Budget laptops, HDTVs likely best buys in November

As the holiday shopping season gets into gear, November promises to be a good month for consumers seeking bargains on budget laptop computers and HDTVs. Tablet shoppers, though, are less likely to see much price movement, as many slate lines are already being offered at rock bottom selling points.

Traditionally, the holiday bargain season begins on Black Friday—the Friday after Thanksgiving—but some merchants have already begun offering Black-Friday-like deals in hopes of producing more favorable holiday sales numbers than last year.

One of the hottest selling categories this holiday season will be tablet computers, but the real bargains will be in budget laptops. That's because tablet prices are so low already there won't be much "give" on their pricing in the coming weeks. A slate like the Kindle Fire, for example, costs more to make than it's selling for.

"[T]here isn't much room for discounts, and the best we might see in terms of tablet deals this Black Friday will likely be promotions that bundle these devices with a sizable gift card or credit," bargain hunter site DealNews.com predicts in its monthly best/worst buys report published earlier this week.

Unusual deals

Although Apple typically digs in its heels on the pricing of its products, tablet shoppers may find good deals on the iPad 2.

On Black Friday, Apple usually offers discounts on its products of 5 to 10 percent, DealNews says. It predicts, however, that steeper discounts—some as high as 20 percent—will be offered by some Apple resellers, such as Amazon, MacMall, and MacConnection.

With those discounts, the iPad 2 could wind up selling for $299, or $40 cheaper than its little brother, the iPad Mini. The third-generation iPad—superseded by the new iPad released in September—may also be subject to bargain pricing, falling to at least $449.

Mobile options

While tablets will be high on the priority list of many gift wishers this holiday season, they might be better off setting their sights on a budget laptop. Prices on that hardware will sink below $199—the price of a Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 tablet.

In October, deals on dual-core laptops were around $218, according to DealNews; and by Black Friday the bargain site expects the note books to hit all-time lows of $179.

Shoppers looking for bargains on svelte Windows 8 ultrabook hybrids probably won't find much price movement on that hardware. However, the price rigidity on those tab-books will likely push prices on more conventional notebooks even further down.

DealNews is also prognosticating record-breaking lows for HDTVs in November. As the month started, 42-, 55- and 60-inch HDTVs had reached their lowest price points since the beginning of the year, price points—$332 for a 42-inch model, $800 for a 55-inch set and $900 a for 60-inch TV—that will continue to drop around Black Friday and beyond.

Source; pcworld.com

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Teardown finds Microsoft Surface RT tough to get into, with modular options inside

Microsoft's Surface RT may be handicapped with the new RT version of Windows 8, but should it break, is it more likely to wind up in a repair shop or a landfill?

As is its custom whenever a new mobile product hits the market, repair site iFixit has delved into the guts of the Surface RT, taking a look at the parts and repairability of Microsoft's tablet. The basic gist of iFixit's findings? Surface RT is difficult to enter, but once inside, you'll find a number of approachable repair opportunities.

Do not cross

As with Apple's iPad, the Surface RT takes some time and skills to break into, making it painfully obvious that getting into the device is not encouraged. The tough-to-remove camera cover hides seven crucial Torx screws on top of another ten placed throughout the device.

After removing the screws you'll have the break the "Surface" tamper-evident seal to get inside. Bye, bye warranty!

Modular love

Luckily the 7.4 V, 31.5 Wh battery is much easier to remove than the one powering the iPad. It's lightly glued down but with the help of the trusty spudgerand a couple minutes of patience, it's out.

If your speakers die out, you'll be happy to know those are modular, too. Just a little more prying and they come right out, leaving the Surface soundless.

Other odds and ends are easy to remove, such as the Surface's headphone jack and volume buttons that share the same ribbon cable. The front- and rear-facing cameras are easy to remove, but only after the motherboard is taken out to reveal the plastic bezel that pins them down.

Screen fusion

When a tablet needs repairs, chances are it's the screen. In the Surface's case, iFixit notes that the LCD and the glass plane are fused together, making separate repairs of the parts impossible. That drives up the cost.

Even if you do want to go ahead with the screen replacement, it will require a heat gun and a saint's patience to get to it. Long story short: don't break the screen.

The takeaway

The Microsoft Surface RT may take after Fort Knox by being a pain to break into it. But once inside, iFixit found plenty of removable and replaceable modular parts. However, that stops as soon as you reach the LCD and glass pane screen. The fused components will need to be replaced for a hefty price if you aren't careful with your tablet.

