Apple Tablet Rumors Heat Up

The rumored Apple tablet device could add $1.2 billion to the company's revenue stream in 2010 if it is priced around $600.

That prediction comes from Piper Jaffary analyst Gene Munster, who today released a new note with his predictions for the affect that an Apple tablet device could have on the company.

"While at first glance this may appear to address a niche market, we believe the addressable market is larger than that of the Apple TV, of which Apple sold about 1.2 [million] in its first year," Munster wrote in his report referring to the tablet device, Apple Insider reports.

Munster also believes that a tablet from the Cupertino Crew will be priced around $600; if Apple moves the number of units Munster predicts, the tablet could account for 3 percent of Apple's revenue, or about $1.2 billon.

Munster believes that Apple's tablet won't be available until 2010, whereas previous reports believed the device would be on the streets later this year.

"Last week we spoke with an Asian component supplier that has received orders from Apple for a touch-screen device to be fulfilled by late '09," Munster wrote, according to Fortune. "This data point underscores our thesis that a tablet will likely launch in early [2010]."

The features that may or may not be included on a tablet from Apple have also been the target of speculation.

Munster believes that the device will be similar to an iPod Touch and run most of the apps available in the App Store and that apps specific to the device will spawn a new section of the App Store.

Although the tablet isn't a netbook, the Apple device will have a function similar to that of the lightweight sub-notebooks, Munster believes.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE