December 9th, 2009
Analyst: Apple tablet to arrive in spring for $1k
Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner released a note to clients this morning stating that Apple will ship a 10.1-inch touch-screen tablet in spring 2010 for around $1,000.Based on discussions with his supply-chain contacts Reiner claims that the forthcoming Apple tablet will use a Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon (LTPS) LCD – like the one in the iPhone - instead of the more expensive Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display as was previously rumored.
Other “tidbits” from Reiner’s report:
- Apple has been approaching U.S. book publishers with what Reiner describes as “a very attractive proposal” for distributing their content: an App Store-type 30/70 split (30% for Apple) with no exclusivity requirement.
- According to Reiner, publishers are disgruntled by Amazon’s terms, which force exclusivity, disallow advertising and demand a “wolfish cut” of revenue. The typical Kindle/publisher split, he says, is 50/50, rising to 30/70 if Amazon gets exclusivity.
- Apple’s tablet would make ebooks more attractive for the education market by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia.
Reiner also writes that Apple will manufacture as many as one million units per month and that the launch date will be sometime in March or April 2010.
It’s just one analyst’s opinion, but it contains a couple of new wrinkles about the enigma known as The Apple Tablet that we haven’t seen before.
Concept photo: Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo
Follow Jason on Twitter @jasonogrady.
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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