Source: pcworld.com

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Apple iPad Mini: All the iPad at (nearly) half the cost

s the Apple iPad Mini the right tablet for business? Perhaps. It depends on whether you’re in the market for a tablet in general, or if you’re really only in the market for an iPad.

Many expected Apple to offer the iPad Mini at about half the cost of the $499 iPad. Instead,the iPad Mini is $329—or about 65 percent of the price of the larger iPad. It’s not $250, but at $329 the iPad Mini could still be a cost effective option for businesses.

If you’re already deploying, or considering deploying iPads to your users, then you’re probably already beyond the point of evaluating different mobile platforms, and determining whether alternative tablets will work for you. In that case, you should certainly stop and take a closer look at the iPad Mini.

There are cheaper 7-inch tablet options out there,
like the Google Nexus 7

Aside from a price that’s 35 percent less than the 16GB Wi-Fi third-generation iPad,the iPad Mini is almost 25 percent thinner, and more than 50 percent lighter than it’s larger sibling. Yet, it still has access to all 275,000 of the apps developed specifically for the iPad, and it still has Siri and FaceTime HD. Unless there’s a specific reason you’re mobile users must have the larger display, the iPad Mini still gives you all the features and capabilities you’re looking for in a smaller, less expensive package.

Of course, if you’re actually just interested in 7-inch tablets for your workforce and you aren’t committed to the iPad, there are other options out there. The Google Nexus 7 starts at $199, and costs only $249 for a 16GB model—rumor has it that it will soon be 32GB at that same price point. A 32GB Google Nexus 7 for $249 presents a very compelling argument against investing $329 for a 16GB iPad Mini.

The Google Nexus 7 also has a number of advantages over the iPad Mini in terms of features and functionality. It has GPS and turn-by-turn navigation (only available in the more expensive 4G models of the iPad Mini), a quad-core processor, and greater pixel density compared to the non-Retina display of the iPad Mini. Some 7-inch alternatives, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, also offer expandable storage through a microSD memory card slot.

The iPad Mini is the thinnest and lightest of the established 7-inch tablet rivals, though. It’s also one of the few 7-inch tablets with both front and rear facing cameras. If your mobile users need to be able to take and catalog photos from their tablet, a rear-facing camera is an important element.

The iPad Mini is the only device among the 7-inch tablets that even offers 4G cellular connectivity as an option—although you have to pay an additional $130 premium to get it. $459 is substantially more than $199 or $249, but if your users need GPS capabilities, or to be able to connect to sites and resources without access to a Wi-Fi network or without relying on a smartphone or portable hotspot device to provide the connectivity, the iPad Mini is the only viable option.

If your business has already embraced the iPhone and iPad, and has already invested in iOS apps to get the job done, the iPad Mini might be a perfect combination of price and capabilities for your tablet needs.

Source: pcworld.com

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Apple plays hardball with iPad mini reveal

In staging an Apple event on Tuesday to unveil the long-awaited iPad Mini (and, perhaps, updated iMacs and MacBook Airs), Apple is poised to steal a lot of Microsoft’s thunder later in the week. On Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer willrelease Windows 8 to the masses and launch Microsoft’s first tablet, the Surface RT.

The Surface and similar tablets designed and manufactured by Microsoft’s OEM partners—including some tablet/laptop hybrids—are supposed to represent the company’s response to the iPad. All are designed to be lightweight and portable, offer extended battery life and will run the new Windows RT—a version of Windows 8 designed for ARM-based devices that includes a touch-enabled, non-commercial version of Office 2013. The devices will attempt to compete with the iPad on look and price and offer a range of features that appeal to consumers and business users alike: higher storage capacity, standard USB ports and expandable storage via SD cards.

Microsoft’s event should be a shot across Apple’s bow that says Microsoft can deliver a tablet experience as good as, if not better than, Apple’s iPad. Microsoft has spent months developing and planning for the launch to ensure its message is loud and clear.

Another Apple frenzy

There’s just one problem. Apple, which can create a media frenzy by inviting a select group of technology journalists to an event without even indicating what it will say, has done just that right before the Windows 8 launch. It will almost certainly be an event where Apple will wow the audience with news about how it is expanding its tablet lineup to include new form factors with lower price tags. Apple could even update its current full-size iPad lineup.

If nothing else, Apple will be able to preemptively remind everyone that it defined the tablet market with the original iPad in 2010, that it has the most robust app ecosystem in the world, and that Microsoft is more than two and half years late to the party. That’s a pretty powerful message, and one that the mere existence of an Apple iPad Mini delivers without anyone saying anything about Microsoft, Windows 8 or the Surface at all.

