Apple's upcoming iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display have already triggered price cuts by channel retailers for previous-generation iPads. US-based Best Buy is currently offering the iPad with Retina display (fourth-generation) at US$449 (down 10% from the original price).
US-based Wal-Mart is offering the iPad 2 at US$349, but the first-generation iPad mini is still priced at US$349, the sources noted.
Although Apple's first-generation iPad mini has seen an official price cut of US$30, Apple Taiwan has slashed its iPad mini price by only NT$600 (US$20) in the local market. Apple Taiwan's entry-level iPad mini is currently priced at NT$9,900, down from the original price of NT$10,500, while the iPad with Retina Display has seen a 10% price cut to NT$14,400.
Taiwan's channel retailers still maintain their first-generation iPad mini prices at NT$10,500, but have adjusted their Samsung tablets' prices. The 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 (Wi-Fi) is priced below NT$7,000, while the 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3 has also dropped to NT$9,900, already down 20% from the launch price.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 is priced at US$169 in the US, while the 7-inch and 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3s are priced at US$179 and US$279, respectively. With the price cuts of the previous-generation iPad products, Samsung is likely to follow suit to heat up the competition during the year-end shopping season.
Keen competition between the top-2 tablet players is expected during the year-end shopping season
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes file photo
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
