MacRumors

Research firm IDC today announced its preliminary estimates of worldwide tablet shipments for the second quarter of 2013, finding that Apple's share of the market has fallen to under a third. According to IDC's numbers, Apple held a 32.4% share of the market for quarter, compared to 39.6% in the previous quarter and a 60.3% share in the year-ago quarter.

While other top tablet manufacturers saw their shipments rise by 100-300% over the second quarter of 2012, the lack of a new iPad launch from Apple in the March-April timeframe resulted in a 14% drop in Apple's numbers. Still, other top vendors saw their shipments drop sequentially, with IDC attributing those drops to a lack of a general boost in tablet interest that accompanies iPad launches.

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Worldwide Tablet Shipments in 2Q13 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)

In years past, Apple has launched a new tablet heading into the second quarter, which resulted in strong quarter-over-quarter growth. Now, Apple is expected to launch new tablet products in the second half of the year, a move that better positions it to compete during the holiday season. Meanwhile, the other two vendors in the top 3 also saw a decline in their unit shipments during the quarter. Second-place Samsung shipped 8.1 million units, down from 8.6 million in the first quarter of 2013, although up significantly from the 2.1 million units shipped in 2Q12. And third-place ASUS shipped a total of 2.0 million units in 2Q13, down from 2.6 million in 1Q13.

"A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally that has helped both Apple and its competitors," said Tom Mainelli, Research Director, Tablets at IDC. "With no new iPads, the market slowed for many vendors, and that's likely to continue into the third quarter. However, by the fourth quarter we expect new products from Apple, Amazon, and others to drive impressive growth in the market."

Second-place Samsung continues to close on Apple in the tablet market, garnering 18% of the market as all of the other major tablet makers continue struggling to hit the 5% mark.

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As always, it is important to note that IDC's numbers track shipments instead of sales, and thus how many shipped devices are making their way into consumers' hands remains unclear. IDC's figures are also estimates, as most companies do not release their exact tablet shipment data and thus research firms must rely on supply chain data and calculations from information that is made public by manufacturers to build their estimates.

The NFL has updated its iOS app for the 2013 NFL season with a visual redesign that includes easy access to news, video highlights, and scores, as well as premium upgrade features that are available to Verizon customers that allow access to live streaming to NFL games, NFL Network, and NFL RedZone.

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As the brand new, redesigned and rebuilt official app of the NFL, NFL Mobile is built to bring football right to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch! Breaking News, Video Highlights, Live Game Scores, Custom Team News, follow your Fantasy Football Team, and more!

Verizon customers can upgrade to Premium Features for access to NFL RedZone on Sunday afternoons, and watch LIVE NFL games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights during the preseason and regular season. Premium Features also provides access to NFL Network 24/7.

As AllThingsD notes, the full-game streaming is still limited to Verizon iPhone customers and only includes three games per week. Live streaming on the iPad will be governed by separate content access deals authenticated through pay TV services.

The 2013 NFL regular season opens Thursday, September 5 with the Baltimore Ravens playing the Broncos in Denver.

NFL Mobile is a free download for the iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

As noted by Engadget, music streaming service Spotify has announced "Browse", a playlist curation and recommendation feature that will begin rolling out to users of its iOS and Android today. Browse utilizes a new user interface within the existing app, with the playlists selected by Spotify staffers and set to accompany different moods and moments. The feature also allows for users to integrate songs from top lists and new releases and integrate them into the curated playlists as well.

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Going for a jog or to the gym? We've got the playlist to help you go the extra mile. Hosting a dinner or getting ready for a big night out? We've got you covered. We even have playlists for different moods, so regardless of whether you need an upbeat boost or something more relaxing to wind down to - we've got just the thing. You can also browse through a collection of our top lists and check out new releases.Rolling out to all mobile users from today, Spotify's new Browse page offers carefully chosen playlists for every moment of your day, handpicked by our experts. With an easy-to-view interface, features include:

- Music for every moment: We've got just the right tunes for your morning commute, the party tonight, and the hangover tomorrow.
- Music for every mood: More than just genres, listen to a playlist for romance or a collection of face melting guitarists.
- Browse for what's hot and what's new: Find all the latest album and single releases from your
favourite (or soon-to-be favourite) artists, and a collection of our top lists.

