Wednesday’s Apple Rumors — iPad 2 in Shipshape

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Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Wednesday:

2.5 Million Strong: The debut of the iPad 2 in March brought out consumers in force. All the hallmarks of a major new Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) release were in place — lines around the block at Apple stores, sellouts at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), and six-to-eight week estimated shipping dates for online orders. A successful release is implied, but it’s still unknown precisely how many iPad 2s have been sold. On Wednesday, Taiwanese tech newspaper DigiTimes cited claims that manufacturers shipped between 2.4 million and 2.6 million iPad 2s to Apple in March. Going forward, those same sources within Apple’s supply chain said they are expecting to deliver between 4 million and 4.5 million iPad 2s to Apple each month.

It’s a Small World: The Camera+ app, made by TapTapTap, has been downloaded 2 million times on the iPhone and iPod Touch, with the second million selling over the course of just three months. TapTapTap’s John Casasanta has said the app’s prolonged sales success is indicative of broader trends in Apple’s app store, and that developers shouldn’t interpret initial slow sales as failure. But he also advises other developers to not rely on in-app sales to bolster revenue. Camera+’s expansion “I Heart Analog,” which can be purchased within Camera+ for 99 cents, has been purchased by just 5% of users. While Casasanta’s evidence is indicative of secondary sales for utility apps, investors in the app space should note that in-app purchases in entertainment apps like video games are much healthier.

Remove It, Please: Toyota (NYSE:TM) employed a unique strategy for marketing its Scion car to iPhone users by distributing a theme pack (software that alters the appearance of the user interface) that works on so-called jailbroken handhelds — devices that have been altered to work around Apple platform restrictions. Advertising company Velti came up with the campaign that kicked off on Sunday. According to jailbreak community website ModMyI, Apple has requested that Toyota stop distributing the theme pack in order to “maintain their good relationship.” Apple’s policy is to maintain strict control of how its software and hardware are used by consumers. The FCC ruled in July 2010 that it is legal to jailbreak Apple handhelds.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2011/04/wednesdays-apple-rumors-ipad-2-in-shipshape/.

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