Sony tablet knocks-off $100 to spur sales pre-iPad 3

The Sony Tablet S takes a price cut in order to appeal to price-conscious electronics consumers

With people still debating when the iPad 3 will make its much awaited entrance into the tablet scene, Sony has started the new year by slashing $100 off the price of its Tablet S. 

Once priced at $499 -- just like the starting price of the 16GB iPad 2 -- the Sony Tablet S saw a $50 price reduction for Christmas, and now is $399 for its 16 GB, 9.4-inch model and $499 for its 32 GB model.

This New Year's price reduction comes just days after a survey revealed that nearly three-quarters of small businesses are planning on buying tablets for their company next year -- and most of them want those new mobile devices to be iPads.

The survey found that as the number of employees in the small business grew, so did the likelihood that they would be purchasing tablets for business.

For businesses with fewer than 50 employees, the intent to purchase a tablet was 54%. That percentage increased until it reached a staggering 89% of companies between 501 and 999 employees planning to buy those shiny flat computer devices. Of all the businesses considering a tablet, 73% thinking of going the route of the iPad.

The average investment a small businesses is budgeting on tablets is projected to exceed $21,000 over the next 12 months. 

The iPad currently reigns over 83% of the U.S. tablet market but that is anticipated to drop to 68% by 2014 as more Android, Microsoft Windows 8 and other tablets gain consumer attention and appeal to their wallets, according to a recent report by eMarketer. The report predicted that 33.7 million Americans would use a tablet device at least monthly by the end of this year, a boost of 158.6 percent over last year. The number of tablet users will rise to almost 90 million by 2014.

Other tablets including Toshiba, BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) and Lenovo have also slashed their prices as iPads continue to lead the industry and maintain their price-point.

The Android-powered Sony Tablet S price slash isn't the only perk buyers get for waiting until after the holidays to buy a mobile device.

Sony is also packaging five free PlayStation Classic titles, 180 days of its Music Unlimited service, and quite a few credits and free downloads from its Video Unlimited store for people purchasing its Tablet S.

Recent reviews for the Tablet S have been positive but it will have to gain a lot of momentum before the iPad 3 release date is announced since, once the iPad debut time is known, many buyers will hold off purchases to get their hands on the latest model by the tablet frontrunner.

The Tablet S also isn't offered with the latest Android OS (Ice Cream Sandwich) but the company claims that it will be upgraded at some point soon.