Apple Tablet Mass Production In February Claims Analyst; Serious Kindle Rival In The Making?

With no official nod from its supposed creators, the Apple Tablet is still the pinnacle of rumorware right now, but that doesn't stop analysts from making mass production predictions.  Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner has cited "checks into Apple's supply chain" as providing sufficient evidence that the company is preparing to kick off production in February of a 10.1-inch multitouch LCD based tablet, as well as unnamed contacts who claim the Cupertino company has been approaching book publishers with "a very attractive proposal for distributing their content".

According to Reiner, the deal Apple are offering is especially designed to whip the rug out from underneath Amazon's Kindle.  He claims publishers are being offered a 30/70 split on ebook profits, with publishers taking the lion's share; in contrast, Amazon are believed to demand a 50/50 split, only matching the presumed Apple deal if publishers agree to Kindle exclusivity.

While we're inherently sceptical about any Apple Tablet rumor, Reiner does score points by use of the phrase "scribbling marginalia" (in the context of making ebooks more relevant for education by enabling more complex note-taking functionality).  The analyst reckons the device will launch in late March or April, priced at $1,000 each and with Apple selling as many as 1m tablets per month.

[via OLED-Display]