iPad 3 Production Begins As Apple Wants One Million Units By The End Of The Year

The iPad is the most popular tablet in the world with a market share of over 70% and without any other company threatening Apple’s slates. Analysts believe that the next-generation iPad that will be probably called iPad 3 will be officially introduced to the market in early 2012, just like the previous tablets. According to Jeffrey Fidacaro, the iPad 3 production will begin in this quarter when more than one million iPad 3s will be manufactured by the end of 2011. The analyst for the Susquehanna Financial Group says that Apple will establish its position as tablet market leader for one more year thanks to the iPad 3. Difference sources have confirmed to Susquehanna that Apple has placed orders of one million iPads in the last quarter of 2011, without counting the ten million iPad 2 units that the company will sell in the first quarter of 2012. It has been reported that Apple sold more than 11 million iPads in Q3 2011, while in Q4 2011 analysts expect Apple to sell more than 13 million tablets. Sales will decrease in the last quarter of the iPad 2 one-year cycle as consumers are preparing for a new tablet. The iPad 3 release date is expected to be April 2012. A different report claims that Apple is also looking to introduce a low-entry tablet that will compete with slates that feature a touchscreen smaller than 8 inches. Brian White, an analyst for Ticonderoga Securities, has been accurate a few times before and he said that the iPad Mini will be released in Q1 2012, right before the iPad 3. Although the iPad Mini might not feature a significantly smaller display, the specs will be lowered so that anybody can afford to buy a tablet. Android tablet sales have increased in the past few months, but analysts do not expect volume sales to surpass the iPad 2. The BlackBerry Tablet is no longer seen as a threat, just like the HP TouchPad which has been “killed” earlier this year. Industry experts believe that the Microsoft will pose the biggest threat to the iPad as it will bring a fresh approach to the tablet market. The Metro UI on Windows Phone 7 has gathered positive reviews from multiple sources and Microsoft has demoed that it will be successfully implemented in Windows 8, an operating system that “will run on everything,” but first on tablets. from baron's

Posted in: APPLE TECHNOLOGY