iPad 2 to ship in June??
New rumours are surfacing saying that Apple’s long awaited iPad 2, will be late, and will be heading for a June launch not April as expected.
As we have said before More iPad 2 Feb 2011 rumours, Apple is normally very regular with their hardware launches, the iPhone, Macbooks, ipods etc all operate on a yearly upgrade cycle. So we would expect a new iPad to be announced around now, with a launch in April. But word from the Far East is there are delays in the launch and we might see an iPad 2 launched with the iPhone 5.
According to Bloomberg plans to launch a new version of the iPad could be delayed by several months due to “production bottlenecks” at assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry.
Analysts at Yuanta Securities noted in a report that design changes by Apple implemented prior to the Chinese New Year may mean that the shipment date for ‘iPad 2’ is pushed back from April to June this year.
“Our checks suggest new issues are being encountered with the new production and it is taking time to resolve them,” said Yuanta analysts Vincent Chen and Alison Chen in the report. Adding “As a number of Android 3.0 tablets are being launched in April and May, the delay in iPad 2 shipments may give the Android camp a brief window of opportunity.”
Neither Apple nor Taipei-based Hon Hai has confirmed the delay. However, shares in Hon Hai had dropped 2.2% in trading at close yesterday to their lowest level since early December.
A two-month delay in introducing the iPad could lower the tablet’s shipments to 23 million units this year, as compared with Yuanta’s current forecast of 30.6 million.
iPad 2 do we care when it comes out? We’re going to buy it anyway aren’t we? What do you think?
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