Apple’s playing hardball, something it’s been doing more of lately.

After Steve Jobs died a year ago, there was a constant buzz about what would happen at Apple—and to Apple. For months, each day brought new headlines questioning whether or not CEO Tim Cook was up to the task of running Apple. Each new product announcement, every response that Apple made to labor and environmental critics, and missteps like the iOS 6 Maps fiasco were fresh fodder for the “Steve would have…” musings by media pundits.

Most of those who weighed in assumed that Jobs would have done a better job handling the event or crisis du jour. But by making that assumption, critics missed an important consideration: Maybe Cook’s leadership is actually better for Apple.

Cook may not be the firebrand that Jobs was, but it has become very clear over the past few months that Apple under his leadership remains a force to be reckoned with.

The timing of the iPad Mini announcement—rumored to have been delayed by manufacturing issues but possibly pushed back to control this week’s tablet narrative — sends a simple message to the Apple’s competitors. That message: We are the most successful technology company in the world, we have more resources than you, and we’re prepared to bring anything to the table to compete. You are playing on our turf now.

An invigorated Apple

That’s a far cry from the Apple of 10 years ago, the one Jobs rescued from ruin and that had only just unveiled the iPod. It’s even a far cry from the Apple of five years ago, when it had just released an iPhone that was almost laughable due to limitations like no third-party apps, no 3G connectivity, and its ties to a single carrier (AT&T). In fact, the Apple of today has something of the swagger of the company that brazenly welcomed IBM to the PC market more than three decades ago.

The timing of this week’s iPad Mini event is just one way in which Apple is using all of its resources to compete.

Dropping Google Maps

Dropping Google Maps, which resulted in the work-in-progress Siri-integrated Maps app in iOS 6, was another great example of this new attitude as well as an important strategic move. Google wasn’t providing features that Apple needed to compete—turn-by-turn navigation being the biggest example. That meant Google was using its mapping technology to give itself a real edge over Apple in the mobile landscape.

Beyond that, every time an iOS device owner used location services and map data—whether or not that use was in the Maps app itself—he or she was delivering a wealth of personal and geographic information to Google. Where is the user? What cell towers and Wi-Fi networks are nearby? What generation iPhone and what version of iOS is he or she using? What is he or she looking for—restaurants, bars, hotels, libraries, offices, shoe stores? What route does the user prefer to get someplace? That’s invaluable data for Google to apply to improving its mapping systems, but it’s also a ton of demographic data—the type of information that is at the heart of Google’s advertising business.

That’s information over which Apple had little control. More importantly, it’s information that Apple can now use to grow its own mapping and navigation systems, speech recognition technologies, iAd business and marketing plans.

In short, the deal gave Google significant advantages and held Apple back. Kicking Google to the curb and accepting the potential fallout was a ballsy but necessary move, even if it meant taking jabs over its Maps app.

Fighting Android

Of course, if we’re going to talk about Apple playing hardball with Google, we have to note the range of patent suits Apple has brought around the world to fight Android.

There’s the oft-quoted passage in Walter Isaccson’s biography of Jobs where Jobs says that he’s willing to “go thermonuclear” to stop Android. For him, Android represented a personal betrayal of trust and one that tugged at the psychic wound inflicted by Microsoft’s development of Windows. It was a battle that Jobs would almost certainly press to the highest courts in every possible country were he still alive.

Apple hasn’t backed down from that fight under Cook’s leadership, but it hasn’t made the victory against Samsung this summer personal, either. The company’s responses have been well thought out, calmly delivered statements about how Apple led the way with certain technologies or concepts and incurred R&D costs that competitors didn’t had to pay.

The Apple message is clear: It will use all of the resources at its disposal to compete. In this case, one of those resources is the U.S. patent system and the sheer volume of patents that Apple owns. You can argue about whether the patent system in the U.S. is broken or whether Apple should have been granted some patents. But the fact is that Apple has the patents and will use them. Doing anything less would put Apple at a strategic disadvantage.

The idea of using every strategic advantage even applies to recent reports that Apple has removed Samsung from the design process of the A-series chips that power iOS devices, relegating its mobile device competitor to simply manufacturing the chips and nothing more.

