Tech Items cheaper in Bangkok than in Pattaya

[TotallyOz]

I have wanted to snag a Samsung Note before I head back to USA. I looked when I was in Bangkok and thought the price was good but wanted to see if Pattaya was cheaper. It is not. It is actually about 2k baht more at the lowest price I could find at Tuk Com.

 

This happens often and I do know that every time I buy something in Pattaya, I find it in Bangkok for less money.

 

Do you find all products are similar or is this related mostly to tech items?

[Bob]

I have yet to find any tech product that's cheaper in Thailand than in the US. Most (cameras, smart cards, etc.) cost 20-40% more in Thailand. I'm not sure about mobile phones but am wondering if you checked the US price online.

[TotallyOz]

Amazon has the Note I want for 586.00 USD or 18,600 baht. Pattaya places were asking around 17,000 baht. Bangkok, 15,000 baht and as low as 13,500.

[Gaybutton]

Do you find all products are similar or is this related mostly to tech items?

 

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. It seems to depend on what you're buying and where you're buying it. For example, I had the opposite happen with my beloved bread machine. I bought it at the top floor of Paragon. At the time, Paragon was the only place in Thailand I could find that sold them. Then, when Central Festival in Pattaya first opened, I saw exactly the same bread machine, same make and model, for sale at nearly 4000 baht less. Maybe it was some sort of promotion, although there was nothing to indicate a promotion that I saw, but now I think Central Festival stopped carrying bread machines at all. In any case, that's quite a price difference.

 

For people like me who live in Pattaya, if something is more expensive here than it is in Bangkok, unless you're going to be in Bangkok anyway, you're still stuck. You might pay a higher price in Pattaya, but when factoring in the cost and inconvenience of making a special trip to Bangkok to buy the same thing, unless there is a major price difference it's hardly worth doing.

 

For me, the "Murphy's Law of Shopping" usually applies - No matter how many places I check, when I make the purchase, a few days later I'll find the same thing elsewhere at a substantially lower price.

[KhorTose]

I bought the Note last week for 18800 in Chiang Mai, so Pattaya prices seem the same. Maybe i should have done some more shopping?

[Rogie]

I don't know about you, but when I see an item, especially a new techie-gadget that's bound to be popular with buyers, that's significantly cheaper in one place compared with others, I suspect something . . .

 

GB's example of the bread machine is different, because I very much doubt anybody is going to go to the trouble of making 'copies'.

[TotallyOz]

I bought the Note last week for 18800 in Chiang Mai, so Pattaya prices seem the same. Maybe i should have done some more shopping?

 

And, how to you like it? Worth it?

[bkkguy]

Amazon has the Note I want for 586.00 USD or 18,600 baht. Pattaya places were asking around 17,000 baht. Bangkok, 15,000 baht and as low as 13,500.

 

I am surprised to see a legit, new Note for 13,500 - where did you see? I was also surprised to see AIS offering Serenade members 1,000 Baht off the new Galaxy S III on official launch date, so miracles do happen!

 

I have had the Note since release in Thailand, about 6 months - as a phone it is too big to use comfortably every day, as a tablet it is a bit too small, but as a phablet (are we allowed to call it that here? some people seem to object strenuously to the term) it is a great compromise, even more so now that Samsung has rolled out the ICS (with TouchWiz) upgrade!

 

my main phone now is the Galaxy S III and I love it as a smartphone and all the things I want to do with a smartphone - it is a good size and feels good in the hand, it is a great large screen and easy to read with my failing eyesight, I can do quick google searches and google translate for sms, quickly check email, sync conatcts and diary with my other devices and lots more

 

but my voice account is with AIS and their 3G network sucks, true's 3g network is great but I don't want to transfer voice to them, so I use an AIS SIM with minimal 3g in my S III and a true 3g SIM in my Note and do more "web" access on my Note when I am out and about

 

often when I travel I will get a local voice/data SIM in the Note and keep the AIS SIM roaming for voice only in the S III

 

the Note screen is only slightly larger - but it handles the Bangkok Post and The Economist digital editions slightly better and news aggregators like pulse and Flipboard slightly better, Kindle for book reading is about the same on both devices, general browser use is also fairly similar

 

the stylus was one of the features I thought would be interesting on the Note, but I don't end up using it that much but have seen some other very creative uses for the stylus

 

battery life I find disappointing on the Note - but perhaps I leave too many things running in the background. I have been very happy with the battery life on the S III. I find the Note also tends to get a bit hot at times - again maybe because of my usage patterns

 

I also have an iPad2 which I usually could not be bothered taking out each day - the Note is much easier to carry - but use extensively at home. The larger screen size is great for games, BK Post/Economist digital edition and even Flipboard and Kindle

 

eventually I think I will replace the Note and the iPad with a single 8-10" tablet device - iOS or Android

 

as they say in most of the reviews - your milage may vary!

 

bkkguy

[KhorTose]

I had the Galaxy II, and this is by far a better buy. Still small enough for the pocket, yet big enough to read Kindle books in comfort, as fast on the internet as the Galaxy, able to do everything in voice and has the ability to make notes with a pen. Still setting it up, but very happy and worth the money.

[TotallyOz]

I think I will replace the Note and the iPad with a single 8-10" tablet device - iOS or Android as they say in most of the reviews - your milage may vary! bkkguy

 

BKKGUY, thanks for the detailed report on this. Much appreciated. May I ask why you don't like the IPad?

 

I had the Galaxy II, and this is by far a better buy. Still small enough for the pocket, yet big enough to read Kindle books in comfort, as fast on the internet as the Galaxy, able to do everything in voice and has the ability to make notes with a pen. Still setting it up, but very happy and worth the money.

 

Great. Thanks. Please let me know after you have played with it for a while. I'd be most curious to see what you think after you have had it for a bit.

[bkkguy]

May I ask why you don't like the IPad?

 

I have an iPad2 16GB Wi-Fi only, I got it to see how much I would hate Apple's "walled garden" and having to use iTunes for everthing and it had a few apps that were only on the iPad at that time

 

and yes I hate the "walled garden" but in reality for day-to-day usage it does not make that much difference, on my Android devices I have never bothered installing alternative boot-loaders etc but I have installed a few critical apps from other sources

 

yes I hate iTunes but with iOS 5 it is no longer such an issue

 

most of the iPad specific apps I no longer use or are now available on Android

 

of the significant apps I use - Evernote, pulse, Kindle, Flipboard, various bank and finance apps, newspaper digital editions etc - panel size and resolution is more the issue for me than OS!

 

it is not that I don't like the iPad - I use it all the time - but there is very little that attracts me and ties me specifically to iOS, but as the iPad is my current largest screen device I use it all the time at home but would be just as happy or probably happier with an Android tablet of the same size, and find the Note or a similer device easier to carry when I go out

 

what attracts me to Android? on a trivial level, live wallpapers - they are fun; live widgets - they are useful and convenient ways of keeping up-to-date without having to start an app; google account integration - I sold my soul to google years ago and it is my main repository for contacts and diary etc and this integrates seemlessly with all my Android (and to some extent iOS) mobile devices and my Win7 desktop mail and calendar apps (OK Apple has mobileMe (sorry for laughing) and now iCloud - but I don't have a Mac) and apps I buy in the google market etc and as I transfer from Android phone to new Android phone it is really painless

 

for most people I talk to I say if you are already in the Apple ecosystem stay there, if you are already in the google ecosystem stay there, if you are undecided then look at at hardware costs and decide!

 

bkkguy