Apple, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) so-called iPad mini tablet computer may be the new toast of the consumer electronics world if and when released, but the manufacturing process has been hard on suppliers.
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This was the observation of Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, who cautioned that suppliers have had a difficult timecreating a device up to the iPad mini’s required specifications. This, said White, has caused yields on mini production to be “frustrating.”
White added that this was actually the reason why Apple had put off the new product’s launching, rescheduling it from September to what could be October, if rumors are to be believed. In White’s note to investors sent on Thursday, he opined that “the supply chain feels the much anticipated iPad Mini is on track to reach acceptable volume levels for a launch over the next month,” even if there have been definite yield problems.
Regarding the iPad mini’s price point, White forecasted that the device would sell between $250 and $300, and that Apple would sell a maximum of 7 million units in the December ending quarter.
He said that Apple should “maintain the iconic aesthetics of the current (third-generation) iPad” and “blow away” other tablets in similar or lower price ranges. The iPad mini’s competition is expected to include the Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nexus 7 and the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire.