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Deborah D. McAdams / 10.11.2010 12:00AM
45 Million iPads Expected to Sell in 2011
CUPERTINO, CALIF.: Apple is looking to sell 45 million iPads next
year, each a potential Mobile DTV receiver. Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities
issued a note Oct. 6 saying Apple was in talks with overseas component makers
about gearing up for 2011 sales, Elizabeth
Woyke at Forbes said. White’s
note said a source at one supplier reported shipping 6 million iPad parts in
the third quarter and expects to ship 7 million during the fourth.
Apple hasn’t released iPad sales figures since it said 3.27 million sold within
three months of introduction in April. Fiscal fourth-quarter results are
scheduled to be released Wednesday. Projections vary regarding how many sold
during F4Q10, but
Fortune
compiled a list of analysts who expect the number to be from 3.8 million to 6
million. Fortune said the consensus
would put total sales so far at around 8.25 million.
Total fiscal 2011 iPad sales are likely to start out strong, given the period
comprises the holiday season. iPad availability is also about to increase
dramatically. An image of iPad in a purported Walmart Apple display is posted
at
Wired.
Reports that Walmart would sell the tablet computer some time this year have
circulated for months. A Walmart executive told Bloomberg
in May that the retail chain expected to have iPads before the end of the year.
They’re also available online, in Apple stores, from Best Buy and at Target
stores.
Apple is also reported to be making a smaller version of the iPad for an early
2011 launch. The second-generation device is said to have a 7-inch screen
versus the nearly 10-inch display of the inaugural model.
DigiTimes
Systems said in August that the 7-inch iPad would have 1024 x 768-pixel
resolution and sport a new and more efficient ARM processor. Ticonderoga’s
White says the new iPad will have 128 GB of memory, twice that of most robust
current model.
iPad sales potentially have implications for Mobile DTV, the over-the-air
service broadcasters expect formally to launch next year. iPads do not yet have
integrated Mobile DTV reception, but Valups of Seoul, South Korea, makes a
peripheral receiver for Apple iDevices, including the iPad. The Valups Tivizen was
announced
in April for a May launch, but shipping was delayed because of a regulatory hurdle.
The receiver is around the size of a deck of cards, and was announced at a
suggested retail price of $149. (
See the
Brazilian version here.)
The software
app for the U.S.-compatible device is already available from iTunes. The
hardware is due to start shipping “very soon,” according to a source familiar
with the company.
If so, iPhones, iPods and iPads would be among the first commercially available
Mobile DTV receivers in the United States. Samsung, LG and Dell supplied
prototype receivers for a Mobile
DTV showcase held
in Washington, D.C. over the last six months. Only the LG receiver is available
at retail, having just been listed on Amazon for $249.95. A Mobile DTV car
receiver with analog output, made by Shenzhen Leading Advance Electronics, is being
offered online
for $85.
TV set maker Vizio recently announced it would roll out a 9-inch Mobile DTV
receiver in January, but did not provide pricing. Israeli chip maker Siano
increased options for device makers with the introduction of a Mobile DTV
receiver chip earlier this month.
-- Deborah D. McAdams
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Thursday 12:00AM
Broadcasters File Suit Against FCC’s Political File Rules
“The FCC decision to put the political files online will bring broadcasters into the 21st century, and will make already public information more easily accessible to everyone.” Free Press Senior Policy Counsel Corie Wright.