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Topic: Apple

Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

Summary: The bottom line here is that even if half these reports pan out Apple is likely to see a significant refresh cycle for the iPad.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Apple is prepping an iPad 3 launch March 7, may be testing a smaller screen size and plans on packing a 4G wallop.

Add it up and the rumor mill seems to be kicking into overdrive and the main highlights go like this:

  • Lower screen sizes are possible as Apple aims to enter the lower end and defend against the Amazon Kindle Fire, says the Wall Street Journal.
  • The iPad 3 refresh could include a quad-core chip based on the latest rumors via iMore.
  • And Verizon and AT&T may be selling 4G versions of the iPad, the Journal reports again.

The bottom line here is that even if half these reports pan out Apple is likely to see a significant refresh cycle for the iPad. Apple could also include Siri voice recognition in the iPad.

Also: There's not enough in the rumored iPad 3 specs for me to upgrade, how about you?

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said in a research note:

We believe this significant refresh will likely help drive higher iPad sales and help further differentiate from arguably the only real competitor in the market, Amazon's Kindle Fire and not to mention the myriad of Google Android offerings out there. We are currently modeling 51 million iPad shipments for CY12 and believe this could turn out conservative.

Depending on when the iPad 3 is available, Apple may see a late March quarter pop. If not, the June quarter is likely to have a nice iPad 3 tailwind.

Topics: Apple, Hardware, iPad, Mobility, Wi-Fi

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61 comments
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  • The iPad Is A Nice Social Toy

    Yea its worked its way into corporations a bit also as a nice social toy. I am not knocking social toys. After all Apple has made gazillions from its best selling social toy; i.e. the iPhone.

    However when it comes to the corporate world Microsoft Windows 8 on both AMD/Intel and ARM is going to kick butt, big time and leave the iPad on the periphery of the enterprise world.

    iPad will continue to dominate among Consumers because it is just "so cool"
    Nesivos
    Reply Vote

    • You haven't been keeping up on current events.

      @Nesivos Windows tablets have [b]never[/b] made any significant in roads [i]anywhere[/i], including the enterprise. The iPad is the only tablet that's caught on in "corporate world", and it did so through the "back door" of BYOD. Windows 8 on ARM and Intel likely won't fare much better than previous Microsoft attempts, but, ironically, might succeed a bit more this time because of an iPad "halo effect." And [b]that[/b] has got to drive Ballmer nuts.
      matthew_maurice
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Nesivos I don't want something that's "so cool" I want something that returns my investment ...
      AdnanPirota
      Reply Vote

      • Traditionally re-sale value alone makes Apple products

        @AdnanPirota...sound investments. then there is all the use you'd get out of a given Apple device. So it's all good:)

        Pagan jim
        James Quinn
        Reply Vote

      • Fastest ROI of any tech

        @AdnanPirota I have been working with small-to-mid-size companies to integrate iPads into their operations. These companies don't spend money freely. We are both giving computing devices to workers that never had a computer (carpenters, painters, plumbers) and replacing notebooks for people that don't really need a keyboard. In all cases, the iPads have paid for themselves in weeks, not even months - productivity improvements have been huge and very visible.<br><br>An interesting and unexpected side benefit is that older, low-tech workers have really taken to the iPads. After a lot of concern that they wouldn't be able to adapt to "computers" they really love the new tech in their toolbox (literally, in their toolbox in some cases).
        rstoeber
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Nesivos
      Reality suggests that MS stuff (even if it is technically superior; like the Zune and Kin) does not seem to be going anywhere with the next generation. From the posts I see here and also based on my personal experience, only middle aged MS developers seem to be interested in MS Tablets. The next generation is doing what our generation did to Unix, Minis and Mainframes. Our middle aged generation (young at that time) pushed towards MS (DOS and Windows). The next generation seems to be pushing towards iOS and Android with the same fervor. If corporate ITs NOW try to push MS stuff, they will see a rebellion among users. Users want a choice, and there will be some who choose MS too. All talk about how excellent MS stuff is (from middle aged managers and developers like us) does not have any bearing on the minds of users and next generation developers. Users have now gotten used to iOS and Android that is leading to a "crawl up" effect - the opposite of a trickle down effect I guess.
      GoForTheBest
      Reply Vote

      • Never felt the Zune was superior. As for the KIN that was all MS's doing.

