Reason No. 1 to Skip the 'New iPad': Apple Cuts Price of iPad 2 to $399

by Dawn Kawamoto, The Motley Fool Mar 8th 2012 8:45AM
Apple Cuts Price of iPad 2 to $399 Apple (AAPL) unveiled its new iPad Wednesday with its usual splash and pizzazz, and enthusiasts will probably storm Apple Stores and the company's website to pre-order the snazzy new tablet, with its HD video-recording and 4G LTE capabilities.

But there was also some good news for those who don't need the absolute latest bells and whistles: Apple has lowered the price of its iPad 2 to $399, according to its website.

And in addition to saving customers $100 on the WiFi version, Apple will keep the baseline model at 16 GB of RAM.

apple ipad

Previously, the rumor mill had predicted that Apple would introduce a cheaper 8 GB version of its iPad 2. That move was expected to be Apple's response to rival tablets such as Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's (BKS) Nook Color, as well as the many less-popular tablets that run Windows 8.

At $399 for an iPad 2, shoppers can save a pretty penny with very little sacrifice on features. The new iPad is slated to hit stores March 16 and cost $499 for 16 GB with WiFi, or $629 with 4G LTE. The price rises to $599 for 32 GB, or $729 with 4G LTE, and $699 for 64 GB, or $829 with 4G LTE.

apple ipadSavvy buyers mainly need to ask themselves whether they really need HD 1080p video-recording capability or the speedier network connection that comes with the new iPad. Yes, it also touts a richer resolution and a snappier 5MP iSight camera. But if you were primarily lusting after an iPad for its FaceTime feature and its lightweight, go-anywhere qualities, why not pay less and pick up an iPad 2?

Motley Fool contributor Dawn Kawamoto owns no stock in any of the companies mentioned. She has been known, however, to FaceTime with her family members. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple and Amazon.com and creating a bull call spread position in Apple.



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34 Comments

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ritinaa

It's amazing.....

March 10 2012 at 6:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ritinaa

还不错

March 10 2012 at 6:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jianyoa

One tip to users who want to buy an idevice on the cheap is to buy refurbished. Refurbished apple products come with a new outter shell and a new batery.

March 09 2012 at 4:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hartfox48

Another reason not to buy is a result of the higher resolution of the screen. The fact that there are more pixels means that there is more data. So, as the app and content developers upgrade their content to use that higher resolution, the "next iPad" will become a big (and I mean huge) eater of data usage. If you always use your iPad on WiFi, that is no big deal. But if you want to use it on 4G and stream video, you are rather easily going to exceed your plan and use more data. We can easily get back to the bad old days of BIG cellular bills. But then Apple has never really cared about its customers' wallets anyhow.

March 09 2012 at 1:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hartfox48

Another reason not to buy is a result of the higher resolution of the screen. The fact that there are more pixels means that there is more data. So, as the app and content developers upgrade their content to use that higher resolution, the "next iPad" will become a big (and I mean huge) eater of data usage. If you always use your iPad on WiFi, that is no big deal. But if you want to use it on 4G and stream video, you are rather easily going to exceed your plan and use more data. We can easily get back to the bad old days of BIG cellular bills. But then Apple has never really cared about its customers' wallets anyhow.

March 09 2012 at 12:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hartfox48

Another reason not to buy is a result of the higher resolution of the screen. The fact that there are more pixels means that there is more data. So, as the app and content developers upgrade their content to use that higher resolution, the "next iPad" will become a big (and I mean huge) eater of data usage. If you always use your iPad on WiFi, that is no big deal. But if you want to use it on 4G and stream video, you are rather easily going to exceed your plan and use more data. We can easily get back to the bad old days of BIG cellular bills. But then Apple has never really cared about its customers' wallets anyhow.

March 09 2012 at 11:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hartfox48

Another reason not to buy is a result of the higher resolution of the screen. The fact that there are more pixels means that there is more data. So, as the app and content developers upgrade their content to use that higher resolution, the "next iPad" will become a big (and I mean huge) eater of data usage. If you always use your iPad on WiFi, that is no big deal. But if you want to use it on 4G and stream video, you are rather easily going to exceed your plan and use more data. We can easily get back to the bad old days of BIG cellular bills. But then Apple has never really cared about its customers' wallets anyhow.

March 09 2012 at 11:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hartfox48

Another reason not to buy is a result of the higher resolution of the screen. The fact that there are more pixels means that there is more data. So, as the app and content developers upgrade their content to use that higher resolution, the "next iPad" will become a big (and I mean huge) eater of data usage. If you always use your iPad on WiFi, that is no big deal. But if you want to use it on 4G and stream video, you are rather easily going to exceed your plan and use more data. We can easily get back to the bad old days of BIG cellular bills. But then Apple has never really cared about its customers wallets anyhow.

March 09 2012 at 10:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
RuddyZooKeeper

It looks like the New iPad has a thicker/wider, what would you call it, wrap around the outside to protect the edges of the screen. iPad 2 is screen from edge to edge. Not at all smart. We had ours for two weeks, it fell about 12 inches, landed on a corner and the edge shattered. After having my original iPad for two years with no incidents, I dropped it from my hands in a parking lot and all it did was scuff and dent a corner--the edges and screen had thicker protection. Good for them for figuring out their design flaw, but it's too late for us! Wish we'd have known this was coming before we dropped a boatload of cash for Christmas.

March 09 2012 at 9:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
RuddyZooKeeper

It looks like the New iPad has a thicker/wider, what would you call it, wrap around the outside to protect the edges of the screen. iPad 2 is screen from edge to edge. Not at all smart. We had ours for two weeks, it fell about 12 inches, landed on a corner and the edge shattered. After having my original iPad for two years with no incidents, I dropped it from my hands in a parking lot and all it did was scuff and dent a corner--the edges and screen had thicker protection. Good for them for figuring out their design flaw, but it's too late for us! Wish we'd have known this was coming before we dropped a boatload of cash for Christmas.

March 09 2012 at 8:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply