Friday Apple Rumors: Amazon Trims Kindle Fire Production in Advance of iPad 3 Launch

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Here are today’s Apple rumors and AAPL stock items.

Amazon Braces Kindle Fire for iPad 3 Impact: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will halve orders for its Kindle Fire tablet during the first quarter of 2012. The online retailer will, according to a Friday report at Apple Insider, cut production to 3 million tablets due to lower, post-holiday demand and the impending release of Apple’s third-generation iPad. Apple is expected to announce and release the iPad 3 during the first quarter. Rumors suggest that Apple will also continue to produce the current iPad 2 model and reposition it as a low-cost alternative to the high-end iPad 3. This means that Apple and Amazon will potentially be competing on equal price footing by the end of spring. Amazon, meanwhile, is rumored to be preparing multiple new Kindle Fire models, including a high-end model that will more directly compete with the iPad in terms of functionality.

Apple Market Cap Crests $400 Billion: Apple ended the week on an exciting note. After announcing its new textbook-centric initiative with the iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U apps, the company’s market cap passed $400 billion for the first time, bringing it ever closer to becoming the most valuable company in the world. Right now Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) continues to claim that title with a market cap of $417 billion. As of this writing, Apple’s market cap has dipped back down, to just above $395 billion.

China Telecom Finally Gets iPhone: Rumors that its competitors will support the iPhone have swirled for years now, but China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) remains the sole official carrier of Apple’s device in China. A Friday report in the Wall Street Journal, however, said that China Telecom (NYSE:CHA) may finally get its shot at the market. Apple was granted a license for an iPhone model compatible with China Telecom’s network. Apple and China Telecom have yet to confirm that the iPhone will branch out in China. Given Apple’s lust for expansion in the region, though, this new certification seems a sure sign that the iPhone will no longer be a one-telecom phone in China.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook. For more from the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/01/friday-apple-rumors-amazon-moderates-kindle-fire-production-for-ipad-3-launch-aapl-amzn/.

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