iPhone 5 Release Date & iPad Mini Expected in September, New 3rd Gen iPad in March, Experts Confirm [DETAILS]
Many rumors have been surrounding the release date of the iPhone 5 and a mini iPad to conquer the smartphone and tablet market, respectively. However, experts have confirmed their predictions that Apple will release both gadgets in September and a new 3rd generation iPad in March 2013.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo correctly had predicted that Apple would release a MacBook Pro with Retina Display at the WWDC 2012 conference. With his latest speculation of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini releases in the fall, many are taking the expert's word as reliable.
"Though shipments of iPad Mini's components will start in August, the new iPad line will end production, ready for transition to a modified New iPad line," Kuo said. "As such, component shipments will drop in August as iPad Mini's components shipments growth will be offset."
He also added that the 3rd generation iPads in March will feature new tweeks and internal advancements.
Kuo stated: "On a side note, the modified New iPad shares the same exterior as the original model, but contains modifications to correct its thermal dissipation problem and lower-cost components."
While many features have been circulating about the iPhone 5. Details on the iPad Mini have been scarce. Google's Nexus 7 Tablet is currently the latest top-seller in the market, but experts believer Apple's product will crush the Android tablet.
"It would be the competitors' worst nightmare," said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. told Bloomberg. The Google Nexus 7 tablet and Amazon's Kindle Fire would be directly targeted by an Apple iPad Mini, challenging it's smaller screen, Forbes says.
"Apple's plan for a tablet with a smaller screen is part of a textbook business strategy: to lure customers who want different sizes of tablets into the iPad product family, say analysts and technology industry executives," The New York Times reports.
"What we've found, using a pixel count, is that the iPad Mini should be around 213.36mm tall and about 143.67mm wide," Shawn Ingram of Gotta Be Moblie said based on an eingneering sample he claims is from Apple's supply chain in Asia.
"This is approximately two-thirds of the size of the new third-generation iPad. The new iPad is 185.67mm wide, 241.3mm tall, and 9.39mm thick," he continued.
Google recently started shipping their latest tablet device, but already a host of retailers have said that they are now sold out and are applying for urgent re-stocking.
GameStop is one of the shops to have fallen short on inventory and has been forced to pull the tablet from its website. Other stores caught in a similar dilemma are Adorama and Staples, which are both waiting for re-stocking because their allotted share of the device sold out so fast.
According to various reports GameStop is getting more inventory in and are looking to start selling again with a promised availability date set for August 7.
New York's Adorama store announced through its Twitter account on Friday that their stock of Google Nexus 7 Tablets had sold out, and that it was shipping its stock based on orders received. The store's next batch of Google tablets are not expected to become available until mid August.
One of the largest stores stocking the Google Nexus 7 Tablet, Staples, has also reported that it has sold out of the device on its website. Customers are being asked to check back between July 14 and 18, as the store believes it should have new inventory in by then.
However, the Google Nexus 7 can still be purchased directly from Google in the Google Play store. The device comes in two models; the 8GB model which is being sold for $199, and the 16GB version which is being offered for $249. According to the Google Play store, the tablet can be delivered within one to two weeks.
The Google Nexus 7 was unveiled by the company last month and it features the latest build of Android, known as 4.1, JellyBean. It also comes with a 7-inch display and a quad-core processor.
