Even as Apple opened
pre-bookings for its New iPad in many countries, it has
slashed prices of the older iPad 2 across the world with immediate effect. In India the 16 GB Wi-Fi model will cost Rs 24,500, while the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model will cost Rs 32,900 - both prices inclusive of VAT.
The new iPad 2 prices will come into effect immediately.
The
new price of the iPad 2 Wi-Fi is more than Rs 5,000 cheaper than what it used to cost till Wednesday night. The price difference on the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model is, however, just around Rs 4,000.
MUST SEE: How an iPad beats competition There is no news yet on the
32 GB and 64 GB models of the iPad 2. Since their prices have not been revised even in the US, chances are the versions are being phased out to focus on the new models.
Nevertheless, the new pricing for the 16 GB models is very aggressive, especially in a price sensitive market like India where even a Rs 1,000 change can swing a large number of buyers.
MUST SEE: How to buy the best tablet The impact will be more on people
who have put off iPad or other tablet purchases till there was a final word on the new iPad. So, don't be surprised if people who were till now looking at cheaper, sub-Rs 20,000 tablets, decide to stretch themselves a bit to buy the cheaper iPad 2.
Meanwhile, iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6 downloads have also started. While iPad, iPhone users have upgrades to iOS 5.1 over the air using Wi-Fi, the online downloads are three times heaver at 737.5 MB.
MUST SEE: Steve Jobs: The visionary, creative genius The new iOS 5.1 includes a redesigned Camera app with video stabilisation technology; the ability to delete photos from Photo Stream; support for dictation in English, French, German and Japanese; and Personal Hotspot.
"iOS 5.1 also works seamlessly with iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that works seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content and push it to your devices. When content changes on one of your devices, your other devices are updated automatically," says an Apple release.
Apple's New iPad launched on Mar 7. PHOTO: Associated Press 
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