Recent iPad Purchasers To Be Refunded $100

The decision to reduce the price of the original iPad to $400 was announced a day after the iPad 2 was formally announced.  The device has officially was dropped from $499 (£307) to $399 (£245).

The partial refund is only available to owners who purchased their tablet within the two weeks before it was discounted, making for a cut-off date of around February 16.

The policy, which is posted online, says the refund only applies to iPads purchased from Apple’s website or retail stores.

The California-based company put the first generation of iPads on sale to clear out its inventory ahead of the March 11 debut of its successor in the US.

Last week, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the iPad 2, which will hit stores at a starting price of $499 (£307), the same as the original did at its debut.

Twenty-six other countries, including Britain, can expect the iPad2 on March 25. Orange and T-mobile announced they will stock the tablet.

The new model is 33% thinner than the original, has two cameras, a processor that is twice as fast and can manipulate graphics nine times faster.

A group of analysts from US-based investment firm, Oppenheimer, hailed the iPad 2’s enhanced performance.  “While it (iPad 2) doesn’t include any new breakthrough features or functionalities, the sum total of its refinements and upgrades – thinner, lighter, faster, more connected – significantly enhance the device’s overall appeal.”  Will their assumptions stand strong as the launch date approaches? We will find out.