sony has made several vague comments about NGP pricing saying they build the NGP with affordability in mind as well as being profitable on both hardware and software.  At the same time they suggested that at least at launch the NGP hardware will be sold at a loss...

my 2cents: if we assume that the prices in the OP are true facts then the NGP probably cost sony around $300-320 to manufacuture so that the low end model is sold at a loss, the high end model is at a profit with expectations of overall (but managable) initial losses.

250$ would be amazing for us consumers. 100 bucks more for the 3G version sounds reasonable, as well.

As for putting heat under Nintendo: What Sony needs are mass market games. They can price the hardware as low as they want, the combination of Mario Kart, Mario Bros. and Pokemon is extremely powerful. Nintendo dropped the price of the original DS when the PSP came out, they will make sure they are the cheaper alternative once Sony releases their handheld.

Watching both companies grow the market would be better than watching them fight over the same market.

$249 is extremely far-fetched considering the tech it packs, NGP will be $349 MINIMUM.

That would be extremely nice, and I'm guessing Sony would be taking a loss at $249 and they're recouping some of that loss with the $349-model. Seeing how the 3DS performs in the west will be fun, especially since both the 3DS and NGP will presumably be aiming for the core audiences at launch.

At $249 id pick one up at launch for sure, assuming a reasonable conversion to £'s

Those prices are in line with my initial guestimations.  Isupply says it only takes about 326 dollars to make an ipad 2.  That's with the 3G components.  Considering every model wont have 3G and the screen is much smaller I can see Sony selling it with a very small loss of 25-50 bucks per console.  Maybe even break even if they got a good enough deal because of the quantity on the CPU and GPU.  

Hell some places have the bill of materials cost at 270 which is much closer to the original ipad cost estimations.

Ill believe it when i see it. And then when i see it, ill be impressed. But still, its all about the games.

Sounds very plausible. A lot like what MS did when they first released the X360 Arcade for $199.

This is from a survey? and is not affiliated in any way with Sony?

Yeah, I think we should until Sony says something about what the price will be...

I'm hoping for a 300 model so i'll gladly take it at 250 if this works out.