Apple Inc. plans to unveil a long-awaited tablet computer this month which may begin to ship in March. A Taiwanese components supplier has notified longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray that it is "likely" the tablet could be available by late March. Munster says he has not been briefed by Apple on the product.
Munster and other analysts have speculated the tablet — expected to be introduced in late January — will come with a 10-inch touch display that lets consumers read newspapers and books, watch movies and TV, play games and use the Internet.
"It's a combination of e-book reader/Web-surfing device/e-mail/video player," Munster says. Third-party applications, which are so popular on the iPhone, will extend the tablet's functionality and "really let it rip," he says.
Published reports have speculated the tablet could cost $1,000 and could include a Wi-Fi subscription. USA TODAY could not independently verify the reports. Apple declined to comment.
An Apple tablet that is bigger than an iPhone and smaller than a laptop "is likely to be a terrific product, but unless it meets some need not currently met by a netbook or iPhone, it's a limited opportunity," says Charles Wolf, a longtime Apple analyst at Needham & Co. Still, Apple's entry could significantly perk up the $950 million U.S. market for tablets. Sales declined 25% in 2008 and were expected to drop again in 2009. "It has been a disastrous market because there has been no champion," says David Daoud, an analyst at IDC.
Munster expects Apple to sell about 2 million tablets in its first year. The company has approached some book publishers with proposals to distribute content, he says.
The product already has commanded attention ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, where several tablets are expected to be unveiled, including one from Notion with paper-quality screen graphics for easy reading outdoors.
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