Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/06/ipad_production_hits_2m/
Apple iPad run rate hits 2m units a month
Bad news for netbook makers
Posted in Tablets, 6th July 2010 09:55 GMT
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A small snippet of information this, but Apple has ordered enough components to assemble as many as 2.4m iPads this month - and is expected to order the same quantity on a monthly basis through the summer.
The figure comes from Taiwanese newssite DigiTimes' research wing [1], and is a strong sign that the iPad is proving to be a success.
Interestingly, more than half of the units being produced - up to 60 per cent - are thought to be 3G-enabled models. That suggests punters are picking up the devices with a view to taking them off on summer holidays.
If the monthly estimate is correct, that will put the quarter's total iPad shipments at around 6m units - double previously forecast totals [2] for Q2: just over 3m, according to market watcher DisplaySearch.
Apple is clearly accepting good sales through the summer and into the back-to-school period.
DisplaySearch's figures put the combined total number of netbooks and tablets at just under 10m units worldwide these days - where it's been for the past four quarters. If Apple does shift 6m iPads then that's bad news for netbook manufacturers - it's six million machines they won't themselves sell.
Netbooks may also rise in the back-to-school period, of course. But it's hard to see them matching the estimated growth of the Apple gadget. ®
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