Will it be possible to get an Apple iSlate/iPad for under £250?
How do you like them apples?
With the new Apple device looking like it will be announced tomorrow, the world has its eyes firmly set on Steve Jobs and how the much talked about affair will pan out.
Assuming the device lives up to the sheer hype, it will undoubtedly mean that everyone and their goat will want to get their mitts on one.
The problem is, the iSlate/iPad has been rumoured to cost between $800 and $1200 (place your bets now), which is no small fee and probably out of reach for a lot of people.
However, the iPhone, whilst still an expensive device for the handset alone, is fairly manageable with a carrier contract: it's the route many will have taken to get one.
According to MacRumours, one analyst claims that all carriers will be able to sell the iPhone in the near future. If that were true, then the same would surely apply to the new device?
Assuming the claim is more than hot air, the device will need a carrier, which coupled with multiple carriers could mean the offer of a cheaper device on a contract thus bringing it into the realms of £250.
Okay, so we've seen that multiple carriers selling the iPhone doesn't necessarily mean a cheaper deal, but the battle to get you in a contract may be fought with the level of subsidisation for the device.
There's a conflicting rumour, though. According to another MacRumours story, an accidental - and now deleted - tweet by a German electronics retailer said the Apple iPad will go on sale on March the 1st and will cost €499 euros with a T-Mobile contract.
Finally, our very own PG.biz reported that even though cellular data connectivity hasn't been announced, a BoyGeniusReport story has revealed that Verizon store managers, "have been told to prepare for a big first quarter kick-off," which seems a big coincidence considering the timing of Apple's big event.
Whatever you believe, Apple would be foolish to not make the iPad accessible, yet as desirable and elitist as the iPhone was and still is. The whole subsidies theory rests on whether or not the device has phone capabilities.
Roll on tomorrow.
