Report: iPad Competitors Facing Price War to Move Tablets

Tablet makers competing with Apple’s iPad are being forced to cut prices in an effort to move their devices, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes. Citing unnamed industry sources, the newspaper reported that sales of competing tablets have been so slow that manufacturers may start a price war in an effort to reduce their losses and move existing inventory off of store shelves.

Apple, which has routinely reported to investors and analysts that it sells every iPad it can make, reported sales of iPad and iPad 2 at 9.25 million units during the June quarter. According to DigiTimes, Asustek is the top performing iPad-competitor, and of the 700,000 Android tablets it made from May until July, the company only managed to sell 500,000 of the devices.

The article’s unnamed sources said that Research In Motion (RIM) and HTC are “placing their hopes in 2012.” They also said that even though Motorola Mobility (bought by Google on Monday), HP, Asustek, and Acer have already had one round of price reductions, they expect at least two more waves of price cuts after the end of the September ushers in the holiday buying season.

Some tablets could be offered for as little as $300, which would represent a significant loss for the manufacturers, but some money is better than piles of devices that eventually get chopped up and sold to recyclers.