Why It Is In Apple’s Best Interest To Launch iPad 3 In Q1 – Part 1

According to the latest reports from Digitimes, Apple iPad 3 might have a possible launch somewhere in March – April 2012. Truth is, there is no official word from Apple for even coming up with an iPad 3, let alone a March – April launch. But then, this has been the case always and Apple will lose out a lot of head start if the iPad 3 is launched late in 2012. The iPad 2 is still selling well, but coming out with a new product every March or April has been the tradition with Apple. Let us discuss on why Apple should launch the iPad 3 in quarter 1 of 2012.

iPad 3 has some strong competition in 2012.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and similar devices are already more powerful than the iPad 2. The iPad 2 was ahead of the rest when it was launched, but Android tablets have not only matched the iPad 2 but also are way ahead in terms of speed and features than the iPad 2. Apple will have to pull up their socks and claim the top spot again by releasing the iPad 3 in Q1.

iPad 3 should be wary of a cheap competitor – Kindle Fire

Although the Kindle Fire will be nowhere near in terms of specifications of the iPad 3, it has one killer feature, the price. $199 tablets coming from Amazon’s stable means that Apple should already be worried. The iPad 3 will not sell at $199 but still it can launch early with a $500 tag and it might be able to convert some Kindle Fire customers in its favor.

Android is a worthy competitor now to the iOS

Early in 2011, Android was still sprouting and it was almost nothing against the iOS. But thanks to the overwhelming response to the Android operating system by big time manufacturers, we now have some awesome tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Kindle Fire in the market. The operating system has also matured a fair bit and by all means is certainly on par with the iOS of the iPad 3.

These were 3 very good reasons why the iPad 3 should launch in Q1 2012. Stay tuned for the Part 2 in this series. Until then let me know yours view on this article. Subscribe to the newsletter to 

Why It Is In Apple’s Best Interest To Launch iPad 3 In Q1 part 2

Welcome back to part 2 in this series of discussion where we are trying to understand why it makes sense to launch the iPad 3 in Q1. Part 1gave us some strong reasons to believe that Apple should not delay the launch of the iPad 3 any further than Q1. But that is not all, there are still quite a few reasons why an early launch might help the iPad 3 in terms of staying at the pinnacle of the tablet market. Let us begin with the all important Windows 8.

iPad 3 iOS competition- Windows 8 might launch late in 2012

Windows 8 is under the works and it will probably launch in 2012. Now there is no doubt that there will be a slew of tablets running Windows 8. Windows 8 looks promising in the little tidbits that have come out in the open of the operating system so far. Delaying the launch of the iPad 3 late into 2012, might prove counterproductive to iPad 3’s sales. Although there is no word out on any Windows 8 based tablets but still it will be a worthy competitor and launching the iPad 3 late means that Apple will have more reasons to worry to keep its stronghold in the tablet market.

Global slowdown means the sales number of the iPad 2 will be lower

The global slowdown means that the spending power of people will be less. Some of the projections of early 2012 shows that people will be a little cash strapped and they will think wisely before spending on things. Launching the iPad 3 early on in 2012 might translate into higher sales number for Apple. There is a general tendency of people to spend on new things and people might loosen their purses for the iPad 3 instead of the iPad 2.

Launching the iPad 3 in first quarter will be a good strategic decision for Apple

If the iPad 3 is launched in the first quarter than Apple can space out the launch of the iPhone 5 by a good six months. Apple will be able to launch the iPhone 5 by September or October 2012. There are several advantages of this . For starters, it will give the buyers plenty of time to think what device they want to buy and secondly launching 2 products evenly in a year means that the buzz for Apple products never dies.

Wrapping up this series, I would like to mention that the iPad 3 will be a game changer if it is able to come out with all those features that has been mentioned here and that too in Q1 2012. Subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated with the latest of iPad 3.