Apple will not launch a new iPad before Xmas analysts are predicting.Mark Moskowitz, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, said that there will be no iPad 3, iPad 2 HD, or any derivative thereof until at least mid-2012.
He wrote “In recent months, there has been rising investor speculation that a new iPad 3 would be launched for the holiday season. Our latest research continues to indicate that there is no such device slated for production this year. In our view, Apple should be in no rush. The other tablet entrants have stumbled so far, and that trend-line could persist deep into 2012. MMI and RIM have been recent disappointments, and we expect more stumbles from others.”
Speculation is mounting with some analysts that Apple had deliberately chosen their patent legal fight with Samsung as a means to slow down sales of the Samsung tablet which was seen as the main threat to the iPad 2.
Moskowitz’s claims that the iPad is going to continue dominating the market until Windows 8 hits the market in mid-2012. He said that Apple will hold onto a 62.8 percent market in the tablet market.
According to International Data Corporation, Apple’s iPad 2 shipped 9.3 million units in the second quarter, up 3% and that the US Company has 68.3 percent of the global market for tablets.
That’s a growth of just around three percent from the quarter prior, balanced out on the other end by a nearly eight percent loss in market share for Android-based tablets.
IDC research analyst Jennifer Song “Apple’s iOS share will continue to lead by more than 40 percentage points over Google’s Android for the remainder of the year, but we expect Apple’s share to fall closer to 50% by the end of the forecast period as manufacturers bring new tablets to market”.
IDC project the market share for Android tablets will only grow to 25.9 percent by the end of 2011.
