As we all breath a sigh of relief from the final unveiling event, that saw Apple’s new iPad answer all our suspicions, we can now take stock on where we stand with the superseded model. Far from being ‘over-the-hill,’ the iPad 2 still commands a comfortable following that other tablet manufacturers would be glad of.

With the new iPad strutting its stuff, Apple realizes that with the increase in tablet devices across the board, this has led to an ever-growing demand for budget tablets. So as the event unfolded, the Cali firm announced that its iPad 2 would sell alongside its younger brother with a price drop installed.

Confirmed by Engadget, the second-generation slate will hold a price tag of $399 for the WiFi only option with the 3G models coming in at just $529. This news will obviously please those buyers looking to join the tablet market, but who were previously unable to meet Apple’s high-end price range. Mid-range tablet manufacturers such as Samsung with their Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, may not take this news with the same excitement though.

Tim Cook and his crew believe that there could be knock-on effects of the iPad 2 price cut, with the Apple model being an option for school integration, helped by the earlier release of iBooks textbooks and the iBooks Author OS X app.

Its certainly planned strategy by Apple to run sales of the two iPads at the same time, but one that will know-doubt secure increases of iPad sales well into the year. Tell us of the price drop of iPad 2 will steer you more to the second gen over the new model?