The iPad has little cannibalistic impact on sales of the MacBook, as the analyst suggests. As an illustration of this prediction, Mac forecast for this quarter has been reduced slightly from 3.9 million to 3.8 million. Meanwhile, the estimates have been kept at 11.5 million for the iPhone and 9.5 million for the iPod touch. However, Wu warns that, according to his sources, tight small-screen availability would limit the potential of the iPhone. The iPods have been revived by the launches of new Nanos, Shuffles and Touches.

Kaufman Bros. analyst anticipates $19.3 billion in revenue for the September period, with $4.12 in EPS. These figures are bigger than estimated earlier, with $18 billion and $3.74. For all of the financial year 2010, Apple could reach $64.1 billion and $14.64, more than previous forecasts, $62.9 billion and $14.25. As for the financial year 2011, estimates are $80 billion and $18.

Some people are excited about the perspective of having a new 7-inch iPad. There are many reasons for that, such as the easiness of carrying it, a cheaper price, and perhaps the most important reason would be that it would get closer to the size of the Kindle, which is the iPad’s main competitor when talking about the e-reader market.

Everything seems to be fine and there is an expectation for a cheaper iPad. The device would be smaller, easier to carry, but if only the size is the one that counts, buying an iPhone or an iPod touch would be the best option for those users.

The iPad is a tremendous device. Its screen is perfect for a device of its size. The introductory price is $499, which makes the iPad relatively affordable for a large category of users. Furthermore, those who have bought an iPad had no major complaints about it. Well, they could have some if it was about a seven-inch device.

That is because this size is probably too small for those who want to watch movies or Web videos on it. This could generate some discontentment. More than that, the seven-inch smaller footprint places the iPad in that dangerous area where consumers really have trouble to make up their minds. Why is that? Simple, for only $100 more they may acquire a bigger device, even a much bigger one. Or, they have the option of buying a smartphone providing the same functionality, but with calling added, for $100 less. Such confusion would certainly not help sell the product and what is sure is that Apple masters very well the avoiding of overlaps.

Users do like pocket-friendly devices, but is this all that matters in the case of the iPad? It depends on what consumers appreciate more: having a tablet which helps them be more productive and lets them enjoy entertainment or having a device easy to store in their pockets and ready to be used when they have nothing else to do.

If the latter alternative is the true one, then maybe there is no value in it. In this case, the size of the pockets is to be considered, to see what size makes the users comfortable with slipping the device in. but, if the iPad becomes too small, it could easily turn to a PDA. Everybody knows what happened the last time when Apple made a device that was too big to be put in a pocket but too small to be considered a notebook.

The iPhone and the iPad are certainly great creations of Apple. The perfect size of the iPhone and its design are created for people who want to be productive all the time. Meanwhile, the iPad is an ideal device for users looking for an entertaining experience in any circumstances. The disparity between these two devices renders them appealing to any consumer. Is it worthy to give up all this for the unique purpose of having a slightly cheaper iPad?

As Daniel Tello predicts, the actual first-day sales will be higher on April 3rd. Reservations at retail stores as well as walk-in purchases of leftover units are not included in current estimations. The original iPhone sales have also factored in just two whole days, at the end of the first fiscal quarter.

These calculations not only make the iPad the company’s largest line-up introduction to date, but also make it the most successful launch of a new class of products for Apple referring to units shipped. It is also the best launch of any e-reader or tablet ever known. Amazon always kept the secret on its Kindle sales, but it has sold only 500,000 devices during the whole year 2008. Barnes & Noble has benefited from a significantly larger market, but it was believed to reach the same level of 500,000 units sold for the Nook only this month, which means five months after the Nook was first presented.

The different versions of the tablet will have prices starting at $500, matching the starting price of the just-launched iPad from Apple. The model of the tablet, shown at CES, was running Android and would have little cost overhead when compared to a Windows Mobile-based device.

The same report claims that ASUS has announced its new digital content platform, the ASUS@Vibe, which would have news, music, e-books, web games and digital lessons for such devices, planned for the Eee Pad in June.

Yamane told the New York Times that the name iPad belongs to Fujitsu. The company is consulting its lawyers to see what could be done, although it seems that without the trademark there is not much legal basis to get satisfaction. In June, Fujitsu re-applied for the trademark but has been immediately contested by Apple at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Fujitsu neither can claim prior use of the trademark as another company, named Mag-Tech, had already applied for it. Apple has time until the end of this month to file eventual formal objection to Fujitsu’s trademark.

