Another year, another set of rumours about iPad 3.

According to DigiTimes, Apple could be working on an iPod-like family pricing strategy for the tablet to ward off competition from lower priced tablets such as Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire.

The thinking goes it will release two types of iPad 3; one with a retina resolution 2048x1536 pixel screen and one with a standard 1024x768 pixel screen.

Both would use the new A6 chip, but the different functionality would enable Apple to split pricing, with the premier version starting at $499, while the 'iPad 2.5' could start from say, $399.

The third place

And assuming production of iPad 2 continues, this means Apple could then drop the price of such legacy wi-fi hardware to $349 or even $299 to soak up the demand for its tablets that, in a recessionary market, can't handle the current $499 price.

Of course, this is fairly subjective analysis, but the success of Kindle Fire, combined with moves from other companies - such as RIM which is now offering its PlayBook tablets for $299 in the US - suggests that a sub-$400 play would make sense for Apple.

After all, it currently has $45 billion slouching around in terms of cash and other liquid assets.

[source: DigiTimes]