Image from Piper Jaffray
Fortune summarizes a new research report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who estimates that Apple could sell two million of its rumored tablet computer in 2010 at $600 each, adding a small but not inconsequential 3% to Apple's revenue stream for the year. Munster also provides a mockup (above) of what he believes the device will look like.
The device, as he sees it, will
- Be similar to an iPod touch, only larger, capable of running most of the 70,000 applications on the iPhone App Store plus a new category of apps designed for the bigger screen.
- Will be used primarily for Web surfing, e-mail, and digital media, competing with netbooks without being a netbook.
- Will be priced between an iPhone and a MacBook -- between $500 and $700.
- Is likely to include a 3G cellular modem and could be subsidized by a carrier -- either AT&T or Verizon.
- Will sell better than Apple TV did its first year (1.2 million units).
- Could in fact sell 2 million units at $600 each to generate $1.2 billion and add about 3% to Apple's revenue stream in calendar 2010.
Munster stands by his previous comments claiming that the device will launch in 2010, noting that he has received word from component suppliers in Asia that Apple's orders with them for the new parts of the new device are scheduled for delivery late this year, pushing the device's launch into early 2010. Other sources, however, have claimed that Apple's tablet computer could launch as early as September.
