iPad 2 release eschews colors in favor of line item customization

You can get an iPad 2 in a wide choice of colors at this afternoon’s release, but only if you resort to Apple’s line item customization tactic known as Smart Covers. The second generation iPad comes in a choice of black or white on the front area surrounding the screen, and all metal on the back regardless of which you choose. While some of Apple’s other products such as the iPod nano and shuffle come in a rainbow of color choices, the iPad 2 is limited to just the two color spectrum extremes. It’s a step up from the original iPad, which had only the one option. But still, getting an iPad 2.0 in your favorite color requires adding on.

With eighteen different SKUs on the market for the iPad 2 as it is (two colors times three capacities times three network options), it’s understandable why Apple didn’t want to turn the iPad 2 era into a total inventory circus. Simply adding three color options such as red, blue, and green would mean the new iPad would have come a whopping forty-five different model instead of the already unwieldy eighteen. So Apple’s solution is the Smart Covers. And while they’re being billed as part protective device and part stand, the large number of color choices they bring to the table means that much of the consumer appeal – and indeed likely Apple’s intent – was in the name of allowing the iPad 2 to come in more color combinations than practical inventory concerns would otherwise allow. Here’s more on the iPad 2.


http://www.beatweek.com/news/8294-ipad-2-release-eschews-colors-in-favor-of-line-item-customization/