CRI听力:IPad 3 and Tablet Market

Apple unveiled its new iPad but have not yet decided on a name. As some had speculated, when it goes on sale next week in the U.S. and several other countries, it will be "the iPad" or perhaps "the new iPad", but not "iPad 3" or "iPad HD".

The new iPad has, as expected, a sharper screen, driven by faster processing.

The new features mean the tablet computer will be slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, because it needs a larger battery to power the high-resolution screen.

However, Apple enthusiasts are also slightly disappointed because the new iPad uses an A5X processor, which is a dual-core processor with quad-core graphics capabilities, not a real quad-core processor as many expected.

Nevertheless, Zhang Jianfeng, analyst and IT consultant in Zhongguangcun online, an IT consultant company, says that he believes the launching of the new iPad will further boost the tablet market in terms of available products.

"The development of the tablet market not only relies on hardware, it also brings a lot of opportunities to the software industry. For instance, the APP stores and software developers have already formed a positive profit-making outlook."

The iPad is not the only tablet computer in the market. Amazon's Kindle Fire, Lenovo's S2005, Samsung's products and other tablets using Android all have their fair market share.

Compared to other tablet products, iPad is regarded as a high-end product in terms of its price. John Abell, Wired Magazine's New York Bureau Chief, says price is one of the major concerns for consumers.

"The big difference I think for most people is that the non-iPad versions are 60% cheaper. So, it's less of a decision to make to buy a Kindle Fire or a Nook tablet."

Zhang Jianfeng says detailed market categorization is behind the successes and failures of the tablet products.

"Some tablets are more consumption oriented, like the iPad. Consumers like to use it to surf the internet and watch movies. While some other tablets target business consumers, iconic features include handwriting, recognition software, fingerprint identification and cloud computing. It's more suitable for these business people who have a higher demand for mobile office work."

Zhang Jianfeng adds that, so far, iPad's commercial model is pretty successful compared to other products. But major manufacturers will definitely put up more of a struggle in the fierce tablet competition this year.

Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads, including 40.5 million last year.

Some insiders speculate that tablet sales could pick up when Microsoft unveils a new version of Windows, Windows 8, which can run on tablets.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.