iPad buying guide: where to get it

by Chris Jager | Friday 16 March 2012

Planning to buy the new iPad? Here's a rundown of availability and pricing from Australia's telcos and retail stores.

The new iPad (which is definitely not officially called the iPad 3) hit Australian stores this morning, following a limited midnight launch at select Telstra stores.

The new Apple iPad (not iPad 3)

Here's an overview of what you can expect to pay from the major retailers and telco providers in Australia, along with a quick recap of the tablet's new features.

In Pictures: Apple's new iPad 3

For help with clarity, we have concentrated on the 16GB "4G" model, which is the entry-level model offered by telco providers.

Note that the new iPad supports 700MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands which means the "4G" LTE services currently available in Australia are not supported at LTE speeds on the iPad. However it does support dual channel HSPA+, for which Telstra is quoting download speeds from 1.1Mbps to 20Mbps, which obviously depend greatly on a number of conditions.

Telstra

Telstra opened its George St, Sydney and Bourke St, Melbourne stores at midnight this morning -- you can see a video of the first customer walking away with his new tablet here.

The new iPad is being offered by Telstra on a range of DC-HSPA+ data plans, with prices starting at $48 per month on a 24-month contract with 1GB data allowance.

You can increase the monthly data to up to 15GB, which brings the price up to $89 per month on a 24-month contract. (Click here for a full list of Telstra data plans).

Telstra is also selling the device on a variety of Business plans, with pricing starting at $54 per month with 1GB of data over 24 months.

16GB iPad on Telstra network (click to enlarge)

Optus/Vodafone

Optus and Vodafone are also selling the new iPad from today on various plans.

Optus' pricing starts at $38.95 per month, on a 24 month contract with 500MB data (see a full list of Optus iPad plans here). As with Telstra, you can also pick up the new iPad on an Optus business plan. (Click here to see more.)

16GB iPad on Optus network (click to enlarge)

Vodafone's entry-level iPad deal starts at $47 per month over 25 months, which includes 2GB of data. You can increase the data allowance to a maximum of 18GB, which carries a cost of $87 per month (over 24 months).

16GB iPad on Vodafone network (click to enlarge)

Comparison table: New iPad 24-month plans (16GB model)

Carrier	Price	Data
Telstra
	$48	1GB
	$58	4GB
	$68	8GB
	$98	15GB

Optus
	$38	500MB
	$41	1GB
	$45	2GB
	$49	4GB
	$59	8GB
	$79	16GB
Vodafone
	$47	2GB
	$57	6GB
	$67	12GB
	$77	14GB
	$87	18GB

As you can see from the above table, the different data allowances makes it difficult to compare iPad plans across different telcos. Of course, you also have to factor customer service and network reliability into your buying decision.

Retail

If you prefer to buy your iPad outright, it currently retails through Dick Smith, Big W, JB Hi-Fi and Target, along with Apple stores.

The recommended retail price for the Wi-Fi versions are as follows:

16GB = $539
32GB = $649
64GB = $759

Here are the recommended retail prices for the Wi-Fi + 4G models:

16GB = $679
32GB = $789
64GB = $899

You can save some money by visiting third-party resellers. Big W is currently selling the 16GB WiFi model for $498 - a saving of more than $40. JB HiFi, meanwhile, is selling the same model for $537 (a far less impressive $2 off the RRP).

Comparison table: New iPad retailer prices

Retailer	Model	Price
Big W
	16GB (WiFi)	$498
	32GB (WiFi)	$628
	64GB (WiFi)	$748
	16GB (WiFI+3G)	$668
	32GB (WiFi+3G)	$778
	64GB (WiFi + 3G)	$858
JB HiFi
	16GB (WiFi)	$537
	32GB (WiFi)	$646
	64GB (WiFi)	$758
	16GB (WiFI+3G)	$675
	32GB (WiFi+3G)	$784
	64GB (WiFi + 3G)	$896
Dick Smith
	16GB (WiFi)	$539
	32GB (WiFi)	$649
	64GB (WiFi)	$759
	16GB (WiFI+3G)	$679
	32GB (WiFi+3G	$789
	64GB (WiFi + 3G)	$899

The original iPad 2 will continue to be sold alongside the new iPad. The price has been cut to $429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model (a saving of $70).

