After the iPad 3, Apple Should Continue With The iPad 2 - But How Much?

Apple should and probably will make the iPad 2 available even after introducing the iPad 3 in the next 4 to 6 weeks.  That is almost a certainty given the educational focus that Apple wants starting with the special education event in January with the focus on etextbooks and iBooks Author.

After introducing the iPhone 4, Apple kept the iPhone 3GS on the market with a $100 price cut to entice mobile warriors who are unwilling to shell out $200 for the iPhone 4.  That was in 2010.  In October of 2011, Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S at the price points of the original iPhone 4, pushed the iPhone 4 into the 3GS spot, and gave the iPhone 3GS out for free.

How about the iPad 2?  At what price point should Apple make the iPad 2?  Cutting $100 and make the iPad 2 available starting at $399 is a natural move.  It'll be something that is expect from Apple.

But I really would like Apple to go lower, not for my sake.  For the moment, I plan on keeping my original iPad as my mobile weapon of choice.  Rather, I hope Apple could make the iPad 2 available at $350 with 8 GB of storage for the sake of the hundreds of thousands if not millions of students who could really benefit from learning revolution that Apple is leading with its mobile devices.

I don't want to say that this is wishful thinking on my part.  Rather, Apple can achieve a couple of things by making the iPad 2 at the $350 price range.  One, this will really give Apple the tablet momentum that it might needs against Android 4 and Windows 8 tablets that will come out throughout 2012.

Another point:  education.  What I thought missing from Apple's January 19th education, which focused on textbooks, e-learing, and iBooks Author, was that Apple did not address how they were going to get an iPad into the hands of the student.  If you ask me, Amazon with the Kindle Fire, even with its diminutive 7" screen,  offers an affordable solution.  Now, I know the argument that the 7" screen is too small to do much.  Hey, I understand and know that to be a fact.  However, you think those educators strapped for cash are going to care at that point?  $200 for the Fire versus $500 for the iPad.

By pricing the iPad 2 closer to $350, the price difference becomes much more manageable.  On top of that, should Amazon release its own 10" tablet, Amazon would have to price it in the money-losing $250 range to give itself some pricing room.  But ta $100 different, what would you go for?  A proven iPad 2 or a 10" Kindle that likely have many features taken out that should be in a modern tablet so Amazon can keep the price down?  The answer is obvious.

And with a pricing range from $350 all the way up to $830, Apple has pretty much the whole tablet market covered - iPad 2 from $350 to $399 and the iPad 3 from $500 up to $830.

And getting the iPads into the hands of these students is critical to Apple's future.  Apple will be able to corner a large segment of the k-12 education market as it leads and revolutionizes the future of learning.  This move could potentially translate into sales for Apple's other products as these students go to college or join the workforce.

We're talking about iPhones, iPods, Macs, and even Apple TV or Apple HDTV.

Hey, who knows.  Today's iPad-taught kindergartener may well be tomorrow's proud new owner of the iCar when he or she turns sixteen.