Spotify originally launched on the iPhone in September 2009 for a handful of European countries where the service was offered, with a U.S. launch following in July 2011. An iPad version of Spotify launched in May 2012 as the service's iOS app went universal, and the app holds a four and a half star rating across all versions, with over 228,000 reviews in the App Store. The iOS version also offers a 48-hour free trial of Spotify Premium, as well as free radio streaming for U.S. users.

Spotify can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Chinese government officials are investigating Apple suppliers and electronics manufacturers UniMicron and Foxconn after local environmental groups accused both of dumping large amounts of toxic heavy metals into nearby rivers. The area in question is an industrial district 40 miles west of Shanghai that has been a longtime area of electronics development, but has also recently been suspected of letting harmful pollutants into China's environment.

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Local officials are investigating plants owned by Taiwanese companies Foxconn Technology Group and UniMicron Technology Corp., said Ding Yudong, the vice director of the local arm of China's environmental regulator. The probe follows accusations late last week by Chinese environmental activist Ma Jun and a group of five nonprofit organizations that the companies are releasing water tainted with heavy metals into the rivers.

An Apple spokeswoman replied to the accusations, saying that the company has been working in cooperation with suppliers and environmental groups to meet the standards established by the company. Apple has published Supplier Responsibility Progress Reports every year since 2007 to track the ethical progress of its suppliers in order to bring transparency to its manufacturing process. The company also recently established an academic advisory board for its Supplier Responsibility program to ensure "safe and ethical working conditions wherever its products are made."

Last month, a Chinese worker’s rights group brought forth allegations of poor working conditions at Pegatron, another primary Apple supplier and electronics manufacturing company. The labor group accused Pegatron of making numerous safety and workplace violations, including the unethical holding of worker pay and poor living conditions within the factory. Pegatron currently employs 70,000 workers and produces one-third of the world's iPhones and iPads.

After a price cut to its Surface RT tablet and reports of modest sales last month, The Verge is reporting that Microsoft has cut the price of its Surface Pro tablet by $100 through August 29. The price cut applies to both the 64 GB and 128 GB versions of the tablet, bringing down the price of those models to $799 and $899 respectively.

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In July, Microsoft filed its annual Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealing that its Surface lineup of tablets had garnered only $853 million in revenue for the company, which is less than the $900 million writedown the company took for the Surface RT. While Microsoft did not reveal how many Surface units it sold, GeekWire estimated that it sold approximately 1.7 million units by the end of June.

Last month, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told employees at an internal Microsoft town hall meeting that the company had "built more devices than [Microsoft] could sell" in reference to slowing Surface sales. The company has been heavily marketing Windows 8 tablets recently, pitting different tablets against Apple's iPad in a series of ads that highlight the iPad's inability to multitask and its lack of built-in productivity software.

Despite the price cuts, Microsoft has suggested that new versions of both the Surface Pro and Surface RT are in the works, along with a number of new accessories.

pegatron_logo_smallDigitimes reports that Apple may shift some of its iMac production from supplier Quanta to electronics manufacturer Pegatron, a longtime Apple supplier. Currently, Quanta is the original design manufacturer (ODM) for much of Apple's Mac lineup, including the MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro, and iMac, while Pegatron currently produces one-third of the world's iPhones and iPads.

The iMac was last updated in October 2012 and brought new features such as a reduced thickness and a new laminated display to improve optical quality, but was also heavily constrained in supply throughout its first few months on sale.

Apple reportedly may shift some of its iMac orders from Quanta Computer to Pegatron Technology, with some related upstream supply chain players revealing they sent iMac components to Pegatron recently; however Quanta Computer and Pegatron both said they have no knowledge of the reports and refused to comment on clients.

