wild and spontaneous enough to buy a MacBook Air in Australia in 2011, we'd have been looking at a 15 percent premium over the US price. According to MacRumors, throwing some Adobe software into our antipodean shopping cart would have pushed that disparity even higher -- to as much as to 75 percent. Which is why the Australian Parliament has been investigating the way tech giants price their goods in that country, and why it has now formally summoned Apple, Microsoft and Adobe to come over and account for themselves in Canberra on March 22nd. Whether price differences are due to higher costs of taxes and warranties, as Apple has privately suggested in the past (see More Coverage), or whether there are more dubious reasons, this pile of laundry is about to get aired.
Apple subpoenaed in Australia to explain high price of its products
Apple, along with Microsoft and Adobe, has been subpoenaed by the Australian Parliament to explain why it has been charging Australian customers more for certain products than it charges customers in the UK, US and other Asian-Pacific countries. The Inquiry into IT Pricing has been going on since last July, but the three US companies have so far failed to provide specific and adequate reasons as to why their prices are higher in Australia. That all changes with the subpoena issued today, as Apple, Microsoft and Adobe will be legally required to explain their prices. Ed Husic, the Australian MP overseeing the Inquiry into IT Pricing, told Kotaku that the US companies involved should have been more forthcoming: These firms should have cooperated and been prepared to be more open and transparent about their pricing approaches... In what's probably the first time anywhere in the world, these IT firms are now being called by the Australian Parliament to explain why they price their products so much higher in Australia compared to the US. The hearing takes place on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 9:30 AM in Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra. It will be open to the public.
PSA: Windows 8 and Pro upgrades will jump to $120 and $200 on February 1st
This should come as no surprise -- we reported the increase back in October -- but Windows 8 upgrades will become a bit more pricey come February 1st. That means you have the better part of two weeks to take advantage of introductory online upgrade pricing of $40 (for the Pro version), before the sticker jumps to 200 bucks. Fortunately, you'll be able to utilize current pricing for the rest of January, including a DVD Pro upgrade available at retailers for $70. After the switchover, you'll pay $200 for a Pro upgrade, a standard edition of Windows 8 will run you $120, the Pro Pack will be available for $100 (upgrading from standard to Pro) and a Media Center Pack will cost $10. You could, of course, stick it out with Windows 7 or Vista or even XP for the indefinite future, but if a fresh OS is in the cards, now'd be as good a time as any to make the jump.
Target agrees to price match Amazon 'year round,' hopes you'll stop showrooming
The CE pricing war just got really real. Gregg Steinhafel, Target's chairman, president and CEO, just announced a move that'll undoubtedly get the attention of Amazon. And while we're at it, the attention of Walmart, Sears, Best Buy, and practically every other major brick-and-mortar retailer that it competes with. Following Best Buy's move -- which saw the retailer price match Amazon during the holiday 2012 shopping season -- Target is taking it one step further by announcing that it'll match Amazon's prices year round. Naturally, the goal here is to put a stop to "showrooming," a term that describes the act of using B&M stores simply to ogle products before buying them for less online. Details on how it'll all work out, including an official start date, remain under wraps, but we're told that if a customer "buys a qualifying item at Target and then finds an identical item for less in the following week's Target circular or within seven days on either Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com and Toysrus.com, Target will match the price." It's not at all unreasonable to assume that Wally World and the like will end up following suit, but a part of us worries that this may end up having the opposite effect -- if Amazon's pricing begin to float higher in order to meet somewhere in the middle with B&M retailers, consumers will end up with fewer options when it comes to saving.
