Yet more rumors are surfacing that Apple will release a lower priced 8GB iPad 2 alongside the iPad 3 this month... but this one also claims there won't be a 64GB iPad 3. Digitimes, which has not been extremely accurate lately, says this is to "defend" against Windows 8 tablets coming later this year.

As Apple has scheduled an event on March 7, sources from its upstream supply chain pointed out that the company is expected to launch two iPad 3 models - a 16GB version and 32GB version. In addition to iPad 3, Apple is also expected to unveil an 8GB iPad 2, allowing the tablet PC series to cover different segments and to defend against Windows 8-based tablet PCs, the sources noted.

Lack of a 64GB iPad 3 model sounds very, very strange, given both the original iPad and iPad 2 offer 64GB models. So does the idea of competing with Windows 8 tablets, which have a completely different cost structure to Apple's. Namely, Microsoft makes money licensing Windows. ODMs (Original Device Manufacturers) like Samsung, HP, Dell, etc. make money on the hardware. In the past they've shown a willingness to operate on razor thin margins, driving prices to the bottom, hoping to make it up on volume. That didn't work out for netbooks and it's tough to see it working out for tablets. In either case, that's not a game Apple plays.

Last year, Apple chose not to keep the original iPad around at a reduced capacity and lower price point, however they have done this with older generation iPhones and iPod touches in the past, most recently with the low-end 8GB iPhone 4 when the iPhone 4S was released.

If Apple ends up doing the same with the iPad 2 this year, it could be simply to lower the cost of entry to attract more customers to the iPad platform.

Digitimes previously speculated that Apple would try to hit a $299 price point with a budget iPad, but given Apple's traditional focus on profit margins, that will depend a lot on how low they can drive production costs. Further, since the iPad isn't a subsidized product, Apple can't shift the discounts to carriers the way they do with the iPhone.

Given the lack of subsidies, Apple's profit margins, and the rumored 8GB storage capacity, it's hard to see how appealing even a slightly discounted iPad 2 would be. iCloud and iTunes Match would slightly reduce local storage demands, but not significantly.

Would you find an 8GB iPad 2 appealing at $399?

Source: Digitimes

We told you last week that Orange and T-Mobile in the UK were set to offer subsidized iPad prices. Well today Orange has announced details on the pricing model for the 3G version of the iPad. Orange will offer the 16 GB model at a cost of £199.0 ($312), the 32 GB model for £249.00 ($390) and the 64 GB model at £349.00 ($546).

Now obviously the prices are subject to you signing a 24 month contract for data. Orange has two on offer here; one for existing Orange customers which is offered at £25.00 ($39) a month, this provides 1GB of anytime data as well as a further 1GB of quiet time data (Midnight - 4pm). WiFi access is also provided through BT Openzone.  Orange say WiFi is unlimited; however it does carry a fair usage limit, capped at 3GB. New Orange customers will get the same allowances, but will have to pay an additional £2.00 ($3.13) for the privilege.

Pre-Orders will be available  from November 27th.

This move will likely lead to similar offers from other UK networks, the question is, will it spread worldwide and is the pricing reasonable? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Orange] Thanks to Simon for the tip.

Is it real, or is it photoshop-fiction? Almost certainly the latter, but since our editor-in-chief, Dieter, went and bought himself a Dell Mini 9, it stands to reason Apple leaked this just to give him a little pay back for the stray Mac.

Gizmodo runs down the speculative specs:

• 10.4" WXGA display.
• 1280 x 768 pixel with LED backlighting.
• NVIDIA MCP79
• Intel Atom Z740 1.83GHz with 1MB L2 cache.
• 2GB DDR3-800.
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
• 64GB Solid State Drive.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n
• 1 x USB 2.0
• 1 x Mini Display Port
• Battery Li-Ion 5100mA

Do we want a low-yield baby Mac? Would it be even more interesting if, as Apple Insider reported some other rumors suggest, carriers like AT&T, Orange, etc. start offering subsidized MacBook's when you sign a contract for a data card?

Another round of pre-WWDC mayhem:

First up, Ars Technica reported that AT&T followed the Apple Store's lead in being sold out of the current generation iPhone (2007) model. Did Apple really underestimate demand so uncharacteristically and dramatically, or are they learning to wean consumers earlier this time? And any wonder the old iPhone's market share has dropped, given that its been getting harder and harder to buy one over the last few months? Moday should fix that...

Next up, Apple Insider spread the unabashedly crazy-sounding rumor that UK's O2 might subsidize the iPhone 3G to the extent of making them "free upgrades". This links into other rumors of an ultra-low (~$200) price point for the iPhone 3G, with O2 willing to eat even that cost in an effort to attract tasty service-consuming users.

Lastly, Engadget works the bugs out of Google Translate enough to let us know that Reuters Italy has said that while co(?)-exclusive iPhone carrier Telcom Italia might not be selling the iPhone 3G early next week, they will most definitely probably be potentially announcing it. Wouldn't be waiting for someone else to do that first, now would they?

"Inside Steve's Brain" author Leander Kahney of Wired magazine is reporting a programmer source inside a major software house has revealed that the next generation iPhone 3G will thinner -- we're talking Paris Hilton thinner -- by a whopping 22%.

Not only that, it will sport better battery life than the already impressive 8 hours talk time of the first gen model, and twice the NAND flash capacity, topping out at 32GB. (Paving the way for 64GB iPod Touch's?)

Still not enough, echoing Kevin Rose (historically not the most reliable of iPhone prognosticators), Kahney thinks the phone may be heavily carrier subsidized -- down to the $200 level in some cases -- in an effort to put the hurt on Blackberry.

Okay, fess up, who left the rumor mill jacked up to max?!

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