This news comes after a Chinese worker’s rights group brought forth allegations of poor working conditions at Pegatron last month. Specifically, the worker group accused the company of numerous safety and workplace violations, including the holding of worker pay and identification cards, as well as poor living conditions within the factory such as tight living quarters and packed cafeterias. Both Pegatron and Quanta Technology are featured on Apple's Supplier Responsibility list, which was established in order to bring transparency to the company's product manufacturing process.

After the Obama administration vetoed a partial ban on the import and sale of some Apple products, Samsung announced that it has been granted a hearing in a US appeals court next year against the original ruling, as reported by the Financial Times. Concurrently, The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung has lost $1 billion in market value after the weekend veto. The South Korean government has also criticized the decision, saying it had "concern over the possible negative impacts that this kind of decision could have on Samsung Electronics' patent rights".

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Samsung revealed on Monday that it had filed a court appeal on July 18 against the original ITC finding, because the ITC ruled that Apple had infringed only one patent, rather than finding in favour of Samsung on all four patents it had claimed were violated.

The appeal was filed at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, a Samsung spokesman said, adding that an oral hearing was scheduled for the first quarter of next year.

Originally, the ban of Apple products was granted back in June in response to a ruling made by the USITC (United States International Trade Commission) and applied to AT&T models of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, as well as the 3G models of the iPad and iPad 2. The USITC ruled that all four products infringed on a Samsung patent, specifically Patent No. 7,706,348, titled "Apparatus and method for encoding/decoding transport format combination indicator in CDMA mobile communication system."

Apple and Samsung have been in a long, ongoing legal battle that started in 2011, with the first U.S. trial awarding $1 billion to Apple in 2012. However, a judge voided nearly half of that amount in March, and a new trial between the two companies is set for November of this year.

United_States_International_Trade_Commission_seal-1The Obama administration has vetoed a partial ban on the import and sale of some Apple products which was granted back in June in response to a ruling made by the USITC (United States International Trade Commission). The ban, which applied to AT&T models of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, and the 3G models of the iPad and the iPad 2, was granted after the USITC found that the aforementioned products infringed on a Samsung patent, specifically Patent No. 7,706,348, titled "Apparatus and method for encoding/decoding transport format combination indicator in CDMA mobile communication system."

Today, in a letter to Irving A. Williamson, the Chairman of the USITC, the United States Trade Representative Michael B. G. Froman declared the following:

After extensive consultations with the agencies of the Trade Policy Staff Committee and the Trade Policy Review Group [...] I have decided to disapprove the USITC’s determination to issue an exclusion order and cease and desist order in this investigation.

The letter further went on to note that the Obama administration was "committed to promoting innovation and economic progress, including through providing adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights".

The Verge has noted that this is the first time since 1987 that the President of the United States has interfered with a decision from the ITC. This comes after the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) recently criticised this sort of use of sales bans (rather than monetary compensation) as a means of executing patent infringement – as it in effect harms rival products and companies and does not promote a competitive trading environment. CNet had previously cited experts who believed it was unlikely for the administration to step in on this case.

Just last week, Verizon attorney Randal Milch published an open letter calling for presidential intervention in this case to veto the ban. The ban would have otherwise gone into effect on August 5th, 2013.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the comment thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All MacRumors forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

catch_logoNotetaking and archiving service Catch Notes has announced that it will be shutting down service on August 30. The service is providing current users instructions on how to obtain stored documents from its server in the form of ZIP or CSV downloads, and is also optimizing the files for use in other note-taking services such as Evernote and Simplenote.

Catch has made the difficult decision to take the company in a different direction. As such, we will be terminating service next month. We value our users and have greatly enjoyed providing Catch to millions of people over the last several years, but it is time for us to move on.

Catch Notes [Direct Link] originally launched in February 2010 and earned various accolades, including being featured on Apple's "New and Noteworthy" list for apps. The app currently holds a combined four star rating across all versions in the App Store, although the most recent version released just a few days ago has been hit with poor reviews due to crashing issues.

