Apple Tablet to cost £400 says analyst
No £1000 monsters from Cupertino
By Karen Haslam | Macworld UK | Published: 10:24, 24 November 2009
An analyst is predicting that the Apple tablet will retail for between $500 and $700 (£300-£425) rather than the $2,000 (£1,213) suggested by Technology Business Research analyst Ezra Gottheil.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster does not buy the claims that a high end tablet with an OLED screen would retail for $2,000 (£1,213), according to an Apple Insider report.
If the Apple tablet is priced higher than $700 (£424) when it does launch next year, it could significantly reduce its potential sales, according to Munster.
Related Articles on Techworld
Munster believes that Apple will price the new device somewhere between the £149 iPod touch and the £799 MacBook. Piper Jaffray has forecast that the tablet device will cost between $500 (£303) and $700 (£424).
Munster's report noted: "As a point of perspective, iSuppli has reported the bill of materials on the iPhone 3GS is $179 (£108). Backing out the phone functionality, we believe the bill of materials is about $160 (£97). Assuming the tablet is 3x the size of the iPod touch implies a bill of materials for the tablet of around $480 (£291)."
Munster believes the hardware will be priced to compete with the growing netbook market, even if it means less revenue for the Mac maker.
