Maybe I Should Buy my Technology in Canada

First came the Big Mac index, now comes the iPod Nano Index.

“The index is based on the economic principle that one U.S. dollar should buy the same quantity of goods across all countries, and that currencies will fluctuate to close any gaps in purchasing power.”  -Sympatico/MSN

The cited difference between the edible index and the durable index is that “Big Macs are made in a host of countries across the globe whereas iPods are predominantly made in China.”

Who came out on top? I was surprised to hear that it was Canada, where an iPod retails for US$144.20. So much for Singapore or Hong Kong being the cheapest places to buy the little devices.

To put this into perspective, the iPod Nano retails for $149.00 in the US, $172.36 in Australia, and $327.71 in Brazil.

What this says about the Canadian dollar is that it is apparently undervalued. That’s odd because the loonie has been hovering around the 87 cent mark…5 years ago it was at 62 cents.