Apple Tablet tipped for April 2010

In case you had forgotten about the most anticipated gadget of the next 12 months, a Wall Street analyst has predicted in a new report Apple’s long-awaited tablet device will hit shelves by April 2010 with a brand new revenue model.

The report also predicts the tablet will emerge as a threat to the existing eReader market, offering digital products to rival those available on Amazon’s Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner wrote the “very attractive proposal” would see magazine and book publishers gain 70% of all revenue with no exclusivity rights for Apple, similar to the existing revenue split on the iTunes and App stores.

The move is a direct hit to Amazon’s Kindle device, which has gained massive popularity in the US as the market’s most advanced eReader. But publishers are apparently dissatisfied with Amazon’s terms regarding its marketplace, which require exclusivity, no advertising and a “wolfish cut” of revenue.

Reiner says this will cause many publishers to swing in Apple’s direction, with the new tablet device offering a range of features designed specifically for electronic publications.

Additionally, Reiner has said the device, which he predicts to cost about $US1,000, could contribute a significant amount to Apple’s revenue.

“We have not adjusted our model to show the impact of the tablet,” Reiner wrote, “but we believe it will be substantial. Conservatively assuming 1M-1.5M units per quarter at an ASP of $1,000 and a corporate average net income margin of 22%, the tablet could contribute $0.25-$0.38 of incremental EPS per quarter.”

This contradicts earlier leaks from tech blogs which suggest the tablet is designed to bridge the price gap between the higher priced iPod Touch and the low-cost MacBook, indicating a price of about $US500-700.

“The manufacturing cogs for the tablet are creaking into action,” Reiner wrote in the report. Several publications have also claimed Asian manufacturing companies have been working on the device for some time.

Reiner says the Apple tablet will include a 10.1-inch multi-touch display screen using LTPS LCD technology, similar to the iPhone, along with the possibility of including a pen-like device to use in conjunction with the tablet.

The industry has been awaiting the Apple tablet for some time, ever since analysts and bloggers started reporting leaks from manufacturers and corporate insiders last year. But some still believe the device is a hoax.

PC World’s Ian Paul recently wrote a tirade against the wave of supposed leaks, saying “these rumours are getting so ridiculous that I think it’s time we accepted the truth: the Apple tablet is dead; in fact it probably never existed”.

“It’s time to accept that the Apple tablet is not coming. After numerous delays the tablet was supposed to appear in late 2009 then as we approached that date it became accepted practice to say the tablet was coming in early 2010.”

Many analysts suggest an announcement will be made by Apple next month.