Second Quarter Production of New IPad to Go Up

April 3, 2012 By

The initial week of availability saw the inventory of the new iPad of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) go down dramatically and has resulted to a long wait for consumers who were not able to purchase the device earlier. The waiting time for the new iPad is reportedly from one to two weeks. However it appears that this two-week delay in the delivery of the new iPad to its owners may improve in the second quarter since production of the device will be increased by Foxconn to allow it to deliver around twelve to fifteen million units for the quarter.

According to projections within the industry only six million units of the new iPad were delivered by Foxconn in the first quarter of the year. Wintek and TPK Holding, the suppliers of the touch module for the iPad, will reportedly increase production by around thirty percent for the second quarter to allow it to deliver around ten million more panels compared to the number that was delivered by the companies in the first quarter.

However the report has also indicated that if the supply of the new iPad will go beyond the demand for the device, the manufacturers of the touch panel may be compelled to reduce its delivery goals dye to an oversupply of the component.

This will indicate that the inventory of the new iPad will be sufficient enough for the next few months. With this increased supply of the device, the delivery schedule may be reduced from around two weeks to a few days.

In comparison to the supply of the new iPad, the first two versions of the device took several months after the two devices were released into the market before the supply was able to catch up with the demand for the device. After two years the company has finally able to meet the demand for the devices that it has offered into the market.

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AT&T Achieves High Sales Record with New IPad

March 21, 2012 By

It is not only Apple that will be celebrating the victory of its recently launched new iPad tablet. AT&T also has a cause to celebrate as it reported that the new iPad recently gave them high sales and activations record in just one day.

AT&T reported that it was able to achieve a new record for its iPad activations and sales in one day which shows a strong demand for the newest Apple tablet on the country's biggest 4G network which covers almost 250 million users.

Even if AT&T did not provide the specific sales and activations figures it achieved, it is possible that they comprised a relatively big part of the number of new iPad units sold estimated at 500,000 and 1,000,000 over the previous weekend.

It is somewhat surprising that the 4G LTE iPad offered by AT&T sold so well because each unit cost over $629.99 compared to the Wifi only version excluding the $50 monthly data plan. Considering that the economy is still in the process of recuperating from recession, it is expected that most consumers will be wary of spending a huge amount on the latest gadgets. Yet, it seems that a lot are still willing to pay a huge amount for the newest Apple device like the iPad and the iPhone 4S.

The eagerness of consumers to spend for the new iPad may also be attributed to the fact that it is the first Apple gadget to have the lighting speed of 4G LTE technology as its feature. With plenty of Apple users seeking for that technology, it is understandable that they want to own an Apple tablet with that capability.

The high demand for the latest iPad with 4G LTE is a good sign for the soon to be released iPhone 5. The upcoming version of the iPhone is expected to also feature the 4G LTE technology.

Verizon has not provided its recent sales figures but if they performed as well as AT&T, it is likely that they also posted high new iPad activations and sales during the same day.

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New IPad Sales Reach Three Million Units

March 20, 2012 By

Sales of the recently-released new iPad have reportedly reached three million units. The current figures do not include pre-ordered units and is higher than the figures of the previous versions of the device according to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The new iPad sales figure was released by Apple after the company indicated that it posted record numbers for the device.

According to the senior VP for worldwide marketing of Apple, Philip Schiller, the sales figure for the new iPad was the strongest so far for an iPad launch. The announcement was made prior to the quarterly dividend offer of Apple to shareholders and its stock repurchasing program when Tim Cook evaded questions on the number of new iPad units the company was able to sell over the weekend.

The sales figure for the new iPad was also close to the sales figure of the iPhone 4S when it was launched last year. Pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 4S reached one million units within 24 hours after it was offered and was able to exceed four million units following its release in the market. Similar to the figure for the new iPad, the sales did not include the pre-orders made for the device.

The total sales of the iPhone 4S were released by the company after the quarter ended. Initial sales figures for the iPad 2 were not released by Apple following its launch last year while the original iPad saw sales reaching 300,000 units on its first day in the market.

