Here is your daily Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock news and rumors report for Nov. 29, 2010. The end of the holiday weekend brings with it fresh analysis of the tablet PC market, the iPad’s future success, and new rumors about the iPad 2’s hardware. Also, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) begins aggressive promotions to push iPod Touch sales.
iPad 2 Adds USB Port, Four Additional New Features: Taiwanese tech news outlet DigiTimes brings word on new rumors on the second-generation iPad today. The rumored details originated in the Chinese-language newspaper Economy Daily News. Word is that the iPad 2 will include five new features, including “video phone, better mobility, USB port and 3-axis gyroscope.” Two of these features have been heavily rumored in the past. Numerous reports detailing the next generation iPad have pointed to the inclusion of new forward- and back-facing cameras in the device. The cameras will be used to push the Face Time video chat application popular in the iPhone 4, covering Economy Daily News claim of “video phone” features in the iPad 2. Goldman Sachs analysts Kevin Liu and Henry King are among the many Wall Street analysts who have said that the next iPad will be smaller and thinner than the current model, supporting the claim of “better mobility.” Claims that the iPad 2 will incorporate new gyroscope and display technology are new, however. It is likely that the display tech will be the Retina Display technology featured in the iPhone 4. The inclusion of a USB port in the iPad 2 is also unsurprising as the lack of USB support was a chief criticism of the original iPad.
Analysts’ Projections for iPad and Tablet Market Growth in 2011: A new Barron‘s report Saturday compared predictions from numerous analysts on Apple’s tablet computer in the new year. Predictions from Garnet, Capital Markets, Citigroup and FBR on the overall performance of tablet computers in 2011 vary greatly. Citigroup made a conservative estimation, predicting just 35 million tablet sales marketwide in 2011, though it does expect approximately 26 million of those sold to be iPads. Citigroup expects the tablet market to reduce PC sales significantly in 2011 as well. Citigroup analysts reduced their forecast from 12% growth in PC sales down to 9%. FBR analyst Craig Berger is more optimistic about Apple’s fortunes in the tablet market next year. Berger predicts that 70 million tablets will be sold, 40 million of which will be iPads, and that every 2.5 tablets sold will result in one less traditional PC sold.
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) Offers Free GPS With Fourth-Generation iPod Touch: Big box electronic retailer and long time Apple partner Best Buy launched a number of aggressive promotions to push the iPod Touch this past weekend. The sales started Sunday, after the Black Friday push, and may indicate that other Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad are cannibalizing sales of the company’s portable media player. The lead promotion is the inclusion of a free Best Buy-branded GPS unit with each sale of an 8GB fourth-generation iPod Touch. The fourth-generation iPod Touch debuted in September and was expected to revitalize the flagging iPod sector of Apple’s business.
As of this writing, Anthony Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
