Apple has begun reducing orders for the iPad 2 ahead of the release of a next-generation iPad early next year. It’s unknown if Apple will keep the iPad 2 around at a discounted price.
Sam Oliver reports for AppleInsider:
Sources in Apple’s supply chain told DigiTimes that orders for the iPad 2 are gradually dropping ahead of an anticipated third-generation iPad. While iPad 2 orders are being reduced, orders for the next iPad, reportedly set to launch in March of 2012, remain steady.
Various reports have suggested that Apple will continue to sell the iPad 2 at a discounted price after it launches a third-generation iPad. Apple already employs that strategy in offering the iPhone 3GS, first released in 2009, as an entry-level handset, in addition to the iPhone 4, released in 2010, and iPhone 4S, which just launched in October.
DigiTimes, which has an iffy battng average with Apple rumors, also thinks Apple will keep the iPad 2 around to compete against Amazon’s Kindle Fire ($199).
Apple has had success selling older iPhone models at discounted prices. As of August, the iPhone 3GS was still the #2 selling smartphone in America. Apple is said to still be producing 2 million of the two-year old device each quarter.
