According to a potential iPad 3 pricing sheet revealed by Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, Apple’s highly anticipated tablet may come with a steep price tag. The post notes that the iPad 2 will keep the price points currently in stores, starting at $499 for the Wi-Fi model. The iPad 3, however, will come with a 16% price increase ($80), starting at $579.

The potential pricing sheet puts the 16GB (Wifi only) version at $579, the 32GB one at $679 and the 64GB version at $779. The rumored features of the new tablet could justify a price increase, but it is not like previous Apple marketing strategies. First of all, Best Buy dropped $50 off the price of the iPad 2, setting an entry-level price point of $449. Since Apple products rarely go on sale, this $50 price cut indicates that a bigger price drop is en route for the iPad 2.

When the iPad 2 went on sale, the price of the first generation iPad dropped to $399. While the iPad 2 price tag may not drop so low, the recent price cut still leaves a $499 price point for the iPad 3 when it enters the market.

In addition, tablet prices are getting lower, not higher. The Kindle Fire, for instance, may not be the best tablet on the market, but it reportedly sold over 5 million copies to date due to its $199 price point. Also, Asus and Nvidia are about to release the 7-inch MeMO 370T, which will feature Nvidia’s quad-core system on a chip processor, all with a $250 price tag.