Apple co-founder Woz weighs in against tech giant on price discrimination

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 11 years ago

Apple co-founder Woz weighs in against tech giant on price discrimination

By Ben Grubb
Updated

Apple co-founder Steve 'Woz' Wozniak has sided with Australian consumers on the contentious topic of price discrimination, saying we shouldn't have to pay more for technology goods that cost much less in the United States.

His comments, made on ABC radio this morning ahead of a sponsored speaking tour of Australia, come as the federal government readies for an inquiry that will ask tech giants like Apple to explain why Australians pay more for goods such as music, TV and game downloads from iTunes than overseas customers.

Other companies like Microsoft and Adobe will also be asked to explain.

In part, Mr Wozniak appeared to blame import tax and a protectionist regime for the discrepancy.

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple.

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple.

"The large duties in Australia I'm sure I would not favour. Maybe [...] people are very happy and feel very well off because of the protections but I just think it's horrible."

He said he was surprised when he found out his car cost three times more in Australia than what he paid for it in the US.

"I'm not really political," Mr Wozniak told ABC 702 Sydney's Adam Spencer. "I would probably wind up being a libertarian thinking we shouldn't have boundaries between countries, you know?"

He said he didn't know the price of Apple's popular iPhone smartphone here when compared with the US but remarked you could "ship anything anywhere in the world for almost nothing nowadays".

Advertisement
"Sure, no one has to buy an iPad. But Chinese workers covet Foxconn jobs."

"Sure, no one has to buy an iPad. But Chinese workers covet Foxconn jobs."

In Australia, the cheapest iPhone 4S model costs $799 unlocked. The same unlocked phone costs $US649 ($642) in the US, meaning local consumers pay $157 more for the same phone.

Digital content on the iTunes store is also more expensive in Australia. An example of this is an episode of Mad Men, costing $US2.99 ($2.96) per episode, compared to $3.49 in Australia.

<p></p>

Labor MP Ed Husic, who has been the driving force behind getting the federal government to investigate price discrimination in Australia, pounced on Mr Wozniak's comment about shipping costs.

He said consumers couldn't "work out" why it cost more for certain tech hardware and software here "because they know it wouldn't even cost that much in shipping that product over themselves from the States".

He met with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Labor MP Nick Champion (the inquiry's chair) yesterday to finalise the terms of reference for the inquiry, which has already been signed off by Senator Conroy. The terms of reference are expected to be released in the next week or so.

So far Mr Husic said technology companies had been reluctant to talk about why they charged more for products in the Australian market.

The debate over pricing continues to surface when companies release new products. A recent example saw Adobe reveal Australians would pay up to $1400 more for the same software compared with US residents.

A recent web poll of 13,307 readers on Fairfax Media's websites found 88 per cent believed there was no excuse for Australians to have to pay more for technology goods.

Loading

The cost of unlocked iPhone models in the US:
16B iPhone 4S $US649 ($642)
32GB iPhone 4S $US749 ($741)
64GB iPhone 4S $US879 ($870)

The cost of unlocked iPhone models in Australia:
16B iPhone 4S $799 (Difference of $157)
32GB iPhone 4S $899 (Difference of $158)
64GB iPhone 4S $999 (Difference of $129)

Most Viewed in Technology

Loading