iTablet to rake in $1bn, claims analyst
$600 x 2m units = $$$
Apple hasn’t coughed up to the existence of the iTablet yet, but that hasn’t stopped one analyst from predicting that the gadget will generate Apple an extra $1bn (£597m/€696m) over 12 months.
Gene Munster, Senior Analyst at US-based investment bank Piper Jaffray, told CNN that Apple stands to sell 2m iTablets during the gadget’s first year.
If the device is priced at $600 (£358/€417) - as many have previously speculated it will be - those sales will add $1.2bn to Apple’s coffers, Munster said.
Over the past few weeks many have speculated about the iTablet’s possible features, and Munster’s no exception.
The analyst said that the gadget will be similar to an iPod Touch, albeit larger, and primarily designed for web surfing, emailing and digital media. He also said that it’s likely to be 3G-capable.
Steve Jobs is widely expected to launch the iTablet/iProd next month, with the gadget expected to hit Apple stores early next year. ®
COMMENTS
@ Rolf Howarth, @ Mike Moyle
@ Rolf Howarth:
You're a software developer using your machine "all day every day" and you still need to phone tech support on a regular basis, to the tune of hundreds of pounds worth of calls? What on earth are you developing? (or how on earth do you not know how to work your computer?)
What about the thousands of consumers who are smart enough to not need tech support, but aren't going to be developing any software themselves? Is it still worth it for them?
@ Mike Moyle
Not only can people conceive of this, they already have. Years ago. If you want a sketchpad that runs Photoshop/Corel Draw/Whatever, and lets you draw on it with a pressure-sensitive pen (REALLY useful for shading) then can I recommend the HP tc1100? It has a 10in screen, it's cheap, you can ditch the keyboard and use it as a tablet only (saving weight) or re-attach the keyboard if you'd rather type than write (saving time). You didn't specify what wireless you wanted, but it has wifi and bluetooth, and you can attach a 3g dongle to a USB port if you need to. The only real question is how Apple plan to pull off the same thing at a competitive price.
@bex, @Big Bear
IF this exists and IF it runs full OS X (two big ifs), then it means that I will have a sketchpad that will likely run the copies of Photoshop, Freehand, etc. that I already own (or Inkscape... Gimp... whatever works...) for onsite visits -- sketches, renderings, quick comps for clients...
With a wireless connection so i can send the comp and, if necessary, a price quote to their printer and leave them hard copies, I've got a good basic mobile studio and office setup.
Add color and a screen large enough for middle-aged eyes to read without using a magnifier (wait until you need bifocals or, like myself, TRIfocals before you laugh at that!) and the ads for those Zinio e-magazine subscriptions to keep me entertained on the bus/train to work become more compelling.
The fact that you can't imagine a genuine use for something like this based on your needs/lifestyle really doesn't mean that others might not have genuinely compelling reasons for having it; assuming that anyone MUST want such a thing because they're "sheeple" or "must have all the new gadgets" is just intellectual laziness. I don't drive and I can't imagine 99% of people actively NEEDING a big-ass SUV or loud sportscar but I can imagine that there MIGHT be a reason that some might.
It will probably called a hobby like the Apple TV
What will this thing be used for? Apart from tying it in with the Apple TV so you can take your video to bed (or the dunny) with you- a sort-of wireless video player: A ebook thingo: some sound-mixing board that can be carried around: a top-end, colour etch-A-sketch: health monitor like on Star-trek...
I mean I cannot fantom the use for this thing. Like the iPhone is not enough so now people will be staring at this thing. Sure the netbook with its cramped keyboard to surf and maybe post an email or play poker or some music but that's about it. No real bloated programs like AutoCAD or Photoshop. But you'll get these netbook lovers rabbiting on how they managed to get some phat program shoehorned in it: yeah, draw me up a 3 bedroom, wood frame in 3D, ya architect.
Like what @xsquared_uk said, some analyst pulled some figure out his arse on possible vaporware and Apple will make squillions. (I'm in the wrong business.) MS, the most 'populist' computer software company on earth with 90% of the worlds computers, is coming out with W7, MS stores, new Zunes, Natal and spent millions saying so and the interweb's abuzz about 1 product from Apple that has not placed a single ad anywhere that's only a unconfirmed dream and stumps MS out of existence. Apple may have found a niche that no-one has yet seen. Talk is cheap. That's the Midas iTouch.
It's a sickness I tell you.
@bex
Unfortunately it won't be the geeks buying this, but the sheeple who get ihypnotised by shiny alumnium and white plastic... so it'll be £500x(gullible fools) Q1 next year with the massive rush for the new tablet, then another £700x(rich gullible fools) for the upgraded version Q4 next year...
As a business model I really can't fault Apple! Snake oil still sells!
@whiteafrican
I would absolutely pay a few hundred quid extra for something that saves me grief. Life's too short to faff about with crap, especially if you're using a machine all day, every day. I'm a software developer and regularly work on Mac, Windows, and Linux, but I'll always choose to use my MacBook Pro if I have any choice in the matter.
