Report: iPad 2 May Drop to $299 After iPad 3 Launch
Apple may reintroduce the iPad 2 with a $299 pricetag during the supposed iPad 3 launch later this month.
Last week brought reports that Apple plans to reveal two versions of the iPad 3 this month during the Macworld/iWorld expo scheduled for January 26-28, 2012, in San Francisco. Both will reportedly offer the same 9.7-inch QXGA screen (1536 x 2048) and A6 SoC, but one model will sport a 5MP camera whereas the other will feature an 8MP camera. These will serve as new mid-range and high-end tablets in Apple's iPad lineup.
As for the low-end/entry-level model, this will be Apple's current iPad 2, according to sources at Apple's supply chain partners. We speculated that it will be re-launched with a lower pricetag than what's offered now, and even suggested that Apple may introduce an 8 GB model to put Apple in a better position to compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble and even Archos in the $199 tablet market.
However on Tuesday sources from Apple's supply chain clarified that the high-end 8MP iPad 3 will have the high resolution QXGA panel (2048 x 1536) and the 5MP mid-tier model will have the same XGA panel offered with the iPad 2 which comes with a 1024 x 768 resolution. That means Apple would essentially offer an iPad with a A5 SoC, XGA panel and a 0.3MP camera, an iPad with an A6 SoC, XGA panel and 5MP camera, and an iPad with an A6 SoC, QXGA panel and 8MP camera.
As for pricing, there's speculation that the Wi-Fi iPad 2 could sell for as low as $299 USD. Currently Apple offers three iPad 2 Wi-Fi only models: $499 for 16 GB, $599 for 32 GB and $699 for 64 GB. While it's possible that Apple may knock $200 off the price of its 16 GB model, providing an 8 GB version with a low price point seems more likely.
Will a $299 iPad tablet be competitive in a $199 tablet market? For many consumers, the $100 price gap between the Kindle Fire and the possible $299 iPad 2 may be too wide. Another problem Apple may have in competing with Amazon's Kindle Fire is that it's essentially the only Android tablet that allows consumers to purchase and stream video content directly to the device -- Google's Android Market only provides rentals (Ultraviolet doesn't count yet, sorry).
Amazon also stays competitive with the Android Market, offering a free Android app each day while countering Android Market promotions like the $4.99 albums and 0.99 EA games. To some degree Amazon and Google are tag-teaming against Apple, both providing cloud storage for video, music and ebook purchases (except for the Green Lantern license which ends in March doh). However in the long run, both Android and iOS have their strengths and weaknesses -- consumers simply need to weigh each against how much they're willing to spend.
- Wikipedia's Banners Raise $20 Million
- Apple Planning Media Announcement for This Month?
- Anonymous Attacks Nazis in Germany
- LG Announces Ultra-thin 55-inch OLED TV
- How Nokia Designed and Makes the N9 and Lumia 800
- iPads (and Other Tablets) are Killing Free Hotel Wi-Fi
- 3 LTE-Based Windows Phones Rumored For AT&T in 2012
- Japanese Vending Machines Puts Faces in Your Coffee
- Large Hadron Collider Confirms Discovery of First New Particle
- Sony's Tablet S Gets $100 Price Cut
- Nintendo's Wii U May Have an Ebook Store Too
- German Police Used 440K+ Stealth SMS to Track Suspects
- Unofficial Steve Jobs Action Figure Looks Too Real
- Transcend Develops SD Card with CD-ROM-Like Partition
- Hackers Launching Satellite to Evade Internet Censorship
- Yahoo Names Former PayPal President as New CEO
- WSJ: Kodak Prepping for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing
- Verizon CEO Pulls Out of CES One Week Before the Show
- Canadian Crosses U.S. Border by Showing Passport on his iPad
Never thought Apple would drop prices on their products. Capitalism at its finest.
@ikyung what you talking about? price reduction is not news. apple constantly drops prices on outdated products.
Never thought Apple would drop prices on their products. Capitalism at its finest.
You must have missed the price drop Apple, and every other company, does on their product lines once they launch a new version.
I really am an Android man, but you can't honestly compare the functionality and usability of an iPad 2 with a Kindle Fire. At US$299 the iPad 2 becomes a very attractive deal.
yawn... i guess i better sell my ipad 2 soon lol
That would make it slightly more competitive, but it would all depend on what iPad3 actually offers.
mman, no sorry, Apple does NOT reduce prices on current products only their has been stuff that is not capable in most cases of running many features or current software. Since apple only offers a handful of products I find it a joke, offer 4s with Siri but drop iPhone 4 to $99 but of course it can't do Siri, which was a app and i4 and could easily run on i4 but not in apples high priced, low tech world where you charge a premium for 1 product a year that just barely cathes the competition spec wise but lower prices on hardware nobody should even want
All it shows to me is apple is finally getting it and is scared of androids market share.
iPad 2 will drop to $299 BUT with 8GB memory? 8GB of memory? Are you crazy? ONLY idiot would purchase it.
