Don’t Get Too Excited Over the $880+ Price for the HTC Touch Pro2

HTC’s press release about the availability and pricing of the new HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2…

New HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 Signal a New Wave in Communication

…set off a bunch of blog items like this one in unwiredview…

HTC Touch Pro2 priced: it will retail for about $880

I should note here that unwiredview did NOT sensationalize the price. They simply reported the price of the devices in Singapore in coverted from SGD to U.S. dollars. But, it is natural to think, “Wow! That is really expensive” after reading such a headline.

But, there’s a couple of reasons not pay attention to these prices.

1. Prices outside of the U.S. are often not the same, even after currency conversion, to a device’s U.S. retail price. For example, I was looking around computer shops in Tokyo’s Akihabara district shortly after the first Mac mini was released and noted that they were much more expensive there than in the U.S.

2. If you buy the Pro2 or Diamond2 in the U.S. from a carrier, you will get it for a subsidized price.

3. All unsubsidized smartphones are priced outrageously high. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is $700+. The Samsung i900 Omnia is $800. The Nokia N96 is also around $800 (all list prices, not necessarily what you could get them for if you shop around).

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