Australian
owners of the "new" iPad are being offered full refunds by Apple
after the country's consumer watchdog found Apple had misled customers as to
the device's 4G capabilities in the region. Though Telstra offers a 4G network
in Australia, the frequencies used by Apple's third-generation device (700 MHz
and 2100 MHz) are incompatible with this service.
The
problem is that Apple specifically marketed the device as "iPad with Wi-Fi
+ 4G", which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
said gave Australian customers the impression that the device "can, with a
SIM card, connect to a 4G mobile data network in Australia, when this is not
the case."
The
ACCC says it wrote to Apple a day before launch to raise its concerns with the
marketing of the new iPad, which it now claims contravenes sections 18,
29(1)(a), 29(1)(g) and 33 of the Australian Consumer Law. It is now pressing
for stickers to be placed on all packaging - a move resisted by Apple. However,
Apple has agreed to email customers offering a full refund, and will clarify 4G
capabilities at the point of sale. We'll be interested to see what, precisely,
the latter involves.
Source: ACCC, via The Guardian
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