Target Discontinues 16GB 3G iPad 2s
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According to stock on Target’s website, the store may be discontinuing some of its iPad 2’s, namely the 16GB 3G versions from Verizon and AT&T.
A search on Target’s website reveals that the regular 16GB WiFi tablets are still in stock, but the 3G versions are largely out of stock and an employee photo sent to the iPhone and iPad blog TiPb reveals that the iPads have been marked as discontinued.
It seems like a logical conclusion that since the iPads are marked as discontinued and will no longer be stocked at Target, a new iPad release is imminent. However, that is not the case.
A new iPad is very unlikely to be released in 2011, and the discontinuation is probably due to sales numbers. Because all of the other models of iPads are still in stock, the cancellation of the 16 GB 3G iPads at Target indicates that those models have not been popular consumer choices. Target is merely choosing to stock the models that customers want to purchase.
If other stores are experiencing similar demand for larger capacity iPads, it could mean that the smaller 16GB storage model is no longer meeting consumer demands. Over time, the iPods and iPod nanos were released with an increased storage capacity and lower end models were done away with.
It’s possible we could see the same phenomenon with future iPads. The 16GB model may be discontinued all together at some point to introduce a 128GB or larger iPad. Will we see increased storage size in the iPad 3? Let us know what you think in the comments.
[Image via TiPb]