Following a report from earlier this week that appeared to show photos of the iPad 5's silver rear shell, Mac Otakara (via Sonny Dickson) has released a brief video that allegedly shows the front panel and back shell of the iPad 5 assembled together for the first time.


Unlike the rear shell shown in photos earlier this week, which was reported to have a silver Apple logo, this part appears to have a transparent or translucent logo. Apple's fifth-generation iPad is expected to launch as soon as next month, with a new iPad mini with Retina display perhaps following soon after.

A second video from Mac Otakara shows alleged rear shell and front bezel parts from Apple's lower-cost iPhone, which has been rumored to be called the iPhone 5C. A similar pairing surfaced in high-quality photos from Techdy last month with a full display assembly rather than just the bezel, although it is unclear if those parts were indeed genuine.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
Related Forums: iPad, iPhone

Earlier this week, Apple subsidiary FileMaker Inc. announced that it was discontinuing its consumer-friendly Bento database software to focus on its flagship FileMaker line. Now, AppleInsider is claiming that the company has laid off 20 employees and is undergoing the process of restructuring, according to sources from within the company.

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Sources say Thursday's rumored job cuts are associated to Bento's demise, adding California-based external representatives, sales engineers, and technical support staff were let go. The layoffs may extend further, however, as at least one person responsible for sales of the flagship FileMaker software is said to no longer be with the company.

The latest version of the company’s flagship software, FileMaker Pro 12, was released in April 2012. The latest version of the company's Bento software however, was released more than two years ago, with an iPad version appearing in June 2012. FileMaker will stop offering Bento in both the Mac and iPhone/iPad App Stores as of September 30 of this year, although it will continue to support the apps until the end of July 2014, according to a post on FileMaker's technical support page.

FileMaker Pro 12 is currently priced at $299 for new users and $179 for upgrade users. An advanced version of the software, FileMaker Pro 12 Advanced, is $499 and $299 respectively. Both versions of the software are available for purchase on the company's website.

Apple on Thursday altered its iTunes Terms and Conditions to permit children under the age of 13 to operate individual iTunes accounts created at the request of an "approved educational institution," reports Macworld.

Previously, Apple restricted iTunes accounts to children aged 13 or older, but the company announced it would be changing its policy with the release of iOS 7.

These App and Book Services are only available for individuals aged 13 years or older, unless you are under 13 years old and your Apple ID was provided to you as a result of a request by an approved educational institution. If you are 13 or older but under the age of 18, you should review this Agreement with your parent or guardian to make sure that you and your parent or guardian understand it.

With Apple's new educational policies, schools will have a program to facilitate Apple obtaining "verifiable parental consent for personal Apple IDs for students under age 13." In addition, Apple also plans to introduce better tools for teachers.

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iOS 7, which is expected to be released to the public in the fall, offers new Mobile Device Management options allowing teachers to set up managed apps, configure accessibility options, and restrict changes to accounts. Teachers will be able to lock student iPads to a particular app as well, to ensure that students are "on the same activity at the same time."

The new operating system will also bring an App Store Volume Purchase Program designed to allow educational institutions to assign apps to users while maintaining ownership and control over app licenses.

Apple's policy shift comes as the company continues its push for iPads in educational institutions. Apple has been involved in several large deals in recent months and won a $30 million contract from the L.A. Unified School District in June that will see the district purchasing iPads for every student in its 47 schools. Apple also met with the Turkish President earlier this year about a potential $4.5 billion deal that would provide Turkish schoolchildren with as many as 15 million tablets.

infinitybladeFollowing the cancellation of Infinity Blade Dungeons, it appears that a third game in the popular Infinity Blade series will be released in the future. Gaming site Kotaku has discovered that the LinkedIn profile of a QA Tester at Chair, the studio behind the series, has Infinity Blade III listed as one of his projects.

Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade 2 have proven to be some of the most popular games in Apple's App Store, so it is unsurprising that a third game is in the works. First released in 2010, the original Infinity Blade game and its 2011 sequel have earned Chair Entertainment more than $30 million.

The games take advantage of the Unreal Engine 3 and have been lauded for both their rich visual textures and their unique gesture-based fight controls. While there are no details on the third game, it is likely to be similar to the first two award winning titles.

When Chair co-founder Donald Mustard confirmed the closure of Infinity Blade Dungeons, he mentioned that there were additional games in development. "There's more we at Chair are totally planning to do in the Infinity Blade universe," he said. "More games, more books, maybe even other products. And we are very excited about that."

The upcoming cyperpunk-themed first-person shooter Neon Shadow includes a unique multiplayer mode that allows two users to play on a single iPad, according to our sister-site TouchArcade.

That's not the crazy part though, as Crescent Moon and Tasty Poison have worked together previously on the truly excellent Pocket RPG [$4.99]. No, the crazy thing is that Neon Shadow will feature a same-device co-op multiplayer mode on the iPad, and to my knowledge that's the first time an FPS has done such a thing on iOS. Seriously, check out how it works in this new video of Neon Shadow.

There is no information on pricing, but Neon Shadow is expected by the end of summer.

Bob MansfieldEarlier this week, Apple executive Bob Mansfield stepped down from his management duties at Apple in order to focus on 'special projects' -- reportedly working on the development of entirely new products for the company.

Now, 9to5Mac has additional details about how the shake-up affects other executives.

Dan Riccio, who was promoted to lead Apple's hardware engineering teams when Bob Mansfield first retired last year, will gain oversight of the company's antenna design teams in addition to his current leadership of Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod engineering.

Jeff Williams, who, as Senior Vice President for Operations, has been Tim Cook's right hand man for years, will take over the job of managing Apple's special projects engineering teams, while Mansfield gets to continue working with Apple's newest and most cutting edge designs without the distraction of management.

According to a source familiar with the former Technologies team, there has been a lack of formal internal communication regarding the reasoning behind the management shift. However, the company did make the new executive roles clear to these employees. Even with the lack of communication, sources say that the change is not unprecedented. Over the last couple of months, Mansfield is said to have been increasingly focused on chips (and some aspects of wireless) while delegating his other teams to other executives.

9to5 goes on to note that though Mansfield would like to retire at some point, he will likely never fully leave the company. Given the lengths that Tim Cook went in order to keep Mansfield at Apple, it's likely he will be given free rein to work whatever hours and on whatever projects he wishes.

iBooks.pngFollowing the Department of Justice's release of a proposed remedy to address Apple's e-book price fixing, Apple has filed its own brief (via The Next Web) that calls the plan a "draconian and punitive intrusion into Apple's business, wildly out of proportion to any adjudicated wrongdoing or potential harm."

Plaintiffs propose a sweeping and unprecedented injunction as a tool to empower the Government to regulate Apple’s businesses and potentially affect Apple’s business relationships with thousands of partners across several markets.

Plaintiffs’ overreaching proposal would establish a vague new compliance regime—applicable only to Apple—with intrusive oversight lasting for ten years, going far beyond the legal issues in this case, injuring competition and consumers, and violating basic principles of fairness and due process. The resulting cost of this relief—not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers—would be vast.

The DOJ's remedy would require Apple to terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers that the company is accused of conspiring with in addition to allowing its e-book rivals like Amazon and Barnes and Noble to offer links to their own bookstores within their apps.

It would also require Apple to allow a third party to monitor its continued adherence to internal antitrust compliance policies and prevent the company from entering into agreements with music, movie, TV show, and book providers that could increase prices for rival retailers.

The App Store section of the proposal is particularly troubling for Apple, as it would potentially allow major e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble to link to outside bookstores and sell e-books without being subject to Apple's 30% in-app purchase fee. According to Apple, its App Store is outside of the scope of the case and unconnected to evidence that was presented at trial.

