Report says Apple iPad 3 could cost more than Apple iPad 2

A leaked pricing sheet that appeared on the Chinese website Sina Weibo was looked into by MacRumors. The latter site discovered that the pricing sheet showed that the Apple iPad 3 will cost more than the current Apple iPad 2. The iPad 3 looks to be $80 more expensive than the equivalent Wi-Fi only model of the iPad 2. The difference with the equivalent 3G models is a $70 premium for the newer version of the tablet.

Alleged schedule of cargo flights carrying the iPad 3 from China

A good sign that the new iteration of Apple's tablet is indeed coming to market soon, is that retailers are beginning to cut prices for the Apple iPad 2. Best Buy has recently sliced $50 off the price of its iPad 2 inventory. Chinese blog Sina Weibo says that the front of the Apple iPad 3 resembles the current model, something that has been said of the new iPad for months. The big difference seems to be in the length of a ribbon cable which runs up the side of the tablet's display and is longer in the upcoming version.

A higher price for the Apple iPad 3 could be due to the hike in the resolution of the tablet's display to 2048 x 1536, the faster processor whether it is the A5X or the A6, and an upgraded camera. The Apple iPad 3 could extend Apple's lead in the tablet market where analysts see no competition for Apple's device. Even the low priced Amazon Kindle Fire, which supposedly was a challenger to Apple during the holidays, was more of a threat to e-reader sales than the Apple iPad 2, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley. The Apple iPad 3 is expectred to be introduced on March 7th with a possible launch in the middle of the month.

source: weibo (translated) via eWeek, MacRumors

Unverified price chart showing difference between Apple iPad 2 and Apple iPad 3 for both Wi-Fi only and 3G models