iPad 3 Entering Mass Production in Q4 2011, Says Analyst

Susquehanna Financial Group analysts Jeffrey Fidacaro is spreading the word that production of Apple’s third-generation tablet computer will begin shortly.

Fidacaro says Apple has been talking to its manufacturing partners to have as many as 1 million iPad 3 tablets built in the fourth quarter of this year.

Fidacaro’s note echoes a report from one of his colleagues, Christopher Caso, who had noted earlier that the iPad 3 had been scheduled for a late-4Q production start.

Caso specifically wrote that “iPad 3 appears on the forecast for 4Q production start. Our checks indicate that iPad 3 has now shown up on AAPL’s production forecast for a late-4Q production start. We believe 0.6 mln-1 mln units are forecasted for 4Q production.”

Another analyst tracking Apple, Ticonderoga Securities’ Brian White, said last week that before the iPad 3 is unveiled next year, Apple will introduce a $200 ‘iPad mini’ that will give Amazon’s Kindle Fire a run for its money.

iPhone 5 to Pack A6 Quad-Core Chip by Samsung, Says Korea Source

Citing industry sources who are familiar with both Apple’s and Samsung’s business, a Korean report reveals that the duo’s partnership will continue with a deal signed for a quad-core A6 chip, while the litigations between the two continue.

And while there’s no sign of the two coming to a legal agreement any time soon, business is still business, according to a Korea Times report citing industry sources as saying that Apple still wants Samsung to be the main manufacturer of its A-series chips.

The A6 is headed for the next iPhone, says the report. The SoC (system on a chip) is quad-core, which sounds pretty fantastic now, but I reckon these kinds of application processors (AP) will become ubiquitous in late 2012.

Samsung Electronics will be applying its advanced 28-nanometer processing technology to make the A6. TSMC will handle some customized orders for the Cupertino giant.

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