Despite several rumors circulating this year that the iPad 3 could surface before the end of 2011 in a bid to ‘stay ahead of competitors’, a recent report from J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz reveals that industry insiders have informed him that the iPad 3 will not be available until 2012.
“In our view, Apple should be in no rush,” he said. “The other tablet entrants have stumbled so far, and that trend-line could persist deep into 2012.”
Rumors back in June and July of this year pointed towards a high-end successor to the iPad 2 entering the market towards the end of 2011, possibly with a HD or retina display. However, more recent reports from The Wall Street Journal and DigiTimes have seen that timetable pushed back to 2012 with production beginning in the second half of 2011.
It’s no surprise that Apple is dominating the tablet market. The recent spectacular crash-and-burn failure of the HP TouchPad only reinforces Apple’s stranglehold over its competitors. In comparison to the 9.25 million iPad 2’s shipped in the most recent quarter, RIM’s new playbook shipped little more than 200,000 units.