Apple has confirmed the plans to launch the iPad mini officially yesterday. The much rumored October 23 iPad Mini launch event is now official. But the rumors go on regarding the pricing and specs of the new smaller iPad. Here is our take on the Apple’s tablet pricing leaked online over the weekend.
The pricing information comes from a leaked screenshot of an inventory system used by European and Asian cellular network operators and mobile handset vendors. The screen shot indicates that the 7-inch tablet will be available in black and white variants. There will be no price difference between the two colors. The iPad Mini will offer a Wi-Fi-only configuration with storage options of 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB and also cellular data and Wi-Fi models. It will be available in 16 different configurations.
The price points reported for these different models are listed by the inventory system in Euros, not USD. The Wi-Fi only 8GB model starting at 249 euros, which comes out to about $320. The remaining Wi-Fi models would cost $450, $580, and $710 for the 16GB, 32GB, and 64-GB models, respectively. Another models supporting both cellular and Wi-Fi configuration would cost $450, $580, $710, and $840 for the 8, 16, 32, and 64-GB models, respectively. These prices reflect a $130 premium for each storage jump, and a $130 premium for cellular data connectivity.
But on contrary to the leaked pricing, we are not so convinced that these pricing will be true for the new device. Certainly iPad mini will take on Amazon’s Kindle and Google’s Nexus but the pricing seems very high. Moreover Amazon claiming that it is selling its Kindle Fire HD at zero profit, in order to take on the $199 pricing standard, Apple might have come up with something lesser priced. And many are waiting for the smaller iPad expecting a lower price, while a standard iPad costs $400 and above. If iPad mini costs $320 for its lowest end model then it wont keep up the hype!
We expect the price range between $249 and $299. Anyways we will bring more update on October 23 when Apple announces its iPad mini.