As long as Microsoft and Intel hold steady on their pricing on their respective products, I’m thinking this guy is not that far off. The new iPad may end up beating Windows 8 tablets – and it may all come down to cost. The new iPad will start at $500, the last generation starting at $399-That’s not bad! Windows 8 tablets based on the x86 chipset will run around $600-$800 for an equivalent tablet. Those based on ARM architectures will be slightly less. I would rather have a Windows tablet as it is a lot less limited as far as applications and development goes (although, I’m sure that many desktop apps aren’t well suited for a tablet), but if the cost is $200 more than an iPad, I’m sure I could deal with owning an iPad. In fact, for the first time since the Apple 2 years, I’m actually contemplating buying an Apple product. For MYSELF! I’ve bought my wife an iPod Touch and an iPhone, and while I don’t care much for the iOS (not to be confused with Cisco IOS, which I love), I could really get used to it to save a couple C-notes.

The usual thing that gets people to stay with Windows isn’t that they don’t like Apple. It’s that they don’t like the higher price tag. Although you do get what you pay for with the usually superior quality hardware (there are exceptions, but I’m talking laptops and tablets now – minus the Thinkpad Tanks), most people want something affordable that they can use for daily activities. If Windows tablets were to cost equal or more than the Apple iPad, there will be a lot more Apple converts. And, I’m sad to say I might be one of them. We’ll see.

The company said it will continue to sell the iPad 2 but dropped its price by $100. The older tablet now starts at $399 while the new third-generation wi-fi only iPad starts at $499.

…Following the cut in the price of iPad 2, Apple is now well positioned to counter competition from products at the lower end of the market like Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle Fire given the device’s superior hardware features, say analysts.