Recent reports from mobile device market analyst IHS-iSuppli suggest that while the iPhone may continue a slide against handsets powered by Google’s Android operating system, the iPad will continue its stranglehold on the slate tablet market.

The first iPad tablet debuted in January 2010, with iconic former Apple CEO Steve Jobs showing off the “magical and revolutionary” new product at a press event. Since the iPad’s launch, the device has been wildly popular with consumers; iSuppli expects that more than 60 million tablets will ship around the world throughout 2011, with the iPad and iPad 2 representing more than 44 million of those. For 2011, Apple’s iPad line is generally expected to account for more than three-quarters – that’s 75%! – of all slate tablet computers sold worldwide.

Analysts and media following Apple expect that the iPad 2 will continue to be a hot seller through the holiday season, which is something that will make new CEO Tim Cook quite happy. With the next-generation iPad 3 not expected to launch until sometime in 2012, the iPad 2 will be left competing against new Android-based tablets from the likes of Samsung, Lenovo and Toshiba. As Android has dozens of high-level manufacturing partners, Apple may be left playing catch-up in some areas by the time the iPad 3 is fully baked and ready for launch.

Rumors surrounding the iPad 3 have been posted regularly, and many are hoping for some revolutionary leaps with Apple’s next tablet. It’s widely expected that the device will be the first iPad to include a “Retina Display”, which in the iPad would likely mean a doubling of the iPad 2’s display resolution to a new total of 2048×1536. This would allow application developers to simply scale up their graphics and designs, similar to how Apple managed the transition from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4. The device is also expected to feature’s Apple’s new A6 processor, which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) recently started to manufacture. Other additions, such as more RAM and flash storage memory, are virtually a given as well.

In their comments as to why Apple will continue its dominance of the tablet market, iSuppli pointed to the company’s recent bout of lawsuits with Samsung which have seen Apple making it incredibly difficult for the Korean manufacturer to gain any real market share. Courts in Germany and other countries have seen fit to block the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which Apple is claiming is heavily copied from their iPad designs. With Apple seemingly ready to go to war against other tablet manufacturers, the iPad will likely continue to enjoy strong sales.

iSuppli also mentioned Apple’s marketing efforts and their focus on international markets, stating that the iPad’s success comes from “strong marketing and retail expansion not only in China but also other developing economies…[and] Apple is still the only tablet player truly benefiting from peripheral advertising, with content providers promoting their iPad-enabled content. The iPad also has profited from being the early favorite in the education space, a factor that will help to boost sales during the third-quarter back-to-school season.”

Expect Apple to keep pushing hard to sell as many iPad 2 devices as it can before the end of the year. Once the iPad 3 launch gets closer, many people will likely delay a tablet purchase and wait to see what improvements the next-generation iPad will bring. Until then, there’s nothing left to do but enjoy the iPad 2 and wait!

While journalists, analysts and nearly everyone else is convinced that Apple is set to release their next iPhone handset sometime in September or early October, the same can’t be said for the company’s next iPad device. For weeks, rumors have been swirling around the iPad 3, with some suggesting that the device could be released in time for the 2011 holiday shopping season, and others pushing the launch back until the spring of 2012.

Today, the electronics industry insiders at DigiTimes worked their contacts in Apple’s component supply chain to try to get some firm answers as to when we can expect the iPad 3. In their report, DigiTimes quoted anonymous venders that claimed that Apple has yet to even order parts for the iPad 3, let alone have a future release date in mind. Due to the incredibly high sales volumes that Apple can produce with its wildly popular iPad devices, orders for the millions of component pieces must be made months in advance of the manufacturing date. If these claims are true, it would definitely push back the release of the iPad 3 for at least a few months.

As Apple has yet to announce their plans surrounding the iPad 3, we can only speculate as to what upgrades and new features the device will include. It’s a safe bet that the company’s A6 processor – now being produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. or ‘TSMC’ – will be in the next iPad, as well as upgraded amounts of RAM memory and flash storage. Many are also convinced that Apple will be producing a high-resolution display for the iPad 3 that is likely to be double the resolution of the display powering the iPad 2.

Launching the iPad 3 sometime in 2012 would make sense for Apple, as the company is still enjoying excellent sales of its iPad 2 devices and there’s no rush to start cannibalizing sales. Apple is well known for their ability to protect profit margins while introducing new hardware into the marketplace; bringing a new iPad device with an expensive high-resolution display panel in to the market on short notice would both hurt the iPad 2’s sales numbers and deliver lower margins on the new iPads.

The DigiTimes report’s insider claims concluded that these component suppliers don’t foresee any orders coming from Apple for iPad 3 parts in the coming weeks. As the company is most likely focused on the launch of the next-generation iPhone handset, the iPad 3 may be moved to the back burner until the new iPhone is out and selling well. As is always the case with Apple, we’ll learn a few tidbits here and there until the actual launch of the iPad 3 is announced, whenever that may be. Stay tuned and don’t sell your used iPad 2 just yet!

A new report about Apple possibly allowing carrier subsidies for the iPad 3 was published today by The Daily – an iPad-only news source. According to the sources quoted in the report, Apple is preparing to give carrier partners (such as AT&T and Verizon in the United States) the ability to subsidize the cost of the iPad 3 when a customer agrees to a data contract for the device. This model is similar to the one used to offer mobile phones at discounted rates, and may translate well to tablet devices that operate over the same 3G or 4G data networks.