Can't wait to miss it
What is an XGA panel anyway? I keep seeing stuff like this, and it makes no sense. What does it mean? The only XGA I know of was a video card.
Any word about plans to support 4G? I never understood why 4G, which is supported by the iPhone, was not supported by the iPad and Apple stayed at 3G there.
I'm so tired of Corporate Greed specially in this economy. F$ck Apple high prices. iPad 2 should be $200
Well, I wouldn't buy an 8 GB iPad but with iCloud it would be a perfectly functional device.
What is an XGA panel anyway? I keep seeing stuff like this, and it makes no sense. What does it mean? The only XGA I know of was a video card.
1024×768
Google is your friend.
Corporate Greed? $200? Please. The iPad 2 contains more than that in materials and Apple isn't a non-profit. Their business is to make as much money as possible. If we as consumers didn't feel their products were worth what they ask for them, we wouldn't buy them. Nobody is holding a gun to my head.
Whole cloth.
Knowing Apple and their pricing schemes, there's no way in hell they're gonna sell iPads for $299. The original iPad still sells for around $500!
Corporate Greed? $200? Please. The iPad 2 contains more than that in materials and Apple isn't a non-profit. Their business is to make as much money as possible. If we as consumers didn't feel their products were worth what they ask for them, we wouldn't buy them. Nobody is holding a gun to my head.
This has to be one of the stupidest post I've seen in awhile. There are factors such as R&D and advertising among many other things. Think before you post again.
Also companies can charge whatever they see fit and if you can't afford it than get offline and get a job.
Apple will never drop the price into something they sell a lot at this price rate, people are dumb and will ditch ipad 2 to buy ipad 3 worth the price of course no. And maybe we will see ipad 1 to 299$ lol I still have mine and it does the job very well, just a bit laggy sometimes and no flash is annoying but i will upgrade to transformer prime beast , at least they will have a micro sd card witch will be usefull for photography and transfering without having to carry their cable 1 feet shot.
That's still $299 too expensive
Or; they can do with the ipad2 what they did with the ipad1; immediately discontinue it.
It all boils down to what you want and what your comfortable with. I'll always stick to Apple, they always set the bar. In the long run we, the consumers win. Imagine what a 2015 iPad will be like.
A Ipad 3 with (1536 x 2048) resolution on a 10 inch screen wowsa comparable to my 30' 2560 x 1600 res panel for my desktop me want
The Kindle Fire is absolutely not "essentially the only Android tablet that allows consumers to purchase and stream video content directly to the device." Even my Nexus S streams Amazon content, Mega-Upload/Video content, Netflix and so much more. Of course the tablets can do this too.
The Android Market place may one day be a great place to get content like this, but Android didn't need to do that quickly with so many different companies offering these types of services already quite excellently. This part of the article is flat out wrong and indicative of a user who is not really familiar with the Android ecosystem - it's not 'all-in-one' because it's real strength is all the 3rd party efforts with a great OS, and there are tons of ways to stream music and video easily and legally all day long. No Kindle Fire required, though having played with a few now I do respect what they represent.
It's still $100 too expensive. It takes them $100 to build this crap. F*** greed
At 299 I'm a buyer for sure. Based on what you get 499 is a good value but most of us can't afford that right now. I agree w/ previous poster who said you can't realistically compare an iPad and a kindle in terms of functionality and usability. There's no comparison.
Also, as social media, ie facebook, youtube, twitter evolves and people post their own videos and pictures people are going to really see the value of having a great camera. These are the photos and vids they'll have for the rest of their life and if they use a non optimal camera....their friends 2012 pics may look a lot better than their own 20 yrs down the road.
In conclusion, social media is pushing the need for a great camera.
Report: I don't care and it's still more money than I would ever spend on an Apple product.
What is an XGA panel anyway? I keep seeing stuff like this, and it makes no sense. What does it mean? The only XGA I know of was a video card.
Educate yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph [...] esolutions
This may be one of the dumbest stories I've seen. NO WAY. That may be the price for a few lucky individuals who get the close-out models, but Apple would never sell these that cheap and rob sales from the Ipad3. Either discontinued, or a modest price drop to make room for the new models. The new would probably be 100 more for their equivalent replacement, and the 2 would drop no more than 50 for now, maybe 100 later, keeping 150 to 200 dollars separation. Look at apples history, as they do the same thing every time.
agree with JohnA. I don't see an iPad2 at the 299 price point, it would cannibalize iPad3 sales and potentially tarnish their image as a premium product provider. They'll leave the $200 market for the other players and focus on their top wealthy customers.