Online

Customers have been able to pre-order the new iPad online since 8th March, though Apple yesterday confirmed pre-orders had sold out. Those who ordered the tablet after the March 8 announcement will wait an extra week for delivery. To make a purchase, pay a visit to Apple's online store

Apple isn't the only website where you can purchase the new iPad online. One of the better deals we've seen is from Kogan Technologies, which is selling the 16GB Wi-Fi model for $479. However, it's worth noting that Kogan doesn't expect to dispatch the new iPad until 2nd April (around a fortnight from now).

For a full list of iPad pricing from Kogan, click here.

A trawl of Google Shopping will turn up a bunch of similar deals on the new iPad 3, although caution and research is naturally advised before handing over your cash to an unfamilar site.

About the new iPad

The new iPad - which Apple is simply calling "iPad" - comes with some significant hardware upgrades over its predecessor, including a 9.7in Retina display with 2048x1536 resolution, a dual-core A5X processor and 4G connectivity for access to LTE networks (although, as we explained earlier, it works with 700MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands which means Telstra's 4G network is not supported).

The new iPad's camera has also been upgraded to 5 megapixels (the iPad 2 camera is less than a megapixel), with 1080p video recording. Other camera improvements include auto-exposure, noise reduction and improved image stabilisation.

It also boasts a new microphone key, which can be used to access the inbuilt Siri tool. Popular apps such as iPhoto, iWork, iMovie and GarageBand have also received updates. Battery life, meanwhile, is rated at 10 hours; the same as the iPad 2.

Read our first impressions of the new iPad here.

