Commonwealth Bank, a large Sydney, Australia-based bank, has created a new method to compare global currencies and purchasing power using the iPod nano. Similar to the Big Mac index launched 20 years ago by The Economist magazine, the CommSec iPod Index looks at pricing of the 2GB iPod nano in U.S. dollars in 26 countries.
“Brazilians pay the most for an iPod, shelling out $327.71, well above second-placed India at $222.27,” reports Reuters. “Canada was the cheapest place to buy a Nano at $144.20, while Australia ranked 19th at $172.36, cheaper than Germany ($192.46), France ($205.80), South Korea ($176.17) and China, where the machine is manufactured. The U.S. was fourth cheapest at $149.”