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Comment by aditya | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if this will force apple to drop the price of the base iPad now. Probably not seeing as they didn't do it for the iPod which had a lot more competition, but the spread between $99 and $499 is a bit too much...

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It's been around for a while now and is, by all reports, completely terrible.

I don't think Apple is really going to feel the effects of this thing in the least.

Apple isn't one to compete on price.

Also for people that want an iPad, this isn't competition, in the same way that people who want a BMW a Kia isn't competition.

This is probably the most succinct analogy on computer pricing discussion I've seen that a lot of people just don't seem to realize. Perhaps we haven't had the concept of a "luxury computer" long enough in our heads to make it seem natural in the same way we think of luxury / economy cars.

I don't think so. It's like the spread between a 299$ netbook and a 999$ macbook.

No, but Apple will drop the price on the iPad eventually. Not too much, though -- they'll probably keep the base price at $399 and add more memory.

Apple price points don't tend to change (this is by design). I would expect the next version of the iPad to have additional features (a front-facing camera is guaranteed) and more memory and probably a slightly better processor, but I wouldn't count on spending any less money.

Interesting point: have Apple ever completely misjudged a product price point and moved it rather than redesigning the product? I'm not enough of a student of their history to know any examples.

I'd say original iPhone comes close to that.

I'd argue that they got the price right; they just weren't charging the right people. After all the carrier sweeteners are added to the pot, I would fully expect the margins on a subsidized iPhone to be equal to (if not greater than) those on a naked iPhone. But thinking that they could crack carrier dominance was a bit of a stretch, as laudable a goal as it was.

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