According to the International Business Times, the seemingly unstoppable  iPad tablet’s fortunes are set to double, with Apple expected to sell 65.4 million iPads in the year ahead.

 

The site elaborates that, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, this is more than double the 32.4 million units sold in 2011.

There are a number of reasons for this, which includes the growing market for tablets of which the iPad 2 is still considered a top contender; a possible iPad 3 being launched during the course of 2012; and the financial strength of Apple (earlier this year the company was reported as having more operating cash on hand than the US government).

This has enabled the Cupertino based company to set the expected price for tablets, and leave their competitors to try match their pricing or exit the market.

 

If the previous pattern is anything to go by, we suspect the iPad 2 may receive a similar price cut when the iPad 3 is launched, as happened with the first generation iPad. If this happens it would also enable the iPad 2 to compete against the Kindle Fire from a price point perspective as well, and potentially stave off further headway being made into the tablet market by Amazon.

 

The Kindle Fire, which is Amazon’s top of the range Kindle, surprised many (including us) earlier this year when it was priced at $199 (R1600), while its other e-reader devices were launched at even lower prices.  

However, the analyst also predicts that tablet rivals, such as Samsung, Lenovo, and Amazon will all impact on Apple’s market share. The International Business Times pointed out that, according to market research company IHS iSuppli, the good news for other manufacturers is that the market for tablets is expected to double next year to at least 130 million, and up 275 million by 2015.

In short, this means it’s very likely that the tablets wars are possibly only going to get fiercer – and more interesting – as this decade unfolds.