Tablet Computer, Ipad | featured news

Fortune reporter Philip Elmer-Dewitt compiles sell-side and independent analysts forecasts on Apple.  He has gathered 56 projections that have an average of 18.4 million iPads sold from the Street analysts and 17.7 million from the independent analysts.  The median for all of them is 18 million, which would be 53% growth from last year’s 11.8 million and down 21% from December’s quarter.

... Yes, the words are the same, whether perceived on paper or on a small, illuminated screen. But the experience is not. One can read “One Hundred Years of Solitude” on a Kindle or an iPad, but one cannot see, hear, feel and smell the story in the same way. I’m unlikely to race to the sofa, there to nuzzle an electronic gizmo, with the same anticipation as with a book. Or to the hammock with the same relish I would with a new magazine. Somehow, napping with a gadget blinking notice of its dwindling power doesn’t hold the same appeal as falling asleep in the hammock with your paperback opened to where you dozed off.

Here's the scenario: You were the lucky recipient of a new Apple iPad this holiday season, and you're slightly overwhelmed by the 275,000 app choices (not including the thousands of universal apps that are compatible with iPhone, iPod, and iPad) in the iTunes Store.

According to a report by the Verge today, Microsoft is planning to release Office for the iPhone, iPad and Android in early 2013. Relying on inside sources, the Verge reports that Office Mobile will be offered as free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on mobile devices. The Verge also notes that Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, but edit functionality will only be enabled with an Office 365 subscription, which can be purchased using the app.

Apple Inc said its sales of Wi-Fi only iPads had doubled from its last launch as it sold 3 million in the three days since the introduction of the two newest versions of its popular tablet computer.

Apple Inc's "iPad mini" will attract new customers but the higher-than-expected price will come as a relief to low-cost tablets such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, analysts said, in a muted reaction to the new tablet.

The full-sized iPad is like a hardback book. The new iPad Mini is the paperback version many tablet users have been waiting for.

The smaller device will officially be called the iPad Mini and be priced starting at $329, pricey when compared with popular 7-inch tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7, which start at $199. The iPad Mini will have a screen slightly smaller than 8 inches -- the original iPad has a screen just under 10 inches -- while having the same screen resolution of the larger version.

The rumors surrounding Apple's press event, scheduled for Oct. 23, are deafening. Will the Cupertino-based company announce a smaller iPad? (It had better.) Will the company offer up a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display? (Very likely!) How about an Apple-branded coffee maker? (No.)

Wow, tomorrow’s the big/little day when Apple will hopefully unveil the long-rumored iPad mini. Alongside the smaller tablet it’s speculated that we’ll see a few updates to the Mac lineup and a UI update to the popular iBooks app. What has been quietly whispering in the background is the possibility that Apple would tweak the current full-sized iPad by expanding 4G compatibility and swapping out the old 30-pin dinosaur dock in favor of the new Lightning connector debuted at the iPhone 5 launch event last month.