Apple tipped to introduce lighter iPad

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple, which sold more than three million iPads in the first 80 days after the tablet's debut, may introduce a new version in the second quarter of 2011, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

The new iPad with a 24.6cm display might be thinner and lighter, with a built-in camera and mini USB port, analysts Henry King in Hong Kong and Kevin Lu in Taipei said in a report.

Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's largest contract maker of electronics, was likely to be the supplier, they wrote.

The iPad touchscreen computer has become one of the California company's top-selling products in its first year on the market.

The tablet faces competition from similar products by Hewlett-Packard, Samsung Electronics and Research In Motion, which unveiled an 18cm device yesterday.

Sales of such tablet computers could reach 16 million units this year and 35 million in 2011, according to Goldman Sachs.

The creation of a smaller, 18cm version of the iPad had not been finalised, the analysts said. Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment.

- BLOOMBERG