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Apple Should Be in 'No Rush' on iPad 3 as RIM's PlayBook Falters

Friday September 16, 2011 8:39 am PDT by Eric Slivka
According to a new research note from J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz summarized by AppleInsider, Apple is unsurprisingly working on prototypes for the iPad 3, but should be in "no rush" to release the device as competitors have yet to put forward compelling alternative devices.
Analyst Mark Moskowitz with J.P. Morgan revealed on Friday that his conversations with industry insiders have revealed that Apple's next iPad will not be available until sometime in 2012, even as prototypes for the device begin to circle in the supply chain.

"In our view, Apple should be in no rush," he said. "The other tablet entrants have stumbled so far, and that trend-line could persist deep into 2012."
Moskowitz's report comes as yet another competing tablet exhibits poor marketplace performance, with Research in Motion reporting (PDF) yesterday that it shipped only 200,000 PlayBook tablets during its second fiscal quarter of 2012 that ended on August 27th. It is unknown how many of those shipments translated into sales to end users. In contrast, Apple shipped 9.25 million iPads during its most recently completed quarter.


Apple had been rumored to be trying to launch the iPad 3 sometime near the end of this year, but has now reportedly settled on an early 2012 debut. Some reports have claimed that technological difficulties with building a Retina display for the iPad 3 forced Apple to cancel any plans of a 2011 release for the device.

Continued word of a 2012 release for the iPad 3 comes as TiPb notes that Target is listing at least some of the current iPad 2 models as "discontinued" in its internal store inventory systems. Such stock systems can be unreliable indicators, however, and thus it is not believed to be suggestive of an imminent iPad 3 launch. The reason for the change in status does, however, remain unknown.

Related Roundup: iPad
Tags: J.P. Morgan, Mark Moskowitz, RIM
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
[ 236 comments ]


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Tones2
95 months ago
An iPad 3 rumor is totally distracting us from concentrating on the hundred's of contradictory iPhone 4s / 5 rumors.

Focus people! :)

Tony
Rating: 36 Votes
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Caliber26
95 months ago
I don't believe, for one minute, that Apple intended to release an iPad-3 this year. Especially not so close to the iPhone-5, and especially not while the iPad-2 is just now catching up with demand since its release.

I think they'll just release it in the March/April timeframe REGARDLESS of where the competition stands. I'm sure Apple is not fazed by them one way or the other.
Rating: 31 Votes
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C00rDiNaT0r
95 months ago

:apple:
iPad dominates competition.


What competition? :p
Rating: 20 Votes
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BillyBobBongo
95 months ago

Analyst Mark Moskowitz with J.P. Morgan revealed on Friday that his conversations with industry insiders have revealed that Apple's next iPad will not be available until sometime in 2012, even as prototypes for the device begin to circle in the supply chain.


Can we stop giving these people credibility for stating the bloody obvious?!
Rating: 17 Votes
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DrJohnnyN
95 months ago
:apple:
iPad dominates competition.
Rating: 10 Votes
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igazza
95 months ago

What do you mean no rush??? Apple needs to ****ing beat windows 8!!


Windows metro will have 3 hours of battery. :cool:
Rating: 10 Votes
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powers74
95 months ago
Shipping two iPad updates in the same year would simply be nuts.
Rating: 8 Votes
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levitynyc
95 months ago
Re: article

No ****ing ****. We've all been saying that for months. Can I get a job as analyst for JP Morgan?
Rating: 8 Votes
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Xenomorph
95 months ago
Apple does yearly releases, so people expect a new one in 2012. Why would a site defend Apple's decision to release a product when they were probably going to release it in the first place?
Rating: 7 Votes
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bitWrangler
95 months ago
Actually I disagree that Apple "shouldn't be in a rush". While they don't need to panic I do think that they need to keep their foot on the accelerator. I think they learned a valuable lesson with the iphone and the ipad2. With the iphone, they jumped out to a sizable lead but Android was able to catch up (for various understandable reasons, but still a lesson to be learned there). When they released ipad2 and others were caught flat footed, having to ditch/redesign existing products in the pipeline, this gave them a huge competitive advantage.

So the bottom line, when they're weak, press harder on their throats and don't let them breath. If you're in a position where your competition is perpetually a generation behind, then you maintain a massive competitive advantage. Just ask someone like RIMM (amongst others) how important it is to maintain technical leadership and not get to caught up in your market share numbers.

Apple has shown in the past that they are capable of doing exactly this (e.g. ipod mini replaced by ipod nano). I don't think they need to move schedules up, but certainly don't push them out simply to milk the current generation. Once they get a foot in the door, inevitably other parts of the body are coming through.
Rating: 7 Votes

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