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Scadartus 16 March 2012	You can just calculate price/GB for each of the plans. This makes comparisons easy, and no different to the price/GB measure used when comparing HDDs of different capacities. Comment made about the PC & Tech Authority article: iPad buying guide: where to get it? Planning to buy the new iPad? Here's a rundown of availability and pricing from Australia's telcos and retail stores. What do you think? Join the discussion.
photohounds 17 March 2012	No wonder apple doesn't pay you to advertise here. Why would anyone bother to pay for what they can get for free. I just read in PC magazine that Android users now consume 29% more data than ios users. What does it mean? Other than it is rising in popularity very fast, I'm not sure, but the fans will have a spin on it. Must be all those deluded fools or something like that.
Dalek6450 18 March 2012	I've got a better idea just don't get it.
rubaiyat 18 March 2012	photohounds wrote: No wonder apple doesn't pay you to advertise here. Why would anyone bother to pay for what they can get for free. I just read in PC magazine that Android users now consume 29% more data than ios users. What does it mean? Other than it is rising in popularity very fast, I'm not sure, but the fans will have a spin on it. Must be all those deluded fools or something like that. And fattards consume 10,000% more cheeseburgers. So what? And Steve Jobs bit you when you were a baby, so you have an undying hatred of anything Apple. So what? I had a look at the new iPad yesterday, they are freely available. Buy them where you get the best price, or as Delek6450 says: don't. They are stunning pieces of kit, but I don't have a use for one yet. I don't have any use for the obviously inferior Android tablets either. Should they fix the excessively grey screens on Kindles, that might be my first tablet. But probably not even that for a while. You can draw a graph of rising usefulness and falling prices, when those 2 converge I'll reconsider. Possibly when iBooks really get popular.
willtell 19 March 2012	Apple should just slash the price of the iPad 2 to well under $400 and kill off the competition. With their profit margins they can easily afford to do so and still make a return all while crushing the competition out of the market. You can buy a Motorola Xoom for around $350 now online. Apple cuts the iPad 2 to around that price and the only people not buying it are either the anti-Apple fanboys or those who have a real dislike for using iTunes. I'm in the 2nd camp but that's most likely to being a Windows user. I know iTunes is great on a Mac but the Windows version is just woeful. Unless of course I'm completely wrong and can take advantage and use an iPad 2 without contaminating my PC with iTunes or without having to use iTunes at all? Any experts out there want to advise me here? Not that I'm in the market for a tablet anyway. Might be nice though to have a quick device to quickly look up recipes when cooking or watch a TV show or two.
rubaiyat 19 March 2012	This is not about you it is about Apple. They are interested in maximising income not selling to people who will never consider any price low enough, even if that means the lowest quality and service because nothing else is viable at the price. An Apple executive once demonstrated Graph Calculator which came with every Mac back in the 90s. I didn't understand what the extremely sophisticated ability to graph formulae in 3D was used for. He showed me Apple's pricing formula which produces a saddle shape. Using the mouse you could test price against sales volume against total profit. The idea was to stay in the middle of the saddle, either side there was a sharp drop off of sales either end you lost income. Apple is firmly in charge of the market and can quickly respond if necessary. Unlike the others it actually makes good money from what it sells and is ahead of the game. Apple created serious problems for itself, due to arrogance and complacency, with the Mac back in the '80s and lost control of what should have been a shoo in for the first commercially successful GUI computer and OS. I have detected no such mistake with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Successfully managing those has lead to the resurgence of interest in the Mac, where it does not control the market. You have rather limited ideas of what to do with an iPad. Get an ATV2 and you can use the iPad to control your TV. Get iBooks Author and have a university in your pocket. Commercially I have seen restaurants and even a dentist use it for their business. Sales people such as real estate agents are using them to quickly find and demonstrate products, then act on them. My Agent in Sydney hardly had to go back to the office at all and showed my what other houses in my category looked like and had done at auction.
photohounds 22 March 2012	Rabid tirades aside, this article is just still an ad ... The data usage reflects what apple users used to brag (we oden the mobile space becasue we use more data - often quoted here)about is CHANGING - that's all and it is fact. I can use my Galaxy to cotreol my LG TV, MY SONY BDP, my Linux box - from ONE, free and with a responsive developer - so way ahead of what you quote above, and voice control is being worked on. The android blow torch is finally being turned on the mobile screen device market. I have always agreed that it took too long, but it's here - NOW ... live with it. As for how much money apple makes - GAF I'm not a shareholder ... their profits are NOT "the future" for everyone. Easiy to profit from new, expanding markets. Once saturated it becomes harder without true innovation (as opposed to clever marketing). Having already had the measure of the iphone with the S2, I am waiting for the Galaxy S3 to move the state of the art well out of iRange. Android now have good tablets too and with a little refining things like the Transformer-style devices will be at the forefront soon enough. We can already see progress beyond a "simple tablet" market. That is merely regurgitated 10 year old technology. To talk more of would be spreading iRumours, eh? :)
rubaiyat 23 March 2012	Apple fans used to use connection numbers to show how many Apple users were out there. Can't recall they ever bragged about eliminating the all you can eat buffet. I'm not encouraging Apple to charge more, quite the contrary, but I recognise the stupid "I want, gimme cheap". If you really want it cheaper, don't drool when you see it and be prepare to pass on it if you don't really need it.
photohounds 25 March 2012	Ruby-SPINner ... It doesn't matter what the facts are, does it? Quite OK to acknowledge Apples early SALES success isn't it? But ... Once Android's smashed some barrier or other, to acknowledge THAT is either apple hatred, a conspiracy, or duplicitously no longer a reason to measure success, right? As I said elsewhere, there IS a correlation between good-sized screens (over 4") and data usage. The real explanation (rather than cheap shots, iSpin and dubious nay-saying) is very, VERY simple and well documented. Bigger, brighter and better screens are quite SIMPLY, used for more activities because they offer MORE of what people WANT/NEED. Correlation exists in the TV space. People gladly (and en masse), upgrade to bigger TVs - once they become affordable. Having more pixels is perhaps smugly satisfying to brag about (like cameras where it is even MORE ridiculous now). If one needs a magnifying glass to see any real difference, the 'Mine's bigger than yours if you use a magnifier' is revealed to be shallow, unadulterated BS. Most will probably pass on the extra BS pixels thanks all the same, as it is just a 'selling point' for something we can easily do without, UNTIL is offers something useful. Most current, proper sized phone screens are not deficient in any MEANINGFUL way. .
Dalek6450 30 March 2012	@rubaiyat Apple makes a large profit because it overprices it's products, then styles and advertises the shit out of them. That is also the only reason they sell inferior (to Windows or other Brands) Macs, iPhones (Samsung Galaxy S2 beats it with superior Android OS) and iPads (Tablets should of been left dead and buried as they are inferior to laptops). My decision? Buy a large Android Phone (HTC Sensation XL, 4.3 inch phone) or be smart and buy a better value laptop (not a MacBook) that runs Windows.