iPad due out April 3; Apple stock hits record high
Will the much-anticipated iPad be Apple Inc.’s next must-have product?
The Cupertino, Calif., company may get a strong indication April 3 when Wi-Fi versions of the tablet computer hit U.S. shelves, a bit later than planned.
Models that operate on AT&T Inc.’s 3G wireless data network will be available in late April. U.S. customers can begin placing orders for both models on Apple’s website Friday.
Apple shares jumped $8.24, or 3.9%, to close at a record high of $218.95.
Apple unveiled the touch-screen device in late January and said it would reach the market in late March.
Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek said this week that an “unspecified production problem” would postpone the iPad.
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he had already expected an April release. He said production problems would have delayed the release longer.
“The big question is not when will we get them in stores but how many of them will be available,” Munster said. “Typically what we see is limited inventory: The product sells out and then it’s a month or so before the bottleneck loosens up.”
Misek estimates that Apple will sell 550,000 iPads in the third quarter and 1.2 million in fiscal 2010.
Apple still has to convince consumers that they need a new device wedged between their laptops and smart phones.
The company has a breathtaking track record of producing iconic products. But it has also produced minor hits with far less impact. The high-tech industry’s previous efforts to market tablet computers have flopped.
“People are pretty polarized over the question of whether the iPad will be a hit or a bold swing and a miss,” Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence said in a blog post. “My view is that it will start slow and then eventually become a big hit as people actually get a chance to hold them, see the screen resolution and want one for themselves.”
The first iPads that connect to Wi-Fi networks will cost $499 to $699, depending on storage capacity. Later models that can also connect to a 3G cellular network will cost $629 to $829.
The iPad will include 12 new applications designed for the device. It will also be able to run nearly all of the more than 150,000 applications made for the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple said.
Apple is positioning the iPad to compete with Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle. An updated version of its iBooks application that will include Apple’s iBookstore can be downloaded for free in the U.S. on April 3, Apple said.