The Fujitsu iPad was launched in 2002 as a Windows CE-based handheld and was designed for warehouse workers. It has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The device belonging to Apple has similar features at first sight, but it has much larger size and lacks a number pad. It also lacks entertainment focus and has a significantly lower price at $499, compared to the @2,000 of Fujitsu’s device, and also addresses a different audience.

While specifications are still unconfirmed, the device is expected to sport Wi-Fi, WiMAX and HSDPA connectivity, a USB port letting users to transfer data onto the internal storage space, which is 2GB or 4GB large. An SD slot will allow adding supplementary storage space. Music playback is supported and there is a 3.5mm jack to connect headphones.

Users will be allowed to read RSS feeds and the device will be able to translate content and perform text-to speech conversion. The DR-950 e-book reader is believed to weigh 13 ounces and will be capable of reading formats that include TXT, PDF, Audible, HTML, EPUB, MP3, GIF, PNG, JPEG and BMP.

While photos of the new device were published, information about its price or the release date is still missing.

As a complement to the service, Microsoft would develop tie-in games for ESPN, as the New York Times mentions. The talks are continuing and as a consequence many of the current details may be changed.

This initiative is part of a larger strategy already including live TV or TV-like events, such as the 1 vs. 100 live game show or Sky broadcasts on the Xbox. The Mediaroom has been linked to the Xbox 360 and would provide gamers with their IPTV service through their consoles. Significant use of this service is yet to be seen, however.

While not declining the ESPN rumour, Microsoft admits wanting to put as much content as possible on the Xbox.

Microsoft not only wants to compete with the PlayStation 3, but also with some dedicated media hubs like Roku’s Internet Player or Apple TV. These devices, as well as the Xbox 360, focus on pre-recorder content almost exclusively. Such content is represented by rentals from the iTunes Store or Zune Video Marketplace, as well as Netflix and Amazon on-demand viewing. If Microsoft’s strategy is successful, the company will bring something quite new on the market.

Apple is already putting pressure on Microsoft as rumours have been heard of negotiations for an iTunes TV subscription that would provide downloads of most TV shows in exchange of a flat monthly contribution. Disney is supposed to be one of the earliest to agree to such a deal thanks to its Apple connection through the presence of Steve Job in its board of directors.

To allow the display to be flexible, LG used gate-in-panel technology, which integrates driver ICs onto the panel, instead of having them on the side of the panel. The weight of the panel is less than 4.6 ounces, but LG does not provide information on how content is stored or transferred. There also is no indication of any device such as a built-in application processor, a memory card reader or a radio chipset.

Whether or not LG Display will commercialize the 19-inch e-paper display in its current form is also information that is missing.

The HA-NC260 noise-cancelling headphones, with new circuitry monitoring outside sounds, removes up to 90 percent of the background noise, feedback included. There is a dual housing structure for each earpiece that allows better sound insulation. Memory foam cushioned ear pads provide better isolation of background noise. The pair of headphones uses a 40mm neodymium driver for each earpiece. The HA-NC260 is selling with a 4-inch cord, a .25-inch plug adapter, an airline dual plug adapter and a slim carrying case. The noise cancellation circuitry is powered by a 1.5-volt AAA battery. The headphones will be available in March and their price will be $200.

The HA-EB75 headphones provide a securely fitting adjustable ear clip in three colour versions – black, silver and blue. Their design is addressed to active users and they are splash proof and have adjustable ear clips. The headphones have .53-inch neodymium drivers for accurate bass reproduction and also a friction-noise reduction cord. They are scheduled to ship in February and their price will be $13.

As for the high-end Black series, it adds an in-ear model headphone featuring a Micro-HD driver, which helps placing the unit in the ear canal instead of outer housing. The HA-FXC80 headphone uses a carbon diaphragm and a carbon housing, designed in a tri-form triangular housing, its colour being black. Thanks to the design, the headphone can be worn in two ways – with the cord below the ear or with the cord over the top, behind the ear. The headphone is delivered with a carrying pouch and will ship later this month, at a price of $60.

The HA-FXP3 Designed for Fashionista inner ear headphones were designed by JVC for those paying attention to fashion. The new product comes in animal print patterns that include leopard, zebra, pink zebra and Dalmatian. Specially meant to women, they have medium, small or extra small silicone earpieces. The headphones use a .33-inch neodymium driver for bass reproduction, a friction-noise reduction cord and have a gold plated plug. Shipping window is February and the price is $20.

JVC has also upgraded four of its lines of current headphones in order to reflect the fifth-generation of iPod nano colours. The HA-F240 Gumy Air, HA-F140 New Gumy and HA-FX35 Marshmallow headphones are available in nine colours matching those of the iPod player of Apple. The JVC Flats offers a range of six modified colours. All these updated series will be ready for shipping in February.