iPad-mini

Apple's iPad Mini could be entering a rough few months, according to the latest information the sometimes-spotty DigiTimes.

The blog on Friday reported that AU Optronics, the company that supplies panels for Apple's iPad Mini, will only ship 2.5 million to 2.8 million units to manufacturers in the second calendar quarter, down from the 4 million it shipped in the first quarter.

According to DigiTimes, which is citing "supply chain sources" who claim to have knowledge of the drawdown, Apple cut orders in anticipation of a slowdown in iPad Mini shipments for the rest … Read more

An iPad Mini Retina looks possible this year. But will it duplicate the first Mini's success and dimensions?

Production of the display for the Retina Mini should start by July with a product likely in the third calendar quarter, DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim recently told CNET. (That said, delays are not unheard of in the annals of new product schedules.)

Which raises some questions about the Retina Mini -- no matter what quarter it makes its debut.

At only 7.9 inches, are the demands of an insanely pixel-dense 2,048x1,536 display compatible with the design of today'… Read more

Android dominated the global smart mobile device market in the first quarter, according to a new report from Canalys.

That market -- which combines smartphones, tablets, and notebooks -- hit 308.7 million units in the first quarter, representing year-on-year growth of 37.4 percent, according to Canalys, which released the report on Thursday.

By operating system market share, Android was on top with 59.5 percent of all smart mobile devices shipped. Apple was second with a 19.3 percent share, while had Microsoft had an 18.1 percent share.

Global tablet shipments grew 106.1 percent year-on-year to … Read more

Production of the display for Retina iPad Mini should start in the coming months, boasting one of the highest tablet resolutions to date, NPD DisplaySearch told CNET Monday.

"We should see the start of mass production of the panels in June or July," said Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.

LG Display will be one of the major manufacturers of the display, he said, adding that Samsung is not a supplier for the Mini.

"Samsung is currently not in the iPad Mini and they won't be in the next generation. LGD is becoming a much … Read more

Update at 11:15 p.m. PT: The iPad Mini will get a refresh in the third calendar quarter with a Retina display, NPD DisplaySearch predicted late Sunday.

This is an update to information that DisplaySearch provided earlier Sunday.

"We see two refreshes coming. One [with a Retina display] in the second half of this year, then one in Q1 [first quarter] of 2014," analyst Richard Shim told CNET late Sunday night.

"The Q1 [2014] device will have a Retina display plus an updated processor," Shim added.

Earlier Sunday night, NPD stated that the first iPad … Read more

Apple is good at addressing design oversights. Will Microsoft be as adept?

The Retina iPad, for example, violated Apple's design creed: products should get thinner and lighter -- aka, cooler. Not thicker and heavier.

But Apple fixed this quickly (six month later) with the iPad Mini trifecta: thinner, lighter, cheaper. And the iPad, reinvented as the Mini, has been a runaway success.

Now that Microsoft is in the business of making tablets, can it act fast when it commits product-design sins?

Surface is not a success -- yet. The Surface Pro is too big and heavy (and expensive), according … Read more

At first glance, new numbers released by research firm IDC show that Apple has nothing to worry about regarding its control of the tablet market, but a closer look could raise some doubts.

While Apple is still the world's No. 1 tablet maker, Samsung is No. 2 and growing at a faster rate. Looking specifically at year-over-year growth from first quarter numbers, Apple grew by 65 percent -- not bad. But, Samsung grew by 282 percent, Asus grew by 350 percent, and Amazon grew by 157 percent.

The question is: Is this part and parcel of a bigger problem? … Read more

The iPad Mini appears to be trouncing the iPad in popularity based on estimates coming out of the Asia-based supply chain.

Of the 19.5 million iPads sold in Apple's second quarter (January to March), 12.5 million were iPad Minis, according to an estimate from Taipei-based Digitimes that cited sources. The publication defines the number as "shipments."

Of course, only Apple (which does not break down iPad and iPad Mini sales) knows the real number, but this jibes with shipment trends that DisplaySearch was seeing in December.

At that time, DisplaySearch expected Apple to sell 6 … Read more

The expected iPhone 5S will see an extended delay in delivery, while iPad Mini demand is softening, according to a research note from Citigroup Capital Markets. The note also claimed a Retina MacBook Air is coming.

"We have previously written that iPhone5S, despite an accelerated design phase, was modestly delayed from June to July," wrote Citi's Glen Yeung in a research note Sunday. "With input from Citi's Taiwan-based technology research team...we now believe that a further 1- to 2-month delay (from July to August or September) is possible, likely stemming from volume production issues.&… Read more