Alleged iPad mini prices leak

According to a purported screenshot claiming to be from an internal system of a German retailer, the iPad mini could cost anywhere between €249 for the entry-level model to €649 for the top of the line model. This translates to $320 for the base model and $840 for the flagship one, although U.S. prices are likely to be lower because gadgets in Europe typically cost more due to a higher cost of doing business on the continent. In total, eight different models are said to be on offer…

The prices come via Mobile Geeks which first leaked a screenshot from German retailer Media Market’s internal system, suggested to be authentic by the Daily Mail.

As you can see, there should be four WiFi and four cellular models, each offered in four storage capacities: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The top-of-the-line 64GB iPad mini with cellular would cost €649. The current third-generation iPad comes in three storage flavors: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

These prices likely include taxes, unlike in the U.S.

The introduction of the 8GB storage option on the iPad mini would be the first time an iPad was offered with just eight gigabytes of storage. $249 also buys you a 16GB Nexus 7 or Amazon’s latest Kindle (which CEO Jeff Bezos says are sold “at cost”) and other inexpensive tablets.

It’s interesting that this leak debunks a report by The Guardian newspaper that last week claimed the iPad mini would initially be provided in WiFi configurations only due to price concerns.

Direct price comparison by translating European prices to U.S. dollars is wrong because gadgets in Europe typically are pricier than in the United States. For example, an entry-level MacBook Air will run you €1,049 in one of Apple’s European online stores, which translates into approximately $1,400, or a $400 premium over the notebook’s $999 U.S. price.

If the European prices leaked from Media Market are the real deal, I’ guessing the iPad mini would begin at $299 in the U.S., just as we heard before.


Bill of material for the iPad 2 and iPad 3

A $299 iPad mini would cost Apple just $189 to build, Tech-Thoughts thinks, meaning Apple could net about a hundred bucks per each entry-level iPad mini sold.

Last week, AllThingsD, a Wall Street Journal-owned blog, reported that Apple will hold an iPad mini event on October 23 at Town Hall Auditorium on its Cupertino, California headquarters.

What do you think the iPad mini should cost?