When was the last time Apple didn’t own Christmas? It has probably been since 2003 and the iPod, and they’re getting geared up to do it again. The iPad mini release is coming October 17 and, as often happens just before launch, Apple’s supply leaks production details. In a nutshell, they are planning to once again dominate holiday gift giving.
It has been rumored that Amazon plans to build 5 million Kindle Fire tablets before the end of the year. Although no one knows how many Nexus 7 tablets have sold, however, if sales were spinably good, Google and hardware partner Asus would definitely have said something, yet they’ve been silent.
That said, as we creep ever closer to the iPad mini October 17 release event comes the news that Apple plans to manufacture 10 million of the hotly hyped 7.85-inch tablets. Taken alone, that isn’t a Christmas owning number, but Apple is also shipping the iPhone 5, 2012 iPod touch and new Mac portables.
The internals of the iPad mini are expected to follow the template laid down by the iPad 2, meaning we should expect to see an A5 processor paired with 512MB RAM — snappy, but not a speed demon.
The New, New iPad
Apple’s model numbers for the current crop of 9.8-inch tablets are 3,1, 3,2 and 3,3. So, what should we make of a report that a developer discovered an iPad 3,6 running an A6 processor, like the one used in the iPhone 5, in his app usage data?
It has been rumored that Apple plans to release a Lightning docking port version of the new iPad this Fall. Does it make sense for Apple to more fully update the iPad just ahead of the holiday shopping season to goose sales or are we just seeing the first evidence of next year’s tablet refresh?
Whatever happens, Apple will own Christmas. Don’t be one of those people who always buys the wrong gifts…
What’s your take?