Ultimately, Cook’s leadership at Apple so far appears to be a calculated effort to retain the company’s prominence in the technology sector, the business world and on the international stage. That’s different than Jobs, who offered a more passionate style of leadership. But Cook’s take is equally successful and show how he is very adept at identifying and using each strategic advantage possible. That results is a more rational and reasoned company, one that clearly recognizes its power and potential and will use it effectively.

And that confidence will be very much on display this week.

Source: macworld.com

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Google expected to launch Samsung 10 tablet and LG Nexus 4 smartphone next week

Reports cite internal Google video as source

Google's product unveiling event next Monday will feature a 10-in. tablet running Android 4.2, possibly named the Samsung 10, and an LG Nexus 4 smartphone, according to reports.

The Next Web said it learned of the new tablet from an unnamed source who was familiar with an internal Google video describing new products and software to be launched at the Oct. 29 event in New York City.

Google had no comment early Monday, but last week sent out invitations for the event implying a variety of announcements will be made using the phrase, "The playground is open."

The report indicated the LG Nexus 4 smartphone will have a quad-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 4.7-in. display with 1280 x 768 resolution. It will also have a 2100 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16 GB of internalstorage and an 8-megapixel rear camera. It will run the Android 4.2 mobile operating system, also called Jelly Bean, rather than the next-generation Key Lime Pie, the report said.

The reported 10-in. tablet, with the code-name Manta, would have a better resolution, at 300 pixels per inch, than the new iPad, which has 264 PPI. That puts the Samsung device at 2560 x 1600 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Google's event comes at the end of a flurry of late October announcements, including an expected launch of an iPad mini tablet on Tuesday, followed by announcements from Samsung on Wednesday and Microsoft's Windows 8 unveiling with Surface RT tablets on Thursday.

Source: www.computerworld.com

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Apple Manufacturing Jobs Are Not Coming Back and That's OK

Everything about Apple is as American as apple pie, even its decision to send manufacturing and unskilled-labor jobs to China. What matters more is that Apple products have spawned high-paying jobs for skilled workers in America, writes CIO.com's Tom Kaneshige. That's why the Apple name keeps popping up in this year's presidential election.

These days, everyone wants to invoke Apple to score some political points—and for good reason.

Apple has become the standard bearer for American-style capitalism, becoming the most valuable company of all time. The iPhone has become the symbol of America's dominance as an innovator. And the late Steve Jobs has become a true legend: a college-school dropout who started a company in his parents' garage and became one of history's greatest CEOs.

But the political discourse around Apple is about more than celebrating a great American company. Apple has become a microcosm, a roadmap for competing in the new global economy where skilled workers, entrepreneurs and innovators can prosper, but unskilled American labor faces tough times ahead.

Apple rose to lofty heights during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression and has become a beacon of hope and recovery. It's no wonder President Barrack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney mention Apple at nearly every major event as they vie for the presidency.

August 27, 2012: Republican National Convention

Governor Romney pointed to Steve Jobs as a heroic risk taker who achieves the big payoff: "Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving... It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple and then he came back and changed the world."

September 6, 2012: Democratic National Convention

President Obama cited Steve Jobs as someone who embodies the American Dream: "We believe the little girl who's offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the next Steve Jobs or the scientist who cures cancer or the President of the United States, and it is in our power to give her that chance."

All the Apple cheering, though, took a more serious tone this week during the second Presidential debate, raising important questions about America's future.

October 16, 2012: Second Presidential Debate

Moderator Candy Crowley asked: "iPad, the Macs, the iPhones, they are all manufactured in China. One of the major reasons is labor is so much cheaper (there). How do you convince a great American company to bring that manufacturing back here?"

Governor Romney responded: "The answer is very straightforward. We can compete with anyone in the world as long as the playing field is level. China's been cheating over the years. One by holding down the value of their currency. Number two, by stealing our intellectual property; our designs, our patents our technology."

President Obama responded: "Candy, there are some jobs that are not going to come back. Because they are low wage, low skill jobs. I want high wage, high skill jobs. That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That's why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing. That's why we've got to make sure that we've got the best science and research in the world."

It's true that Apple and virtually every other tech gadget maker sends manufacturing to China, where Chinese laborers are paid very little to put iPhones and iPads together. Saturday Night Live did a funny skit recently on this.

It seems Governor Romney's call to pressure China would be part of a larger plan to take away the financial incentive for U.S. companies to outsource manufacturing overseas, thus hopefully bringing back manufacturing jobs. President Obama, on the other hand, doesn't even want those jobs back.

