Apple Tablet Supposedly Due to Launch in March

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For the last few months, there have been many rumors about a possible Apple tablet, but now more consistent information has come out narrowing down the timeframe of its possible release to March next year. Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner has made some interesting and rather detailed research on the subject as he found out that information from within Apple’s supply chain seems to point to a 10.1 inch multitouch device that is supposedly pushed as an ebook platform, possibly capable of toppling Amazon’s Kindle from its throne.

According to Reiner’s sources, as many as 1 million TabletMacs will be produced every month, and give the fact that they’re probably priced close to $1000, it looks like Apple can sell around 1 million to 1.5 million units, every quarter.

Much more important is the ebook content distribution deal that comes with the Apple tablet as that the company may provide a much better deal than Amazon’s Kindle store by taking only 30% revenue cut (the same as iTunes and its App store) — while Amazon takes as much as half of the revenues. More to it, Apple is also rumored to be in talks with print publishers for ebook deals.

Since the tablet is expected to go into mass production in February and considering the Apple needs to have stock for at least six weeks ahead, speculations have it that the tablet will be officially unveiled in March. And speaking of speculations, the device might have 3G capability and we may see some subsidized prices from mobile carriers!

Meanwhile we have to wait and see if Apple’s entry in to the still-young market of ebooks will be a game-changer and end up causing a pricewar. We’re in!