Apple's iPad has been incredibly successful, almost single-handedly relaunching the tablet market, but there are an increasing number of competitors on the horizon. To maintain its lead, Apple is reportedly planning a successor, to be launched early next year.
Although the company is keeping quiet on the planned iPad 2, a report from Taiwanese industry watcher DigiTimes
It suggests that suppliers for integral components of the iPad 2 have received certification from Apple and will start small-scale manufacturing in December. This will be ramped up to full-scale output in February.
The timings reported suggest that the iPad 2 will launch before the first quarter of 2011 is over, beating high-profile rivals to the punch. The biggest competitor on the horizon is Research in Motion's BlackBerry
PlayBook, previously known as the BlackPad, which is receiving increasing interest from businesses due to the power of the BlackBerry brand and the end-to-end encryption feature that keeps corporate secrets safe in the event of a device being lost or stolen.
It also shows a significant performance advantage for the PlayBook over its rival iPad, albeit on an as-yet unfinished version of the operating system.
However, Research in Motion has said that the PlayBook won't be launching until the second quarter of 2011, giving Apple the benefit of proven performance and a significant head start for its iPad 2 device. News Source: www.expertreviews.co.uk
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