What's missing is the other side of the Apple equation: The iPhone and iPad, along with the iOS app and hardware peripheral ecosystems, have spawned many high-paying jobs for skilled workers.

In a landmark study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that Apple keeps most of its high-wage functions, such as product design, software development and product management in the U.S. All tallied, Chinese workers add $10 or less to the value of an iPad compared to American workers who add $160 worth of value.

"In America, when we talk about manufacturing, we should be talking about advanced manufacturing jobs for highly skilled workers that require a solid education and pay wages on which you can support a family," writes Arik Hesseldahl at AllThingsD. "And the fact is, there's a lot of American work that goes into an iPad or an iPhone or a Mac."

Too much has been made about Chinese workers who work on only the final stage of a complex product. Apple is an American icon because it creates jobs for highly-skilled Americans and showcases American ingenuity to the world, as well as makes a boatload of money.

Whether or not there are enough high-skilled jobs to go around or highly skilled Americans to do them is another issue, but one thing is certain: Apple has laid down the blueprint for the next-generation economy in America, and low-skill assembly jobs are not part of the equation.

Source: cio.com

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iPad mini tablet said to be Wi-Fi only

3G iPad mini not coming near term to help keep price down, report says

The widely expected smaller version of the Apple iPad tablet will have Wi-Fi but not cellular connectivity, according to unnamed sources in a news story about the so-called iPad mini. But it's not clear why that would be the case.

The new Apple device is said to have a 7.8-inch screen instead of the 9.7-inch screen in the current tablet model and will be marketed as a smaller, less expensive iPad, competing with Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7 among others.

The claim about having only Wi-Fi connectivity was made in a story posted at the U.K.-basedThe Guardian, by Charles Author.

"Industry sources indicated to the Guardian that they do not expect to see 3G-capable versions of the iPad mini," according to Author. "That would allow Apple to produce it comparatively cheaply and to limit the top price of the product, while retaining mobile broadband connectivity for its pricier iPad line."

Yet it's not clear why Apple would refuse to offer buyers a cellular option for a smaller tablet, if they want it. Apple's pricing for the current iPads is very simple and clear: you get a choice of three Wi-Fi models, based on storage capacity, and you have the option of adding $130 to the price tag if you opt for cellular connectivity.

For example, the new iPad, with the standard 9.7-inch screen, starts at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version; adding a LTE cellular modem increases the price by $130 to $629. The newest and just released iPod touch, which mimics many of the features found in the new iPhone 5, has a 4-inch screen and is only available with Wi-Fi, priced at $299 for the starting 32GB model.

With a 7.8-inch screen, the iPad mini would be nearly 3 inches larger than the iPod touch and 2 inches smaller than the full-sized iPad. Many pundits and analyst say Apple will have to price the mini at about $250 to compete with rivals like Amazon. Even assuming that they're right, having a $130 cellular option wouldn't prevent consumers from buying a less expensive Wi-Fi iPad mini.

Even Amazon offers cellular options on its tablets, complicating a somewhat confusing array of screen sizes, storage, and connectivity features. Currently there are three Kindle Fire models, two with 7-inch screens. One of those, the Kindle Fire, has only single-band Wi-Fi, and is priced at $159; the second, Kindle Fire HD, has a higher resolution and supports dual-band Wi-Fi (5GHz in addition to 2.4GHz) as does the iPhone 5, iPod touch and presumably the iPad mini. This model is priced at $199.

But the newest Kindle Fire model has a larger screen at 8.9 inches, high resolution displays, and dual-band Wi-Fi for $299; adding a LTE cellular modem boosts the price to $499. And the 6-inch Kindle Paperwhite e-reader tablet can be bought with a 3G modem for $179.

The Guardian's sources are at odds with at least one other rumor, from a Russian language Ukranian website, noted by 9to5Mac's Seth Weintraub earlier in October. 

"Ukrainianiphone.com reports to have obtained parts for the upcoming iPad mini," Weintraub wrote. "The parts, labeled in the gallery above, according to the Russian-language website, were from a source who visited the factory in Asia. Notables include the plastic spacer bars, which Apple has traditionally used for 3G and 4G radio equipment...."

Source : networkworld.com/

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iPad Mini's likely launch date means inventory will be everything, say analysts

Latest-ever new product launch could put Apple in a bind during the holidays if the usual shortages occur

Apple's rumored November launch of a smaller, less-expensive iPad will put the company in a tight spot -- tighter than usual -- if it's not able to build up and maintain adequate supplies through the holiday season, analysts said today.

