The great memory rip-off: Apple and Google ‘ripping off customers’ over extra storage
Shoppers who stump up for tablets with extra storage space are being ripped off by the likes of Google and Apple, a watchdog has claimed
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Some techies are forced to pay 1,200 per cent more for additional memory than it costs at market price.
A 32GB Apple iPad Air costs £80 more than the 16GB version.
However, Which? has accused the tablet giant of fleecing customers, as it only costs it £5.85 to include the extra 16GB in the device.
The consumer group claimed that Google also charged an extra £70 – or a mark-up of 1,000 per cent – for a 32GB Nexus 10 over its 16GB model.
Which? described the charges as ‘scandalous’ and said its report had revealed ‘shocking levels of profiteering by manufacturers over something as simple as a chunk of extra memory’.
Its editor, Richard Headland, said: ‘With tablets in demand this Christmas, buyers will be shocked to discover what a raw deal they’re getting on built-in memory.’
He has advised shoppers to buy a tablet with an SD or microSD slot, such as the Microsoft Surface RT, then to add a memory card ‘for a fraction of the cost’.
Unlike PCs, tablet storage is often difficult to upgrade. Most devices have a sealed design, which makes adding new hardware near impossible.
To compound the problem, the true amount of storage space on a new tablet is rarely the same as advertised on the packaging.
On a 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, only 10GB is left for a user’s files because operating systems and built-in apps take up space.
Apple, Amazon and Google made no comment over the allegations.
But Samsung told Which?: ‘Prices are generally determined by retail channels, market situation and the product’s life cycle.
‘It is Samsung policy to provide the most reasonable market price to customers.’
source:METRO
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