“Apple Inc. is expected to take the wraps off a new iPad tablet Wednesday as more rivals are flooding the fast-growing market with competing devices,” Dan Gallagher reports for MarketWatch.
“While few analysts expect anything revolutionary in terms of features and design, most believe that Appl will have little trouble maintaining its market-dominating position for the near term,” Gallagher reports. “The iPad has quickly become a key business for Apple, surpassing the popular iPod in revenue contribution and on track to eclipse even the flagship Mac line of computers by next year. ‘All the other guys out there are all vying to get 10% of the market,’ said Brian Marshall of Gleacher & Co. ‘Apple is the de facto standard.'”
Gallagher reports, “Analysts say any rival tablet maker faces two major hurdles in trying to compete with the iPad. One, Apple’s vast ecosystem of applications through its App Store and other media content through iTunes is far ahead of any offerings by other platforms, including Google’s Android. Two, Apple has made clear that it intends to use its pricing power with suppliers — as well as its massive cash hoard of close to $60 billion — to lock in long-term supply deals and other favorable component pricing, so that it can carry higher margins at lower price points than its rivals.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]