Sony Vaio W to cost 60% more in Australia than the US

A lot of people have pointed out that the Sony Vaio Mini W’s starting price of $499 in the US makes it about $100 more expensive than similar laptops from other companies. But that’s nothing compared to the premium Sony is charging Australian customers. In that country, the Vaio Mini W will sell for $999 AUD or about $776 US.

On the one hand, most computers do cost more in Australia than the US. But The Age points out that most netbooks sell for about $600 Australian or about $476 US.

Sony apparently has a few explanations: Exchange rates, Australian marketing, and so forth. But the only explanation I can really come up with is that Sony must not really want to sell many units of this netbook in Australia.

Posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009, 5:27 pm by Brad Linder

wayne

it's the way Sony are working at the moment… times are tough so they up the prices

The Vaio P is AU$1399 and up to AU$2299. What you pay $899 (or less) in the US costs ways more than just exchange rate differences…

It's not unique to the computers though. The X Series Walkman are just starting to trickle through. Won't be many on the streets though with a price of AU$799 (16gb) and AU$899 (32 gb).

Oh surprise, just checked their site now and they've lowered them… AU$549 and AU$699. That would compare against a 16gb iPod for AU$399 and 32 gb AU$549. Hmmm. No matter how nice the OLED screen is, it ain't worth the “Sony Tax”. And they might play DRM-free iTunes tracks very nicely (yes, I have some Sony walkman devices and they do have great sound) but they can't sort out their video playback. A crappy 320×240 is all you get on their higher res screen in MPEG4 format. Wow!

When Sony says “like.no.other” they surely mean that in “not.a.good.way”…

I'm waiting to hear how many extra mortgages it will cost to buy a PSPGo given how everyone is already complaining about the price hike overseas.

Do they not know there's a little economic issue going on att he moment?
DougC3

Sometimes Sony's designs and behavior are mysterious. Could they think people around the rest of the world will race out to buy the Vaio W so they can think, “Wow, I've got something that not many Ozzies can have!”
wayne

Wow, that's a new marketing angle I hadn't thought of… I like your way of thinking.

“Buy this 'cos it's so cheap here compared to in <country>!”

How to make something sound exclusive and you only have to sacrifice one smallish market to achieve this

Now for my next sow's ear…
DougC3

Just trying to figure out their “reasoning”
DougC3

Just trying to figure out their “reasoning”

Sony Vaio W to cost 60% more in Australia than the US

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