As expected, the original iPad’s price has been slashed in the wake of the iPad 2 announcement; the Wi-Fi 16 GB iPad is now $399, 32 GB is $499, and the balls-out 64 GB Wi-Fi and 3G model is going for $729. That’s a $100 cut across the board. Apple was reasonably humane and kept the base iPad 2 model at the same $499 price point as the original, which should do a good job at staying competitive against all the “copycats” trying to get in on the tablet game.
The lower price on the original tablet is nice and all, but I think the cut will have to be a little more dramatic to rope in anyone who hadn’t already made the jump on the original and isn’t that excited for the successor. Personally, I would peg the sweet spot at $299 for the original 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad before late adopters join the the party, especially if there’s anybody already plenty happy with their netbook. Apple has stopped making original units, which means they’ll either want to get rid of stock as quickly as possible and cut price again down the line, or they’ll want to milk the remaining stock for all it’s worth and leave them at $100 off.
If you’re thinking of making an upgrade, Gazelle is offering some pretty good prices on buying used models, but the rates are only good until Saturday. For those of you who haven’t bought a tablet yet, how much would you be willing to pay before making the leap?