Apple Ipad
An illustration picture shows application icons on an Apple Ipad tablet held by a woman in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, February 4, 2013.Reuters

In what seems like a business strategy to survive the stiff competition in tablet and smartphone market, Apple Inc. on Tuesday announced iPad 4 to replace iPad 2 as the most affordable 9.7-inch iPad available in both 16GB Wi-Fi model and Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

The fourth-generation iPad comes with Retina display, improved camera and enhanced performance, but it will be sold at the price of the iPad 2, which starts from $399. Several India-based online carriers have put the price of the tablet between ₹28990 for 16GB and ₹51500 for 64GB.

iPad 4 features a 9.7-inch Retina display, ultrafast Wi-Fi, a 5MP iSight camera which also captures 1080p HD video, a FaceTime HD camera, LTE support for select carriers and 10 hours battery life. It is powered by the Apple-designed A6X chip and runs on iOS 7. Several new features like Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced photos, Safari, Siri and iTunes Radio are seen in the device.

"Now customers can get iPad with a stunning 9.7-inch Retina display, fast A6X chip, and 5MP iSight camera, offering a dramatic upgrade in power, performance and value compared to the iPad 2 it replaces," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

"The iPad line sets the gold-standard in mobile computing and all iPads have access to the largest and best ecosystem of more than 500,000 iPad optimised apps from the App Store."

Availability:

The fourth-generation iPad with Retina display is available in black and white in 16GB Wi-Fi and 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular models. Smart Cover and Smart Case for the device are also available in dark grey through select authorised Apple resellers.

iPad Air is available in silver and space grey in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB Wi-Fi models and in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular models. iPad mini with Retina display are also available in silver and space grey in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB Wi-Fi models and 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular models.