Rivals attempting to share in the wave of momentum for tablet computers may be hurt by an expected wait-and-see attitude as consumers look toward a rumored iPad 2 from Apple. That’s the assessment by anonymous overseas suppliers talking to an industry publication.
According to the suppliers, the expectation of a new iPad sometime in the first three months of 2011 will “seriously weaken” sales of competing tablets from PC makers. Additionally, predictions for tablet sales in 2011 my be overly optimistic and risk disappointment.
Current limited demand for PC tablets coupled with “over-optimistic” expectations, “tablet PCs may see a sharp drop in demand as soon as the third quarter of 2011, after a big battle in the second,” according to DigiTimes. That “big battle” will include Apple’s iPad 2, a tablet-specific version of Android from Google, and Intel’s Oak Trail platform.
Predictions for iPad sales in 2011 range from the stupendously optimistic 48 million from Brian Blair of Wedge Partners to 18 million from Charlie Wolf of Needham & Company. Yair Reiner of Oppenheimer has staked out the middle ground, predicting Apple will sell 23 million during the next calendar year. Some Wall Street swamis were stung after Apple announced a disappointingly-low 4.19 million iPads sold during the last quarter.
[via AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, DigiTimes]
