An analyst of the mobile internet device market has expressed an optimistic forecast for Apple’s iPad in 2011. According to Maynard Um of the UBS Investment Research, the tablet’s sales could reach 28 million next year. However, he also explained that such forecast may even be conservative as the number of people convinced to buy the gadget continues to grow all around the globe. Apple is still silent regarding this prediction but observers of the industry believe that the news would certainly make its executives elated and its competitors challenged further to increase their promotional efforts.
Even more and more people are buying iPads, this phenomenon has not affected the sales of the Mac, the PC manufactured by Apple. Um believes that Apple should not be worried about how its PC would fare with the iPad’s introduction. He said that if the iPad indeed threatens the sales of PC, it would not be that of Mac but of those lower end PCs. The lower end PCs normally have prices almost within the range of the iPad’s worth. Therefore, if people are planning to buy a PC and but would come across an iPad, they may just instead decide on the latter, a more handy and more trendy device.
Um explains that what should sooth the other PC makers from the iPad threat is the fact that this device still has many limitations when compared to notebooks or laptops. The iPad still could not match the data storage and processing capability of PC. This would be the reason why people may still prefer to have a laptop instead. However, Um added that if an individual has bought an iPad, he or she may decide on waiting a little longer before buying a PC. With the rate that Apple’s efforts in upgrading the iPad’s capabilities though, it is possible that people will also decide on purchasing it.
Um and the UBS have not predicted a rosy future for the iPad alone. According to them even iPhone 4 and the latest iPod update will also enjoy a prosperous year in 2011. Their forecast is that the iPhone sales could go into 52 million on the said year. This is a much higher rate to the 47.2 million which UBS predicted earlier. The increase is based on the fact that Apple has collaborated with Verizon for the sales campaign on the said year. For the iPod, UBS said that its sales could reach 20 million by the end of the year.
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