Earlier this week, speculation resurfaced about an "iPad Mini," the tag given to a 7.85-in. tablet, when Fortune cited a source who claimed Apple would invite reporters, bloggers and analysts next week to an upcoming event.

That rumor was bolstered today by the Wall Street Journal today (paid subscription required), which reported that Apple's Asian suppliers had begun production last month.

Based on past practice, Apple would likely unveil an iPad Mini on Oct. 17 and start selling the tablet -- perhaps at prices as low as $250 -- on Nov. 2.

That date, if true, would be Apple's latest-ever in a calendar year for a new product launch. The company typically ends its introductions in October, and even then, has limited them to relatively minor refreshes of existing products.

On both Oct. 20, 2010, and Oct. 20, 2009 -- the current latest-ever record for a product debut -- Apple started selling revamped MacBook Air notebooks and iMac desktops, respectively. On Oct. 14, 2008, Apple revealed significant changes in its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines by introducing the first "unibody" designs for its laptop line. And last year's iPhone 4S started selling Oct. 14.

"The biggest question [for an iPad Mini introduction in November] would be how much out-of-stock problems there will be," said Steven Baker, a retail analyst with the NPD Group. "Assuming there's huge demand, which I think there will be, will they have enough stock to make it through Dec. 25? If they have just four days of inventory at launch, for example, retailers are not going to like that."

The retailers Baker was talking about would presumably include those that now sell the larger iPad, like Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart.

Customers would also be upset if stocks aren't sufficient, and long shipping delays are slapped into place almost immediately. The problem: The short stretch between early November and the heart of holiday sales, which in the U.S. start on Black Friday, Nov. 23, and run through Christmas, Dec. 25.

The iPhone 5, for instance, which launched Sept. 21, was quickly backordered to three to four weeks, where it remains.

Those kinds of delays could spell problems for an iPad Mini launched so late in the year. Customers, hoping to buy one or more for themselves and as gifts, could read the shipping delays -- especially as Christmas draws near -- realize they have little chance of receiving a Mini before the holiday, and switch their purchase to one of the many 7-in. tablet alternatives, which this year includes Google's Nexus 7 and a revamped Kindle Fire from Amazon.

"The problem is adequate inventory, it always is with Apple," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "If they can't meet what will probably be a very large demand, that's an issue. Frankly, they're not the only company with problems like these. Last year the Kindle Fire had the same problem."

Amazon's original Kindle Fire launched last year on Nov. 14, even later in the calendar than the iPad Mini's presumed Nov. 2 date. An estimated 5 million Kindle Fires were sold in the fourth quarter of 2011, but sales dropped off precipitously after the holidays, showing the need to strike when the holiday iron is hot.

"It's always better [to launch] sooner than later, because if there is a delay, you have time to recover," said Baker. "That's really a problem only for high-profile stuff, and more of an issue with people in the stores shelving and merchandising. The second [issue] is advertising. You want to make sure there's time to set that up. The later [a launch is] the less wiggle room there is."

Apple is unlike other computer and device makers, Baker admitted, because it has its own chain of retail stores, several hundred at this point in the U.S., Canada, China, Japan and several European countries.

At its own stores, of course, Apple has complete control of the process, and a late start to an iPad Mini wouldn't pose problems. But it still sells a good amount of tablets through its retail partners, who could be affected by a November launch.

"[Apple] gets a little more flexibility from retailers with iPads and iPhones because they have such a big share of those markets, and they drive traffic," acknowledged Baker, noting that it would be unlikely for a retailer to put up a fuss about an early November timetable.

And Apple's a special case for another reason, Baker argued: It limits the versions, or SKUs (stock-keeping units) to a minimum, unlike other OEMs, such as those expected to debut Windows 8- and Windows RT-powered tablet this year. Collectively, those hardware makers could present retailers scores of tablet SKUs. "Then the retailer has to reset a whole section," said Baker.

Apple has options, of course. It could alleviate potential shortages by limiting the 2012 roll-out to a few markets, say, the U.S. and Canada. However, that would be going against the grain: In the last two major launches -- the new iPad in March and last month's iPhone 5 -- Apple either implemented or plans to implement an accelerated roll-out to more countries, and to them faster.

In the end, there's a lot on the line, analysts say.

"A 'Mini will be pretty big..., huge," said Brian White, a financial analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, in a Monday interview. "Eventually, it will be bigger than the [traditional] iPad market."

Source: computerworld.com/

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