Apple Inc is preparing to launch a tablet personal computer in late March or April, with manufacturer partners poised to roll out as many as a million units every month, according to an Oppenheimer research note.
The highly anticipated tablet is expected to pitch Apple into the digital book market popularised by Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader. Apple declined to comment.
Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner said the new tablet could boost Apple's earnings per share by 25 cents to 38 cents per quarter, assuming that it sells a million to 1.5 million units each quarter at an average price of $1,000 and a corporate average net income margin of 22%.
"Our checks into Apple's supply chain indicate that the manufacturing cogs for the tablet are creaking into action and should begin to hit a mass market stride in February," Reiner wrote.
"The February ramp schedule suggests a late March or April commercial release, since Apple will need to build at least 5-6 weeks of inventory before going live."
He said the tablet will have a 10.1-inch multi-touch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen similar to that of Apple's iPhone. Apple has also approached book publishers to distribute their content electronically, offering them a revenue cut of 70% without requiring exclusivity, Reiner said.
He said that compares favourably with Kindle's 50% deal, and that Kindle only offers a 70% cut to publishers that give Amazon exclusive rights.
"As innovative as it is, we believe Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry [book, newspaper, and magazine] by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue," Reiner wrote.
"The tablet is set to change that."
Reiner forecast Apple's fiscal 2010 profit at $8.39 per share, compared with $6.29 in fiscal 2009, saying his estimate has not yet factored in the new device.
Shares of Apple were up 1.6% at $192.89 on the Nasdaq.
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