According to the most recent CommSec iPod index, Australia is the cheapest place in the world to buy an iPod (as of October 2008), a reflection on the recent fall of the Australian dollar when measured against the U.S. Dollar. The iPod index is not a direct measurement of currency exchange rates, but is designed to provide price comparisons of the same goods when purchased in different countries by foreign buyers. The price comparisons are based on the iPod 8GB nano in the value of U.S. Dollars.

But the iPod index reflects more than just consumer electronics. The price comparisons (stated in U.S. Dollars) also represent the relative price differences of most consumer goods between countries. While the actual cost of the iPod may vary in each location, the iPod index helps give individuals a better idea of where their country's currency stands in relation to other developed nations. Ranking on the iPod index does occasionally fluctuate based on local price changes of the actual product. Australian iPod prices have changed in recent months as newer models have been released and prices have dropped.

At one point Australia was ranked as the 14th cheapest place (in a list of over 60 countries) in the iPod index as the Aussie dollar gained strength. But a 45 percent decline in value against the U.S. Dollar in July of 2008 has caused Australia to top the list. The sharp fall of the Aussie dollar was large enough to give a five percent price difference on the index between Australia and the two closest countries: Korea and Canada. Indonesia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US, India and Taiwan round out the remaining top ten cheapest places. According to the CommSec iPod index, some of the most expensive places to purchase an iPod are Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Uruguay.

A weak Australian dollar may inhibit purchasers in Australia from affording foreign goods, but it will help to insulate the country from economic recessions of other major countries. Having cheaper goods will help encourage other countries to purchase goods from Australia and tourism is likely to grow as a result of affordable travel and products. Australians, however, may feel less inclined to spend money abroad, at least for the time being.

The CommSec iPod index was started in January 2007 and began as a more modern equivalent to The Economist's Big Mac Index in which the price of a McDonald's Big Mac is compared between countries. Both indexes are designed to test the theory that the same product should sell for the same price (when adjusted for exchange rates).

The 2008 Apple iPod Nano Index below was compiled by the Australian broker CommSec.