14 DAY TRIAL // Susquehanna Financial Group analysts Jeffrey Fidacaro is spreading the word that production of Apple’s third-generation tablet computer will begin shortly.
Fidacaro says Apple has been talking to its manufacturing partners to have as many as 1 million iPad 3 tablets built in the fourth quarter of this year.
Fidacaro’s note echoes a report from one of his colleagues, Christopher Caso, who had noted earlier that the iPad 3 had been scheduled for a late-4Q production start.
Caso specifically wrote that “iPad 3 appears on the forecast for 4Q production start. Our checks indicate that iPad 3 has now shown up on AAPL’s production forecast for a late-4Q production start. We believe 0.6 mln-1 mln units are forecasted for 4Q production.”
Another analyst tracking Apple, Ticonderoga Securities’ Brian White, said last week that before the iPad 3 is unveiled next year, Apple will introduce a $200 ‘iPad mini’ that will give Amazon’s Kindle Fire a run for its money.