T-Mobile and Orange To Cut iPad Price to £200

Apple’s iPad will become available for as little as £200 later this month, as Orange and T-Mobile hatch a plan to raise their tablet sales ahead of Christmas.

T-Mobile has confirmed the major price drop by the end of November. Customers who want the subsidised iPad have to sign up for an 18-month or two-year contract with Everything Everywhere, (the combined entity of Orange and T-Mobile).

iPad price slash likely to scare rivals

The cheapest iPad is now listed at £429 on Apple’s website, with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16GB of internal storage.

The reduction to less than half its current price is likely to affect a number of other rival tablet makers. with devices expected to be launched over the next few months.

These include the RIM PlayBook and the first Chrome OS tablets, not to mention Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which recently had its price slashed down to £469.

Everything Everywhere Before Christmas

Meanwhile, Everything Everywhere is reportedly planning to open six dual branded stores before festivities begin. The shops will be located in Tooting, Palmers Green, Weston-super-Mare, Hertford, Bridgend and Dorchester.

These locations have been chosen because they have either a T-Mobile or Orange retail store in the area, but not both.

“This is really about choice and offering variety for the customer. This is a trial to see how it works by providing customers with that additional choice,” said Andrew Coull, Everything Everywhere Vice President of Retail, told Mobile magazine.

The joint-venture between Orange and T-Mobile has made Everything Everywhere Britain’s biggest network operator, with a combined customer base of nearly 28 million people. The two networks recently began to share their resources, allowing customers to use the two UK networks interchangeably.