Analyst sees Apple selling 40 million iPad minis in first year

The evidence seems to support the idea that Apple is about to step into the battle for control of the 7 inch tablet market with a tablet that could be called the iPad mini. Already, the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus 7 have been engaged in battle with the latter having the advantage of running the latest Android  OS build. But according to RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani, a 7 inch version of the iPad could blow away the competition. In a research note sent out to his clients on Thursday, Daryanani says that Apple could sell 40 million units of the smaller version of its tablet, in just the first 12 months. For Apple, that would mean an additional $10 billion in revenue and another $1.15 a share in earnings.

The latest speculation calls for Apple to hold an event on September 12th at which time the Cupertino based firm will not only show off the 6th generation of the Apple iPhone, but will also introduce the iPad mini. Like many other Wall Street researchers, the analyst says that his checks of Apple's supply chain show that the September 12th event will be about more than just the new iteration of Apple's iconic smartphone, but he is not sure if the other device to be introduced will be a smaller version of the iPad or just a "refresh" version of the current model.

source: Forbes