There was no evidence admitted at trial, and certainly no finding by this Court, that Apple's general policy requiring e-book retailers to pay a commission on in-app digital sales was part of the conspiracy that this Court found. Likewise, there is no evidence that Apple conspired to restrain the distribution of e-book apps or to impose less favorable terms on such apps.

In addition to calling the remedy punitive and draconian, Apple argues that the DoJ's terms are "absurdly broad" and that the proposed compliance monitorship would be "unprecedented and unwarranted."

Apple asks the court to reject the proposed injunction entirely, or greatly narrow its scope. A hearing to discuss the proposal is set for August 9.

Techkiddy reposts (via phoneArena.com) some photos originally shared by Sonny Dickson showing alleged parts for Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S. While most of the parts have been seen several times in the past, the new fairly high-quality photos provide a continuing look at the parts, which include the nano-SIM tray and speaker button, as well as flex cables for the home button, charger connector, WiFi component, and speaker.
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Home button flex cable

Perhaps most notably, the home button flex cable continues to show no signs of a fingerprint scanner. Evidence surfacing in the iOS 7 Beta 4 code earlier this week showed references to a tutorial instructing iPhone users how to use a fingerprint scanner, apparently located on the device's home button.

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Front camera flex cable

The parts that we are happy to pass along to you are said to include the Apple iPhone 5S card holder, the charger connector flex for the device, the front camera flex, the Home button flex, speaker button, vibrator flex, Wi-Fi flex, On-Off flex cable and the Speaker flex.

One complication with part leaks this year is Apple's apparent plans to launch both an iPhone 5S and a new lower-cost plastic iPhone. Suppliers and other sources may in some cases be confusing which parts are from which device.

Earlier this year, French website Nowhereelse also posted photos of alleged iPhone 5S parts, including the home button, vibrator, and volume/mute flex cables, with no apparent evidence of a fingerprint scanner. The iPhone 5S is expected to launch sometime in the fall alongside the heavily rumored low-cost iPhone, potentially named the iPhone 5C.

Related Forum: iPhone

Research firm Canalys has for the first time found that non-iOS tablets have surpassed the iPad in global market share. While Apple still holds the biggest market share by a single manufacturer with 42.7%, tablets from Samsung, Amazon, Lenovo, Acer and others have combined to pass the company in total market share with a combined 57.3% of the tablet market. This compares to the year-ago quarter where Apple held 71.2% of the tablet market share, compared to other manufacturers who combined for 28.9% of the market. In total, worldwide tablet shipments grew to 34.2 million tablets in Q2 2013, up from 23.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

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Apple’s decline in shipments and share has been partly attributed to its aging portfolio. But Canalys believes that new product launches will have less impact on its shipments in future. ‘When Apple does decide to refresh its iPad range it will not experience the buzz of previous launches,’ said Canalys Analyst James Wang. ‘Tablets are now mainstream products and hardware innovation is increasingly difficult. With branded Android tablets available for less than $150, the PC market has never been so good for consumers, who are voting with their wallets.’ The move to smaller tablets has sparked a price war that has real consequences for the entire supply chain. These products generate little absolute margin for channel partners, vendors or component manufacturers. Content, applications and accessories (especially cases and keyboards) are now even more important to boost margins – areas where Apple remains a leader.

While Canalys saw Apple's share of the tablet market fall below 50% for the first time during the second quarter of 2013, other studies have shown that the milestone was passed earlier. For example, IDC showed Apple falling to 43.6% back in the fourth quarter of 2012. Difficulties in tracking actual sales and shipment, particularly with respect to generic devices sold in emerging markets, frequently lead to wide disparities in results from various firms.

Also unclear is what many of these non-Apple tablets are being used for, as web usage statistics have consistently shown the iPad dominating the market.

Apple is expected to refresh the iPad line as soon as next month, with the release of a fifth-generation iPad that is said to be lighter and thinner than previous models, and a new iPad mini that is likely to have a high-resolution Retina display.

Related Roundup: iPad
Tag: Canalys
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
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