Currently, carriers like AT&T and Verizon are not permitted by Apple to lower the price point of the iPad or iPad 2 in exchange for a customer agreeing to a data contract. Due to this, carriers have responded with contract-free prepaid data plans that allow customers to cancel without penalty at any time. Since customers can walk away freely, taking their data dollars with them, it’s unlikely that the carriers appreciate or support this model. Also, since iPad 2 models that support 3G data networks cost over $100 more than WiFi-only models, customers have little incentive to buy an iPad directly from a wireless provider.

The Daily report suggests that AT&T and Verizon will offer the iPad 3 at a significantly discounted price as long as customers sign a two-year data contract. By offering this discount, carriers hope to move more iPad devices and help prevent the ‘sticker shock’ that customers get when they see how much an iPad 2 with 3G data costs. With mobile phones, the model works well; Apple retails a 16 GB iPhone 4 handset for $649, but sign a contract with one of the major wireless providers and you can get the same iPhone for as little as $199. It’s a perceived win for the customer, who is saving on the upfront purchase cost, and it’s a win for the carrier who gets a customer that’s locked in to paying fees for a number of years. In reality, customers would probably be better off buying an unlocked iPhone 4 from Apple and refraining from a contract that will cost a couple of thousand dollars over a two-year period, but since this model is entrenched in the minds of North American customers, it’s one that most accept.

Apple has a couple of very good reasons to protect the status quo, and to not allow carriers to subsidize the iPad 3. First, a move such as this could have a negative impact on the iPad brand, which is seen as the premier tablet device in the marketplace. Perception is reality when it comes to consumers, and if they see national marketing campaigns pushing the tablet at $199, it may actually reduce sales. Also, with many iPad users already growing accustomed to buying a new device each year, Apple may see reduced sales figures as users stick with the same iPad they purchased through the entire duration of their two-year contract.

While each of these reasons are realistic, they’ve already been somewhat disproven by the rampant success of the iPhone. A significant percentage of iPhone owners purchase whatever new iPhone handset Apple releases each year, and a good chunk of those actually renew their wireless contract to get a discount. A carrier-subsidized iPad 3 may actually end up driving sales figures even higher, as customers who come in for a new phone walk out with a new phone and a new iPad tablet. Only time will tell if this is actually the case, or if Apple even intends to allow carriers this privilege.

So readers – what do you think? Would you be more likely to purchase an iPad 3 if you got some form of discount from your wireless carrier in exchange for signing a data contract? With a device like the iPad – which sees an updated version released annually – is a two-year contract too long?

Rumors have been flying across the internet surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPad 3 tablet, with some predicting a launch as early as September and others claiming that Apple will wait until March 2012, following its typical iPad release cadence. Whatever Cupertino decides, it’s clear that fans are hungry for the next iteration of the iconic tablet, which is set to be the first iPad device with a ‘Retina Display’ – a 9.7” display panel packing an incredible 2048×1536 resolution. Unfortunately, if recent rumors are correct Apple may be suffering supply issues for these new high-resolution panels that will prevent the iPad from being launched until sometime in 2012.

The iPad 3’s specifications have yet to be confirmed or even hinted at by Apple, but already many are claiming insider information points to the next iPad having this new high-resolution panel. If true, the next iPad will have four times as many pixels than the iPad 2’s display provides, and will make the iPad 3 one of the highest-resolution devices that Apple offers. The challenge lies with getting enough of these cutting-edge displays to be able to create the six million next-generation iPads that Apple had supposedly ordered from its suppliers in Asia – orders that industry insider DigiTimes is now reporting have been canceled.

According to DigiTimes, sources inside the display industry are claiming that just one manufacturer – Sharp – is currently able to make these high-resolution display panels with high yields and reliability. Apple has traditionally looked to Samsung and LG for its iPad displays, but with neither company able to manufacture the new high-resolution panels at a high yield and without any quality issues, Apple may be ready to throw in the towel on its hopes of a 2011 iPad 3 launch.

Having issues like these with a newly-designed, cutting edge product is not an uncommon occurrence. Apple’s options are quite limited in this regard; either they can pay more to these display suppliers to ignore low yields and pump out as many iPad 3 panels as possible, or they can keep the high profit margins on the iPad line and simply delay the launch until the panels are readily available in the supply chain.

With more than 30 million iPad 2 devices reported to be shipping in this quarter and the device being just a few months old, Apple should be in no hurry to rush out a new device and risk the wrath of its loyal fan base if there are any quality issues with the new displays. The iPad 2 is still a well-powered device, and since there are only a couple of competitors that have released products that come close to the iPad 2 in quality and none that have touched its sales figures, Apple can withstand the wait.

The only question that remains is – can consumers wait? It would be a stunning blow if Samsung managed to get a Galaxy Tab device with a very high resolution display released prior to Apple getting the iPad 3 on the market, but even then it’s unlikely that the iPad faithful would jump ship knowing that Apple has another tablet around the corner. With no official word out of Apple, all that we can do is wait and see.