Over 58 million units of the iPad were sold by Apple since it entered the market in 2010, which includes the three million units of the new iPad. The last fiscal quarter saw more than 15 million iPad units sold by the company. The new iPad will be made available in 24 more countries this coming Friday even though there is a delay of around three weeks for buyers of the next generation iPad of Apple.

The new iPad features a Retina display, the A5X processor, enhanced camera and support for 4G LTE connections.

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Sales of Nintendo 3DS Reach 4.5 Million

March 9, 2012 By

Sales of the Nintendo 3DS has reportedly increase recently even as it did not do well at the start. Following its introduction into the market last year, the Nintendo 3DS hinted at a not-so-impressive performance in the market. However Nintendo (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently revealed that around 4.5 million Nintendo 3DS units were sold in the US following its release last March, which is better than the 2.3 million units of the Nintendo DS on its first year of availability.

Software sales for the Nintendo 3DS surpassed nine million as it allowed the mobile gaming platform reach sales of $1.2 billion. In comparison, software sales for the Nintendo DS reached five million which allowed sales to reach $540 million.

The Nintendo 3DS is currently performing better than the Nintendo DS although the latter is widely-used as sales have surpassed 151 million as of 2011. In comparison, the Game Boy has sold around 119 million units since its availability in the market. Sales of the current version of the mobile gaming device from Nintendo will likely reach the same levels as previous models if its current performance in the market will continue.

As of June last year, sales of the current device have reached 710 units with the US market accounting for only 110,000 of the total. To help prop up sales, the price tag of the Nintendo 3DS was reduced from around $250 to around $170, which resulted to a 260 percent increase in sales.

Even as sales of the Nintendo 3DS have increased due to the price cut, it has also affected profits for the company and it became more evident following the announcement of a loss of around $625 million for the nine months that ended on December 31.

However with the upcoming introduction of the Nintendo Wii U sometime within the year, the Nintendo 3DS will likely take a supporting role. The Nintendo Wii U will feature a controller that comes with an LCD and HD graphics.

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New Galaxy S Wifi to Beat the iPod Touch Once Again

March 4, 2012 By

Samsung tried to beat the iPod Touch last year as the best non-phone handheld device by releasing its Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0. However, since the market seem to have not noticed, the Korean giant is once again attempting to steal a share of iPod Touch’s market by coming out with the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.2, an upgrade to the Samsung 4.0 Galaxy Player. The Samsung Galaxy S Wifi 4.2 is a white handheld device characterized by a slim form, a white plastic rear and corners that are a bit rounded. It has a bright and sharp IPS LCD display screen of 4.2 inches with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It consists of one physical bottom and a virtual menu as well as back buttons for Android that lights up when the bottom bezel is touched.

The specs of the Samsung Galaxy S Wifi are almost similar but are more improved versions of the Galaxy Player. Its processor is faster compared to that of the 1Ghz unit of the 4.0 version as it is a 1GHz TI OMAP4 type. Internet connectivity is made possible with its 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi .

Moreover, the device is available with either an 8 or 16 GB of memory storage. It also has provisions for expanded memory through a card slot. In addition, it has a rear camera of 2 megapixels.

In terms of operating system, the Samsung Galaxy S Wifi is powered by Gingerbread 2.3. However, Samsung commits to upgrade it to Android 4.0 ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich soon.

Although the Samsung Galaxy S Wifi seems to be a great device, it may require plenty of marketing to push it far in the market of handheld devices, a market with low demand. The device will be available by March and will be priced similarly to its current versions which start at about $199.99.

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International Sales of Sony PlayStation Vita Exceed 1.2 Million Units

March 2, 2012 By

Sony (NYSE:SNE) recent revealed that international sales of the Sony PlayStation Vita have surpassed the 1.2 million mark ever since the mobile game console was introduced last December in Japan. However the company did not give the specific details on the sales of the device for each country. Software sales for the Sony PlayStation Vita have also reached the two million mark on the PlayStation Network and in retail outlets.

