If you thought the original iPad had legs, wait until a much-discussed mini iPad appears. A 7-inch version of the popular tablet device could sell 45 million copies, according to Asian component sources talking to one analyst. That is far higher than other forecasts of around 4.5 million to 4.7 million of the original 9.7-inch units.
That message from Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White was largely lost in the whirlwind of commentary surrounding Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal report that Apple was indeed preparing a CDMA iPhone for Verizon. White, touring China, talked with his component sources there about the iPad’s future. One Asian source tells the analyst it plans to ship 13 million iPad components during the second half of 2010.
That forecast is more optimistic than most, including White. The analyst projects Apple will sell 9.17 million iPads during the second half of 2010 and 21.8 million for the entire 2011 period. In June, Apple released the only official iPad sales figures: 3 million units in the first 80 days the tablet was available. On Oct. 18, the Cupertino, Calif. company is expected to offer an update.
White also believes the new iPad will include the “Retina” display introduced for the iPhone 4, as well as a mini USB port, camera and support for up to 128GB of memory. Current iPads only hold a maximum of 64GB of RAM.
