Just exactly a week ago, Apple has unveiled its the new iPad (that is the 3rd iteration of iPad aka 2012 model), which has got “Retina Display”, the improved A5X processor with quad-core graphics, improved camera and LTE radio and it goes on sale Friday, March 16th. We’ve been hearing that Apple is reportedly planning to launch a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet that will hit the markets in the 3rd quarter of this year. Earlier this month, Samsung Securities analyst JungHoon Chang has reported details about the iPad mini or iPad nano.
A few hours ago, Samsung’s unnamed official has reported to The Korea Times that Apple is believed to buy $11B worth of components from Samsung and he also said that Samsung is preparing cheap and high-visibility-angle display screens for the smaller iPad.
Here’s what a Samsung executive told The Korea Times during the conversation:
“The amount of the current contract is around $9.7 billion, butis expected to rise to $11 billion by the end of this year as Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.85-inch screen, and to sell more of its MacBook Air PCs using Samsung’s faster solid state drive storage.”
Steve Jobs once publicly slammed 7-inch tablets, describing them as of a size that “isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps” and derided the user experience you’d get with a seven-inch screen. Accoridng to the latest UCD reports, Amazon Kindle Fire got a share of 16.8% and has managed to steal some market share, while Apple got a tablet market share of 54.7% (down from 61.5% in Q3). This is one of the strongest reasons that Apple is planning to launch a smaller iPad to take on Amazon Kindle Fire. DigiTime’s sources have already reported that the unannounced smaller iPad will feature a 7.85-inch display, so that it can compete Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet and it is expected to be priced in the $249 to $299 range.
Source: The Korea Times