Report: Apple orders parts for 10M iPad Minis
If the numbers are correct, the company would continue its hold on the largest stake in the tablet market.
By Apple (AAPL) suppliers are set to produce enough components for 10 million new tablets in the fourth quarter -- double that of its primary American competitor Amazon (AMZN).
While Apple has not confirmed the number, The Wall Street Journal reports that suppliers have received orders for enough parts to make "more than 10 million units of the smaller tablets in the fourth quarter," citing sources with knowledge of the situation.
Amazon, which is producing four new versions of the Kindle Fire, is prepared to make only 5 million tablets available in the fourth quarter, the Journal says. That could be because Amazon will likely ship the Fire in fewer regions than its Cupertino, Calif., competitor.
From the time the original iPad was released, in 2010, Apple has acquired and maintained a significant lead over its competitors. Worldwide, the company still owns more than 50% of the market. During the first quarter, Apple's global market share was just over 58%. According to iSuppli, the third-generation iPad helped Apple increase its share to nearly 70% in the second quarter.
In August, Amazon announced that after selling out of every Kindle Fire produced, it had acquired 22% of the U.S. market. That was an interesting figure for the company -- which has yet to provide any specific sales figures -- to reveal. Amazon made the announcement just one week before unveiling its next line of tablets.
Google (GOOG) has yet to announce any sales figures of its first branded tablet, the Asus-developed Nexus 7. Analysts expect the search engine giant to sell as many as 8 million units by the end of 2012. A report by ZDNet concurred with that assessment, noting the enormous growth of Android tablets.
Barnes & Noble (BKS) presents another potential threat to Apple's empire. In September, the bookseller announced that it will release two new tablets this fall: the 7-inch Nook HD and 9-inch Nook HD+. The former will retail for $199, the same price as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. Barnes & Noble priced its 9-inch model at just $269, undercutting its competitors by at least $30.
Price appears to be a key factor in acquiring sales. ChangeWave Research found that 59% of consumers purchased the original Kindle Fire because of the $199 MSRP.
cottoncat
Cut down on conflicting regulations, lower the monetary burden in so many places such as michigan and California, find people willing to work entry level jobs for entry level pay( its about time to start refusing people welfare if they wont work) , and maybe if you start some companies will be willing to have a business where they can compete. Do you want to pay $10 a gallon for gas because it would help those that dont work, or do you want to pay $2 for gas so you can afford to give YOUR family more? Why should a business "bring jobs back" to make less, have a larger tax burden, suffer more lawsuits because someone does not like how the company designs the product, and constantly haveing to make changes because someone who knows absolutely nothing about how a product is made passes a regulation that says they must do something different. Kinda like the EPA fining Oil companies for not using cellulosic biofuel . a product not even available to them.
This is turning into a real crap-shoot for the big brands. I keep waiting for the bomb-doors to drop open and hear the wailing sounds of falling technologies. Run people, if you aren't ready for the next wave of cells, notepads, and/or mp3's... I'm positive the economy will crumble under its weight.
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