Retailer Best Buy slashed $50 off the price of the iPad 2, as new evidence suggests that the third generation of the coveted tablet is about to be shipped to the United States.
With the iPad 3 expected to be unveiled next week, Best Buy on Sunday cut the price of all current iPad models by $50. Retailers are thought to be cutting iPad prices in order to make room for the iPad 3, which Apple is rumored to be revealing on March 7.
Amidst the new price cuts, a purported shipping manifest published by the website Apple.pro seems to reveal that Apple supplier Foxconn is gearing up to ship the forthcoming iPad 3 to the United States. The delivery form, originally posted on a Chinese microblogging site, is said to be from a major international cargo charter flight departing from the airport in Chengdu International Airport in China.
The shipments, which are said to be under high security, are scheduled to be delivered to Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles by March 9. The timing of the shipments indicates that Apple may be preparing to make the iPad 3 available nearly immediately after its expected unveiling next week.
Meanwhile, customers can now get the Wi-Fi only iPad 2 at Best Buy for $449.99 for the 16GB model, $549.99 for the 32GB version, and $649.99 for the 64GB one. The price of iPad 2 models with 3G wireless connectivity was cut to $579.99 for the 16GB model, $679.99 for the 32GB version and $779.99 for the high-end 64GB model.
U.S. retailer Meijer earlier this month also cut the price of the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad 2 by $70. Despite the price cuts, lead analyst for PCMag Mobile, Sascha Segan argues that you should not buy an iPad 2 right now.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPad 2 and the slideshow below. Also check out some of the most recent iPad 3 rumors.