While most tablet-style personal computers have failed, Apple should be able to sell 2m of them next year, analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray said Friday.
Mr Munster estimated that Apple will pack enough quality media software and other gee-whiz quality into the machines to justify a $600 price, which should boost company revenue by about 3 per cent.
Like others cited in recent media accounts, Mr Munster said he expects the tablet to go on sale early next year. We reported that Apple was aiming for September or October, but now believe that unsurprising complications might push the launch back as far as January.
Mr Munster agrees that the tablet will resemble a large iPod Touch and respond to multiple pressure points. He thinks that a new class of applications could be sold through the App Store that are tailored specially for the larger device, and that electronic books could get their turn in the spotlight.
Still fuzzy, for Mr Munster and ourselves, is whether the tablet will stay connected to a 3G wireless network at all times and if so whether AT&T or Verizon will supply that bandwidth, possible through a subsidy model similar to that for the iPhone.