        @iRMX... and is likely the cause for the general public's lack of enthusiasm regarding MS in mobile of late. Kin was advertised and had MS's name all over it and MS dropped it like a hot potato leaving a bad taste/feeling in a lot of consumers.

        Pagan jim
        James Quinn
        Reply Vote

      • I can't agree there

        @James Quinn
        [i]Kin was advertised and had MS's name all over it and MS dropped it like a hot potato leaving a bad taste/feeling in a lot of consumers[/i]

        Actually, it's the reverse - nobody ever herd of the KIn, and nobody ever bought one, so who had a bad taste in their mouths? All the people that never knew of it's existence?
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

        @iRMX Jeez, not at all ageist are ya. Middle-aged MS developers? The middle-aged generation pushed towards MS? How old are you, Kid? MS stuff doesn't sell because it's late to the game and an "also-ran". There's a distinct lack of innovation and leadership there. Pasting a new (and unusable) interface on the desktop OS and calling it good for tablets is a far cry from iOS and Android. Most of us middle-aged and senior IT folks see right through it.
        JoeFoerster
        Reply Vote

      • LOL!

        @JoeFoerster
        Most of us "old, middle aged, and even younger folk" could care less for Android. Been there, done that. Yawn

        iOS, yeah we like that. Windows 8? most definatelly looking forward for that.

        As for the rest of your post, I really had to laugh! Last time I looked, MS was earning litterally billions from their stuff.

        But then nobody wants Windows, Office, XBox, Kinect.....
        :D
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

        @iRMX I can see possibly how someone might believe the zune is technically superior, but the kin???
        Johnpford
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Nesivos

      I guess you never watch the news or work in the corporate environment, almost everyone on all the news shows has an iPad and it's the light weight tool to have at work.
      fitnessforyoutoo@...
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Nesivos Big difference between is and has. One is speculation at best, the other is "Fait accomplit"
      themarty
      Reply Vote

    • Yeah. You'll be able to do all that "real work".

      @Nesivos
      Whatever that is. PowerPoint slides, probably.
      Userama
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Nesivos
      I have found that people who refer to the new generation of Pads as toys do so because they can't grasp the impact this new mobile force brings to business. They seem to hang hopes on promises of devices that are unproven yet promise a link to technology they can understand, no matter how unlikely the claims are.

      These Pad devices are the new order and they will slowly over come the present limitations, I see it happening already. At the front of this spear is the iPad for good or bad. MS has promised the world and based on their past performance and promises, it is unlikely that what they deliver is what they promised.
      KBabcock75
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

    Apple hooks more people into the upgrade treadmill. Spending $700 a year on a new iPad seems very expensive.
    Loverock Davidson-
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Loverock Davidson- It is. My iPad 1 is still going strong though. An upgrade every 3-4 years sounds about right for a computing device.
      Gritztastic
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Loverock Davidson<br><br>once these tablet devices start going towards quad-core processors, and above 1GB of RAM, I see no reason for them to have at least a 3 to 4 year useful lifespan.

      But you are right about spending $500 or more on a new iPad every year is expensive no matter how nice it is.
      smulji
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

        @smulji Even the iPad 1 is a very useful tool. It's not a question of specs, it's all about usefulness.
        themarty
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple's iPad 3 refresh likely to kick off sales boom

      @Loverock Davidson- Sorry, once again you FAIL...base iPad is $499...

      Again you show you are a clueless fool. Also, resell value is about half of what it retails for...so if I purchase a new iPad2 at $499, the new one comes out and I sell the old one for $250...guess what? I spend $250 for the new one total...repeat same cycle next year.

      I have never paid full price on any Apple product after I buy the first iteration of it..but you wouldn't know that since you have your head so far up Ballmer's USB port you can't see daylight.
      SamWilkinson
      Reply Vote
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