Apple phones with chipper ipad

Apple's is reducing the price of the iPad 2 with the release of the , boosting the company's educational initiatives by making tablets more affordable for schools.

The new iPad, coming out later this week, will retail for $500, with the iPad 2 starting at a reduced price of $400.
The price drop comes as Apple makes forays into the educational market. The company said in January it wants to revolutionize the textbook industry with iBooks 2 and iBooks Author, and announced partnerships with educational publishers like McGraw Hill, a company with over 50 existing iPad textbooks, to make them more affordable. However, iPads are still expensive during a time when most schools are cutting budgets.
McGraw Hill Education stands by its recent partner, and believes the reduced price on the iPad 2 will propel the device into schools.
"I've long thought that the tipping-point price for a tablet is between $200 and $300," Vineet Madan, McGraw Hill's vice president of new ventures, said in an interview with TPM. "Now that the entry-level iPad 2 has dropped by $100, and it's now $399 for a 16 gigabyte version, we'll see much more uptake."
Madan also said the new iPad is a game changer due to its high-resolution Retina Display and 4G LTE support.
"Think about LTE," Madan said, "You could be anywhere and can immediately pull up all sorts of high-res, data-rich content...imagine zooming in again and again on a cell structure in biology, for example, and seeing every level with the same crispness and clarity."
School systems aren't sold yet, however. For an educational curriculum that includes tablets, nearly all students need access, a cost few schools can spare.
"Like all school systems, budget is one of our largest concerns behind student achievement," says Felicia Moschella, assistant superintendent at Abbington public schools in Massachusetts. "As we look to expand purchases, the discount on the iPad 2 is very attractive, but I'm not sure the new iPad is going to be worth the extra expense for us."
Apple is positioning itself as the go-to tablet maker for educational needs, but while it struggles to find the right price point, other less expensive tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire could prove more viable. Madan, however, says the extended battery life on Apple's new device makes it a better choice. "When you're thinking about learning, you don't have to worry about charging a device in between every class," he said.
The iPad line presents great technological opportunities for schools, but it isn't completely dedicated to educational needs like other tablets such as Brainchild's Kineo, which automatically blocks unauthorized Web browsing, personal email, social networking sites and game apps to reduce distractions.
Still, for the up and coming tech-savvy generation, integrating the newest devices might make learning more fun for students.
Tremendous potential exists with the new wave of tablets. Apple is angling to become the first name in educational hardware, but budget remains an issue, and while Apple's prices remain high, another competitor could sneak in with better deals for schools.