Similar to what nexus(ics) and honeycomb users experience.

You have to remember that European countries usually have VAT added in (which is like 15 to 20%?) and products (naturally) cost far higher there than here.

I would go as far to say, completely worthless article.

An iPad 16GB in Germany costs $634
An Apple TV costs $157

So: comparing other countries prices to American prices is completely useless.  You have taxes/tariffs and such you have to add in and that varies wherever you are. 

It’s completely unrealistic to expect companies that have to make profits from hardware sales to compete with Amazon, a company that makes most of its profits from the services it provides and basically sells the Kindle Fire with no profit and possibly even a loss.

So at best we can only demand they get as close as possible but actually matching Amazon’s pricing would be suicide for most companies.

Besides, the Galaxy Tab 2 has some things that put it above the Kindle Fire…

 - 344g (GT2) vs 413 (KF), GT2 is also a bit thinner.

 - 1GB RAM (GT2) vs 512MB (KF)

 - SD Card Reader (GT2) vs None (KF)

 - 8, 16, and 32 GB Configurations (GT2) vs 8 GB (KF), albeit with limited cloud storage.

 - BT, and/or HSPA+ (4G), WiFi (GT2) vs WiFi only (KF)

 - 3MP Rear and VGA Front Camera (GT2) vs None (KF)

 - A-GPS (where available), Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass (GT2) vs Accelerometer (KF)

 - Possibility of peripherals via Dock connector (GT2) None (KF)

Leaving the only advantage for the KF being slightly higher capacity battery, 4000 vs 4400, and of course the lower price. Though Samsung may put a higher capacity battery in different region releases of the model and the GT2 is more flexible than the KF due to the way Amazon has set it up.

While we should also remember that the GT2 will be mostly sold through cellular provider companies and they often set a higher retail price to make the contract deals more attractive.  Something that’s not even a factor for the KF.

A 10″ device is very portable but still not easy to use on the go and even less so with the keyboard dock, which makes its ergonomics more like a netbook.

So depends on the user’s work/life-style on which will be preferable…

Amazon’s business model is more to promote their services than the Kindle Fire itself.

Though for those companies that can at least get close it’ll be survival of the fittest as the weaker companies simply can’t compete if they have to push the profit margin too low for them to sustain both the company and the product line.

Right now the Asus MeMo 370T seems to be one of the best deals so far from one of the regular companies that has to rely on hardware sales profit.  So that will be a more realistic benchmark to compare others to but right now the suggest $249 price point is basically little more than a rumor at this point and it won’t be the first time that a Asus product wound up with a higher price once it was officially released.

Most people…not all…will see this price and say screw it! Then buy an iPad.
Or wait for the iPad 3.

Why not go with a product that has tremendous support and has been proven to be very reliable and is here to stay.

I’ll wait for the Asus Memo (the “Transformer Mini”) thanks you very much.

I don’t understand some people. Unless they pulled a Motorola and made it cost the same as let’s say the iPad with a contract, I see no reason as to why this is as bad as you say it is.

Ever heard of proof-reading? That’s the very first sentence man!