J.P. Morgan raises 2011 tablet forecast, Apple iPad to remain top dog

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz sent a note to investors on Thursday in which he said he is raising his 2011 tablet shipment forecast to 51.9 million units, up 13% from his original prediction. Moskowitz believes Amazon’s tablet, which may launch in November for $250, “could be interesting” and it may be the first tablet to truly rival the iPad, MarketWatch noted. “While the OS is likely to remain a weak spot on an Amazon device, we believe the brand name, content and distribution capabilities of Amazon pose risks to Apple’s dominance of the tablet market,” Moskowitz wrote. Amazon is expected to pre-load the tablet with its Unbox streaming video offering, Cloud Drive storage service and its own music and app stores. Apple’s iPad and iPad 2 tablets currently own more than 70% of the tablet market and Moskowitz says second place is still up for grabs. “We are still awaiting the emergency of a clear number two player, though this may not happen until the launch of Windows 8 in 2012,” he said. “In our view, smartphones and tablets are hurting PC growth, as consumers are being distracted by the array of higher-capability device options available. In addition to the cannibalization effect, we believe that tablets, plus smartphones, are resulting in consumers deferring PC purchases.”

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