Storage is the cheapest spec to increase and one of the cheapest components in the entire device, yet it is the sole determining factor in the model's price. Going from 8gb to 16gb should not be a $100 premium.
Agreed..but look at the iPod Touch. Here we are 3 years later in a post flash memory price crash yet Apple continues to charge $400 for 64GB (which can be had for 1/3rd of the price it was in 2009). Apple has been milking capacity prices for the last few years so its possible they would do the same thing here.
This all makes total sense to me. It's SOP for Apple these days.
It's like the old iPod touch (and current 'free on contract' iPhones), offer 8 gig as an almost unusable entry point. They'll market it with the Cloud and Airplay, but know most people will eventually upgrade to a more profitable model.
What's disappointing is they are trying to shake $349 for a 16 gig device when Nexus does it for $100 less and are heavily rumored to be releasing a 16 gig $199 model and $249 32 gig model shortly.
If it's between a 16 gig $199 Nexus and a $349 iPad, that will be a very easy decision.
Yeah but Apple has that reputation as being a "premium" contender and the less than knowledgable general public would pay the premium for the Apple brand.
As far as the OP post goes I have a hard time they would intersect capacities between the small and big models as it would effectively cut into the larger models sales. I think 16GB and 32GB max considering its supposedly a entry point device.
To be honest, this screen shot would be very easy to fake.