Rivals Make ‘Imperceptible Dent’ in iPad Juggernaut

By

juggernaut

The only real rival Apple has in tablet sales is itself, one analyst said Tuesday. Despite the claims, competitors “have made an imperceptible dent in the trajectory of iPad sales.”


“They’ve been unable to undercut the price of the iPad; and they’ve fallen woefully short in matching its features, ease-of-use and the number of applications written for the device,” analyst Charlie Wolf of Needham & Co. told investors. “Indeed, the only risk in our forecast is on the supply, not the demand side.”

Little wonder, then, that Wolf upped his iPad sales estimate for the third quarter to 9 million units, an increase from 7.5 million. The increased confidence comes from Apple’s unchallenged dominance of the tablet sector, reports indicate. The analyst estimates Apple shipped 7 million iPads this month and believes 25 million iPads have shipped to date.

The only shadow over an otherwise glowing forecast for Apple is minor: Wolf reduced his forecast for iPhone shipments in the fourth quarter to 16 million, down from 17.5 million. But the cut is only due to what the analyst sees as a natural slowing of iPhone 4 sales ahead of the expected introduction of the iPhone 5.

Elsewhere, Wolf foresees a third quarter jump in Mac sales to 4.25 million units, up from 3.75 million. Additionally, he projects $25.4 billion third quarter in third quarter revenue, up from the previously predicted $23.5 billion. For all of 2011, Apple will earn $103.6 billion, just a nudge higher from the analyst’s previously expected $101.1 billion.

For 2012, Wolf expects Apple will rake in $130 billion.

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