Apple cut Mac prices up to 10%

Apple today cut Mac prices up to 10% in a repeat of the last two years' stingy "Black Friday" deals, which authorized resellers again trumped. For the second year in a row, Apple also sold the iPad at a discount. Apple's one-day sale reduced most Mac prices by $101, a 10% cut on the entry-level 11-in.--MacBook Air, which sold for $898 on Friday. MacBook Airs, 4%-8% for MacBook Pros and 5%-8% for iMacs.

Apple's Mac discount was identical to those of the last two years' Black Friday sales, although unlike in 2010, Apple did not exclude its lowest-priced notebooks this year's. Apple also dropped the price of the iPod Touch between $21 and $41, and cut prices for the iPod Nano by $11. Apple's prices were good at both its online and brick-and-mortar stores through the day. Some rival online sellers, however, beat Apple's sale prices.

Apple's Black Friday deals last year were fairly modest: $101 off iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air systems, $41 off the iPad, a $21 discount on iPod touches and $11 off the iPod nano. Traditionally, third-party retailers have undercut Apple's promotion with their own discounts for the start of the holiday shopping season. For instance, an ad for Best Buy's Black Friday sale has reportedly leaked online.

Apple is widely expected to set new sales records this holiday season. People have been asking me about Apple’s Black Friday pricing for months. Apple has unveiled it’s Black Friday sale prices … and guess what, they’re exactly as rumored. The savings range from a shade under 16% for items such as the Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and Wireless keyboard (regular price $69, saving $11) to 7% for the 2TB Time Capsule (regular price $299, saving $21).