Apple will buy panels for the iPad from AU Optronics (AUO), as well as 7.85-inch panels from LG Display, according to a report from DigiTimes.
Fans of Apple's iPad tablet
can look forward to a version of the device with a smaller screen size-7.85
inches, to be exact-in the fourth quarter of 2012, along with a new version of
the popular tablet in the first quarter of the year, according to a report in
Taiwanese tech site DigiTimes.
According to unnamed sources
"in the supply chain," Apple will buy panels for the iPad from AU Optronics
(AUO), as well as 7.85-inch panels from LG Display, the online site reported.
The next iPad will launch in
March or April 2012, DigiTimes reported.
That Dec. 12 article again cited unnamed sources in the supply chain for the
information. The article said: "The next-generation iPads are expected to be
available in the next 3-4 months as makers in the supply chain have started
delivering parts and components for the new tablets to OEM contractors while
reducing those prepared for iPad 2."
Apple continues to drive
worldwide media-tablet shipments, according to a recent report from IT research
firm IDC. The company shipped 11.1 million units in the third quarter, up from
9.3 million units in the second quarter, representing a 61.5 percent
worldwide market share. That was a slight dip from its second-quarter market
share of 63.3 percent.
"I fully expect Apple to
have its best-ever quarter in 4Q11, and in 2012, I think we'll see Apple's
product begin to gain more traction outside of the consumer market, specifically
with enterprise and education markets," Tom Mainelli, IDC's research
director of mobile connected devices, said in a statement.
Jennifer Song, research
analyst with IDC's worldwide trackers, said in a statement that Apple's
larger portfolio of tablet-specific applications, upcoming iPad versions, and
growing physical store presence in key emerging markets like the Asia-Pacific region
will help the company maintain its global leadership.
"However, an improving
Android OS experience and lower competitor pricing in an environment with
worldwide economic concerns should help Android to increase its market
share," Song said.
IDC expects Google's Android
operating system to make dramatic share gains in the fourth
quarter, growing to 40.3 percent, an increase due mostly to the entrance
of Amazon's Kindle Fire, and to a lesser extent the Barnes & Noble Nook
Tablet, into the market. Worldwide media-tablet shipments in the third quarter
rose by 23.9 percent over the previous quarter, to 18.1 million units. The
analysts said they expect strong demand in the fourth quarter, and IDC has
increased its worldwide shipment forecast for 2011 to 63.3 million units, up
from a previous projection of 62.5 million units.
Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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