It has been our tradition to compare prices of Apple products in various Asia-Pacific countries in order to determine the country that offers the cheapest iPhone or iPad. We’ll do the same today — this time, for the iPad Mini which was recently launched by Apple in several countries in the past weeks.
We compared the prices of the iPad Mini in 12 countries, and we discovered that the cheapest iPad Mini in Asia-Pacific is being sold in…
“iResign.”
That’s the essence of the announcement made by Steve Jobs on August 24, 2011 when he officially relinquished his post as Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As he steps down, we look back at the plethora of achievements that Jobs scored for the tech company during the past fourteen years that he was CEO.
Here are three of Jobs’ best achievements as Apple CEO with regard to the Apple stock (AAPL).
Achievement #1: Under Jobs’ helm, the Apple stock (NASDAQ: AAPL) skyrocketed in price from $5 in September 1997 after Jobs was officially appointed as interim CEO to around $376 on the day of his resignation. That translates to a total price growth of 7,420% during the 14-year period or a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.15%. So if you invested $1,000 back in 1997, this is now worth a whopping $75,200.
Search engine giant Google recently announced it is purchasing Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc., the former Mobile Devices Division of Motorola, for $12.5 billion. According to Google, the move was meant to protect its Android operating software from intellectual property lawsuits.
But was it a good move?
Just when we thought China has produced a fake version of almost anything — from mobile phones to designer bags to apparel and even branded cars! — here comes another one that can be added to that list: a fake Apple Store.
An American blogger, who goes by the name BirdAbroad, recently posted in her blog photos and a video of the rip-off Apple store. According to the blog entry, the store is located in the city of Kunming, capital of China’s southwestern Yunnan province.
The similarities with authorized Apple stores are uncanny, with the blogger describing in detail:
A total of 15 million Apple iPad units were sold during the first nine months of its release, according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. That’s more than the total number of all other tablet PC sales combined.
But Apple seems bent on dominating that market further. Less than a year after the first Apple iPad was released, here comes a thinner, lighter and superbly faster upgrade: the Apple iPad 2.
I’ve said it before: I want a touchscreen tablet PC for Christmas.
A few weeks ago, I was this close to buying an Apple iPad after comparing the three most popular touchscreen tablet PCs: the Apple iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the Toshiba Folio 100.
The Toshiba Folio is not in the Philippines yet so it’s out of the picture. I’ve seen the Samsung Galaxy Tab and, although it looks uber-cool and super-sleek, I don’t like it’s small display screen.
Where can you buy the cheapest official Apple iPad in Asia?
That’s what we also wanted to know. So what we did was compare the prices of the iPad offered in official Apple online stores in each country. In Asia Pacific, the iPad is being sold in Apple Online Stores in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.
With Christmas just a few months away, I’m thinking of getting a new PC to replace my 5-year-old Fujitsu laptop which is starting to break down. Touchscreen tablet PCs seem to be the in thing these days so if the specs and price are right, I might get this gadget as a Christmas gift to myself this year.
Which one is the best? That’s what I’m about to find out. I’ll use this space to post some good and bad reviews that I can find for these tablet PCs.
The 3 emerging choices for me, after a preliminary search, seem to be the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and Toshiba Folio 100.
