Apple increases iPad orders, decreases CDMA iPhone build plans - report
Mike Abramsky with RBC Capital Markets said in a note to investors Friday that Apple has made slight upward revisions to its iPad build plan for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2010. Apple also reportedly plans to build the same number of iPads in calendar year 2011, at 40 million.
Abramsky noted that both numbers remain above Wall Street expectations. He said that Apple's increase for the end of 2010 suggests that the company expects strong holiday sales, despite concerns over new Android-based tablets and potential cannibalization from the thin-and-light MacBook Air.
Though Abramsky's number is apparently higher than Wall Street expects, some see iPad sales in 2011 reaching even greater heights. Earlier this month, Brian Blair with Wedge Partners said he expects Apple to produce 48 million iPads next year.
The current iPad is expected to cease production in January, Abramsky said, when production of the new hardware will begin. Abramsky expects the second-generation iPad to debut between February and March with FaceTime front- and rear-facing cameras, as well as "beefed up" internal components.
As for the CDMA Verizon-compatible iPhone expected to launch in early 2011, he said the numbers have been "adjusted to a more realistic forecast." With the alleged reduced build plans, he expects 20 million sales, down from 30 million.
Abramsky's comments on a Verizon iPhone are noteworthy because as recently as September he said that a deal with Apple "may not ever get resolved," because the companies have different business interests. He said Apple may not want to be a "second banana" to Android at Verizon, while the arrival of the iPhone could hurt Verizon's investment in Android.
36 Comments
Realistic CDMA adjusted numbers? Maybe they are thinking that some people will forgoe the CDMA iPhone 4 and wait for the 5th generation. Just a guess.
Huh? Verizon is only interested in one thing... Selling contracts. If the iPhone gets them more of that, then they will carry it. The issue here is all the services that Verizon forces on their customers. Apple doesn't play that game.
Huh? Verizon is only interested in one thing... Selling contracts. If the iPhone gets them more of that, then they will carry it. The issue here is all the services that Verizon forces on their customers. Apple doesn't play that game.
I don't think it is quite that simple. WIth Android, Verizon has a commodity product made by competing manufacturers, where they are the "value add" to the equation. They have invested money in promoting Android and the Droid line of phones. If they were to get the iPhone, I imagine Apple would require them to stop promoting any phones, and just let them focus on the service.
It might take another two or three years, but the wireless providers will eventually become dumb pipes. Hopefully Apple can help speed up that transition. Still voting for an Apple MVNO!
The 256MB of RAM really hurts the iPad, I say this as an iPad owner. It makes browsing a chore when it has to reload the page every time.
All these guys throwing out numbers and keep in mind that APPLE gives no guidance other than the press conferences we are all privy to. It means that these are merely guesses, dreams, or hopes. It just proves these guys are talking heads and their guess is as good as yours or nine.