Sony also revealed that the expectations of the life cycle of the Sony PlayStation Vita were exceeded once the mobile game console is introduced in the European and US market. The company revealed the sales of the mobile game console following revelations that only 321,400 units of the Sony PlayStation Vita were sold on the first two days of availability in the market. In comparison around 371,000 units of the Nintendo 3DS were sold in the same period.

Industry watchers are anticipating an increase in the competition between the two mobile game consoles as the Sony PlayStation Vita enters the international market. The last time the two game console companies competed in the market, Nintendo (TYO:7974) came out on top as the Nintendo DS surpassed the sales of the Sony PlayStation Portable.

The Sony PlayStation Vita features dual thumb sticks along with the same action buttons for the PlayStation on the right. The device also features a 5-inch OLED screen that can be used as a touchscreen, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, and cameras in front and the back. The Sony PlayStation Vita also features touchpads that reportedly enhances hand control.

The Wi-Fi only model of the Sony PlayStation Vita is priced at around $250 while the 3G model has a price tag of around $300. Observers have indicated that Sony may have to reduce the price of the Sony PlayStation Vita once sales start to dip in the same way the Nintendo 3DS sales went down following its launch in the market.

Nintendo was able to prop back its sales by reducing the price of its mobile game console, a move which the Sony may follow for the Sony PlayStation Vita once it faces decreasing sales in the international market.

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Sales of Samsung Galaxy S2 Reach Twenty Million

March 1, 2012 By

Samsung recently announced that sales of the Samsung Galaxy S2 have reached the 20 million mark after ten months of being available in the market. This announcement comes as reports about the Samsung Galaxy S3 have continued to emerge. This indicates that the Samsung Galaxy S2 was doing quite well in the market since its launch last April.

The five million mark in the sales of the Samsung Galaxy S2 was achieved by the company last July or 85 days after the company released the smartphone into the market. The Samsung Galaxy S 2 was considered as the best-selling smartphone following its launch as it offer a number of features that appealed to users and industry watchers. The smartphone feature a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, Super AMOLED display screen measuring 4.3 inches, an eight-megapixel camera rear camera and a two-megapixel front camera.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 also offered two storage options to users, a 16GB device and a 32GB device. The device also came with the Gingerbread Android 2.3 OS. Despite the entry of a number of smartphones in the market, sales of the Samsung Galaxy S2 remained strong as the ten million mark for sales was attained sometime in October or within the first six months of availability in the market. This number increased to twenty million within four months time.

Some industry watchers have hinted that the success of the Samsung Galaxy S2 may have been one of the reason why the Samsung Galaxy S3 will not be introduced during the upcoming Mobile World Congress, which is set to start next week in Barcelona. Reports have given indications that the successor to this popular Samsung smartphone may not be introduced before May.

However, even as the sales of the Samsung Galaxy S2 have remained strong in the past ten months, it does not compare to the sales of the iPhone of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) which has surpassed the 37 million mark in the last quarter.

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IPad 3 Boosts Apple Stock Prices

February 28, 2012 By

With the continuous speculations about the iPad 3 that is recently boosted by design leaks of Apple's upcoming tablet, the stock price of Apple has skyrocketed at 4.5% higher to reach $493.17. This occurs in spite of protests prepared at many facilities of the Cupertino-based company because of the poor working environment at several of its plants.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPad 3 will be launched in the first week of March. In the same report, it says that the upcoming Apple tablet will have an improved display with a higher resolution.

The iPad 3 and iTV are two large devices of Apple that are rumored to be introduced this year. Both are said to be revolutionary products which is why investors bet on their big success.

Speculations about the iPad 3 have been ongoing since last year which mainly refers to the various specs it may possibly have. Until recently, nothing much has been expected of the soon to be launched tablet because it is believed to only come with very minimal upgrades such as what occurred with the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4.

