Apple to unveil tablet in January, ship in March - WSJ

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Apple later this month will preview its long-awaited touch-screen tablet before shipping the device to consumers two months later, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.



Echoing claims of an early 2010 launch of the 10-inch device first reported by AppleInsider last July, the financial paper cited "people briefed on the matter" as saying that Apple has been experimenting with "two different material finishes" for the hardware.



Those with knowledge of the situation were unable to confirm to the paper whether that meant that the electronics maker is planning two distinct versions of the tablet, or if it's simply testing two different surface materials. It said the device will have a 10- to 11-inch touchscreen and will go on sale in March.



A report from last month indicated that the Cupertino-based company had been seeking solutions to strengthen the glass of the 10-inch tablet displays it outsourced, a move which allegedly contributed to delaying the product's launch until this month.



It's unclear whether the two reports are related to the same matter.



Nevertheless, the Journal believes the Apple tablet will serve as a "multimedia device that will let people watch movies and television shows, play games, surf the Internet and read electronic books and newspapers."



The paper also cited people briefed on the matter who say Apple "believes it could redefine the way consumers interact with a variety of content."



"Textbooks and newspapers, for example, could be presented differently through color screens, a touch interface, and the integration of live up-to-the-minute information from multiple sources," the report says.



Analysts expect Apple to charge less than $1,000 for the device when it does surface. In a report released last week, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he expects the average cost of the product to fall in the $600 range. He sees the company selling 1.4 million of the devices in its first 9 months on the market. Munster also predicted the device will debut by March.



On Monday, reputable sources reported that Apple plans to hold an event on Wednesday, Jan. 27th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In addition to the tablet, the media event could give way to version 4.0 of the iPhone Software Developers kit, which may include the tools developers would need to build apps for the larger-screened device.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 89
    rainrain Posts: 538member
    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?
  • Reply 2 of 89
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?



    The secrecy is because it's endemic at Apple and always has been. it's their policy to be that way.



    Given that it took three years for the competition to copy the iPhone (or even get close), I think the two month lead on the tablet shouldn't matter that much.
  • Reply 3 of 89
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?





    You don't just copy something like that in 2 months. Maybe 2 years. Just look at the iPhone. It was previewed in January and didn't ship until June.
  • Reply 4 of 89
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    The suspense and secrecy also plays with people's minds. Who, in their right mind, is going to buy anything else until they know what Apple's device really is and what it brings to the table. Apple is often criticized for their secrecy but it is absolutely brilliant marketing and no one does it like Apple. For them it's an art form.



    Oh, and it absolutely infuriates the Windows fanboys. This alone makes it worth the criticism.
  • Reply 5 of 89
    oflifeoflife Posts: 120member
    ...with a $300 device - just as they followed the iPhone several years later with the budget Genio phones, which have been a massive hit with the tween crowd here in the UK.
  • Reply 6 of 89
    gumguygumguy Posts: 27member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    The suspense and secrecy also plays with people's minds. Who, in their right mind, is going to buy anything else until they know what Apple's device really is and what it brings to the table. Apple is often criticized for their secrecy but it is absolutely brilliant marketing and no one does it like Apple. For them it's an art form.



    Oh, and it absolutely infuriates the Windows fanboys. This alone makes it worth the criticism.



    Then again, maybe there will not be a tablet announcement. As much as I would like to see one, and I will purchase it, one never knows with Apple. If it is announced and not sold till March, this strategy is definitely a good Wall Street decision as the stock will likely continue to do very very well. Business is business, and Apple does it well..
  • Reply 7 of 89
    alfiejralfiejr Posts: 1,524member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    The suspense and secrecy also plays with people's minds. Who, in their right mind, is going to buy anything else until they know what Apple's device really is and what it brings to the table. Apple is often criticized for their secrecy but it is absolutely brilliant marketing and no one does it like Apple. For them it's an art form.



    Oh, and it absolutely infuriates the Windows fanboys. This alone makes it worth the criticism.



    yes, you and Gazoobee are both right. Apple is pathologically secretive, and the resulting guessing game probably generates 10x as much media coverage as releasing advance details al la MS would. we all love the guessing game. and then the follow-up kevetching game. but not, however, the inevitable whining game.
  • Reply 8 of 89
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    Da Da Dommmmm. I really wish the internet had theme music with each of the "New" announcements.
  • Reply 9 of 89
    My guess is the "people briefed on the matter" is the WSJ reporter(s). I think Apple is going directly to the paper.
  • Reply 10 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?



    Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos).

    Thats why they announced the iPhone so early.
  • Reply 11 of 89
    I hope they are wrong about the $1000 price point.
  • Reply 12 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post


    Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos).

    Thats why they announced the iPhone so early.



    +1, you just beat me to it. In 2007, the iPhone was announced January then released in June if I remember right. It seems Apple tightened down even FCC timelines in the last 3 years.
  • Reply 13 of 89
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    In addition to the tablet, the media event could give way to version 4.0 of the iPhone Software Developers kit...



    4.0? How about 3.5 now?
  • Reply 14 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post


    Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos).

    Thats why they announced the iPhone so early.



    Actually, the FCC will suppress that information at a companies request. The reason they announced the iPhone was because it was MacWorld.
  • Reply 15 of 89
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Restalot View Post


    +1, you just beat me to it. In 2007, the iPhone was announced January then released in June if I remember right. It seems Apple tightened down even FCC timelines in the last 3 years.



    Yeah 2 months is nothing in Apple terms.... hope that price point is well below $1,000, bearing in mind the price of Macbooks - depending on what it will do, I dunno if I need one or not.



    Apple probably saves millions of dollars in advertising by their product launch approach and the media loves it
  • Reply 16 of 89
    I'd be very surprised if Apple announced a tablet months before it was available, because MacBook sales would plummet in the meantime: the Osborne effect. The early announcement of the iPhone was different, because it didn't compete with any existing Apple products.
  • Reply 17 of 89
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by [email protected] View Post


    Or because if it has 3G is needs to file for FCC filings which are made public (with photos).

    Thats why they announced the iPhone so early.



    True it would need FCC approval. However, photos were or are not made public as they are trade secrets and not for public knowledge.



    And no, it wasn't the reason the iPhone was announced so early as you stated.
  • Reply 18 of 89
    cory bauercory bauer Posts: 1,286member
    The cost of a MacBook would be far too high a pricepoint for a limited-use device. Who in their right mind could justify spending $1k on an oversized iPhone when one could buy a full MacBook for the same cash?
  • Reply 19 of 89
    Sick of rumors, Waiting for real announcement.
  • Reply 20 of 89
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rain View Post


    Why all the secrecy on a product... then unveil it and not have it ship for 2 months?

    Is it to test the market reaction before assembling them?

    Get some hype going?

    Give the competition 2 months to copy it, thereby rushing it to market and sucking so that the iSlate stands above?



    It is unlikely that others could create a competitive design within two months of the unveiling of a new Apple product. Heck, it has been 2.5 years since the iPhone debuted and Android isn't competing yet (it's basically sucking away market share from Palm and Nokia).



    While others suggest the possibility of an FCC filing, I believe that Apple is more interested in releasing an SDK and giving iPhone developers a couple of months to rework their apps for the new device, thus a much larger pool of apps would be available when the product ships in March.
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