But, the latest rumors suggesting that the iPad 3 may have an improved display may actually be real. A recently leaked image of the tablet's back plate has confirmed that at the very least, the third generation tab may have a modified display compared to the iPad and the iPad 2.

ZDNet and ABC News are also saying that there is a possibility for Apple to introduce a tablet which is 7 inches in size. The latest reports however says that it will not happen until the latter parts of the year. Moreover, the device is prepared to rival the incredibly successful Kindle Fire of Amazon.

Once more, Apple was able to spark various reports about a product without making any official announcement. Both consumers and investors have great expectations for the future release of Apple's latest tablet, the iPad 3.

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4G LTE in IPad 3 Guarantees the Same Feature for iPhone 5

February 27, 2012 By

Although it was not expected, many certainly hope for it.

As previously reported, various sources now confirm that Apple will launch the iPad 3 in the first week of March particularly on the 7th. The tablet will come with the A6 quad core processor and a 2048x1536 retina display. Aside from this, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Cupertino-based company has granted the wish of its users and consumers to bring in the 4G LTE feature in its newest tablet through the 4G networks of AT&T and Verizon and may also become available soon via Sprint.

While this will surely bring in more spice to the war of Apple against Android, Amazon and Blackberry tablets especially that the market share of Android is moving higher while that of Apple declines, it almost guarantees that the iPhone 5 will have the support of 4G networking.

It was obvious that the absence of 4G in Apple's mobile phones was not ideal and its grand introduction was even more expected as the number of available Android devices with LTE increased. In case Apple releases the iPhone 5 only with 3G and without the 4G LTE, it will surely be a disaster for the company. It would even be unthinkable for the iPad 3 to be launched with LTE and iPhone 5 to only have 3G networking capabilities.

The question that remains at the moment is if iPhone 5 will have LTE, will it also experience the same battery drain caused by 4G? This may be possible but as the iPad 3 comes with a bigger battery to ensure more power and quicker data speeds, Apple will surely equip its iPhone 5 with the same thing.

But then again, the recently released iPhone 4S do not exactly possess the longest life for its battery even if it is only on CDMA and GSM networks. Still, users and patrons of iDevices hope that Apple will find a way to incorporate 4G into the iPhone 5 while ensuring a longer battery life.

With a confirmation of LTE as part of the iPad 3, Apple is basically saying that its iPhone 5 will have it as well. Thus, Apple users who have been wanting this feature can now celebrate as they wish.

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Five Million Sales Level Reached by Nintendo 3DS in Japan

February 21, 2012 By

A recent statement by Nintendo (TYO:7974) indicated that around five million Nintendo 3DS units were reportedly sold in Japan making the mobile game console the fastest-selling videogame platform in the country.

The five million mark was achieved recently and it came within a year after the Nintendo 3DS was introduced into the market last February 26, 2011. The number reportedly came from estimated data that were source from the domestic distributors of the mobile game console.

Following its auspicious debut, sales of the Nintendo 3DS went down which resulted to a reduction in the price of the mobile game console within six months time due to the lack of new game titles. The company promoted sales through the introduction of new game titles into the market.

However sales projection for the Nintendo 3DS was reduced by the company last month to around 14 million and the reduced price of the device has affected the profit margin of the company. Nintendo is currently facing a loss for the present fiscal year, which ends on March.

Sales of the Nintendo 3DS has reached five million level at a faster rate compared to earlier devices as the Game Boy Advance reached the level in 58 weeks while the Nintendo DS needed 56 weeks to reach the five million unit level.

The Sony PlayStation Vita, which is set to be released in the European and the North American market within the week, is the main rival of the Nintendo 3DS mobile game console.

Aside from the Nintendo 3DS, the company is also preparing for the introduction of the next version of the Nintendo Wii U game console within the year. Reports have indicated that the game console will be released during the holiday sales season in Japan, Europe and the United States. A number of new features will reportedly come with this upcoming game console including motion detection, touchscreen controllers and cameras.

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