Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet accounted for just 2.4 percent of Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales, dwarfed by Apple’s iPad, which made up more than 88 percent of tablet sales.

New data from Analysis International highlighted by Reuters this week reveals that a total of 2.6 million tablets were sold in China last quarter.

That was up from 1.6 million a year prior, marking a 62.5 percent increase in the third quarter.

Apple’s share was well ahead of the second largest tablet maker, Lenovo, which accounted for 10.5 percent of sales.

While significantly less than 14 million in sales Apple reported for the past quarter, the sales figures show the Nexus 7 has made strong headway in the growing tablet market.

Taking 3.6 percent of sales was China based Ereneben, while Apple’s rival Samsung came in fourth with 3.5 percent of tablet sales.

The company currently commands the majority of the worldwide tablet market — with a bullet — but may see iPad sales erode under the pressure of lower priced competitors.

Apple sold a total of 14 million iPads worldwide in the September quarter, which was a 26 percent increase from the same period a year prior.

According to the special media event held by Apple on September 12, 2012, 400 million devices have been sold through June 2012.

The numbers also suggest that Apple has an even larger share of the tablet market in China than it does worldwide.

Figures that were released in June showed Apple with a 65 percent share of tablet shipments, below the 71 percent Apple accounted for in China.

According to a report from Computerworld, at least one analyst thinks the iPad mini will steal up to 50 percent of its sales from the iPad.

Launch weekend sales earlier this month topped 3 million, and subsequent reports have said that iPad sales have been even stronger than Apple’s suppliers anticipated.

However, the move fell flat with users after errors and glitches were discovered in Apples maps, prompting an apology from Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

The app was truly atrocious, spouting off wrong directions and lacking key features such as public transportation routes.

Apple dumped Googles maps app from iOS earlier this year in favor of its own internally developed maps app.

Earlier reports indicated that Apple opted to remove Googles maps from iOS because Google wouldnt allow iOS users to access voice turn by turn directions.

The Maps app, coming only a year after the passing of Steve Jobs, doesn’t say good things about the new people in charge.

New iPad, Not So New Whenever Apple came out with another iPad version in the past, two things were certain: Apple’s marketing team had done its job building hype to a crescendo, and Apple delivered on the hype with an amazing new feature.

The fourth generation iPad not only comes with Lightning, but is packed with an A6X system on a chip, and has improved LTE support around the world.

It’s the exact same 9.7 inch, 2048 x 1536 Retina Display found in the 3rd generation iPad.

The fourth generation iPad includes a Retina display, the new Apple A6X chip, and the Lightning connector introduced with the iPhone 5.

The fourth generation iPad is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

The iPad 2 is the second generation iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc.

The Forstall Firing Late last month, Apple brass ousted Steve Jobs protégé Scott Forstall and divided his duties among executives.

A new version was announced by Scott Forstall at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 keynote on June 11, 2012.

The Forstall firing signals a new kind of post Jobs Apple led by a supply chain guru who believes in collaboration.

However, the move fell flat with users after errors and glitches were discovered in Apples maps, prompting an apology from Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

The app was truly atrocious, spouting off wrong directions and lacking key features such as public transportation routes.

Apple dumped Googles maps app from iOS earlier this year in favor of its own internally developed maps app.

Unnamed sources at the Internet search giant tell the British newspaper that they arent optimistic that a standalone Google Maps app will win approval from the iPhone maker.

The Maps app, coming only a year after the passing of Steve Jobs, doesn’t say good things about the new people in charge.

New iPad, Not So New Whenever Apple came out with another iPad version in the past, two things were certain: Apple’s marketing team had done its job building hype to a crescendo, and Apple delivered on the hype with an amazing new feature.

The second generation iPad was lighter, faster and could leap buildings with a single bound.

Applying filters, tweaking lighting levels, and making selections all went much quicker on the 4th generation iPad.

The third generation iPad brought a major improvement to the all important graphics.

The fourth generation iPad not only comes with Lightning, but is packed with an A6X system on a chip, and has improved LTE support around the world.

The fourth generation iPad includes a Retina display, the new Apple A6X chip, and the Lightning connector introduced with the iPhone 5.

It’s the exact same 9.7 inch, 2048 x 1536 Retina Display found in the 3rd generation iPad.

The iPad 2 is the second generation iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc.

The Forstall Firing Late last month, Apple brass ousted Steve Jobs protégé Scott Forstall and divided his duties among executives.

The Forstall firing signals a new kind of post Jobs Apple led by a supply chain guru who believes in collaboration.

Less than a month after the debut of Apple’s new iPad mini, and we’re already hearing rumblings of more big things to come from the Cupertino tech giant.

Munster also thinks that Apple will finally open up its Apple TV platform for third party developers, which would allow it to begin bolstering its TV app ecosystem ahead of a full blown Apple TV set.

Google TV is ahead in this respect, as Big G opened up its TV platform to developers long ago.

Apple might also launch an iTunes radio service, which could be a big threat to Pandora(NYSE: P  ) .

Pandora shares got crushed by 20% in September just on speculation that Apple was working on such an offering.

As a first mover with a large following, Pandora has a lot to lose if Apple steps into its ring, especially since it’s not even consistently profitable yet.

Summertime, and the livin’ is easyApple hosts its Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC, every June and should outline major operating system updates.

At this year’s WWDC, Apple updated its entire notebook lineup with the newest chips from Intel(NASDAQ: INTC  ) .

Munster thinks Apple will unveil MacBook Airs with Retina displays along with iOS 7 and the next version of OS X.

Intel’s next generation Haswell architecture is due out in early 2013, which should bring major improvements in its integrated graphics performance that can better handle Retina caliber resolutions without the assistance of a discrete graphics processor.

With Scott Forstall’s departure, iOS 7 will probably begin to show Jony Ive’s influence on the platform’s design.

Autumn’s tockThere should be no more lingering doubts that Apple has borrowed Intel’s tick tock strategy for iPhone launches, which puts 2013 as a “tock” year for the iPhone.

The iPhone 5 saw an industrial redesign so the next model launched next September should expectedly be the “iPhone 5S.”.

The iPad Mini gets a specs bump, and we get a new iPad, which is totally redesigned to look more like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini.

That’s a dangerous path to embark upon, because acclimating consumers to six month product cycles is a tall order to fill.

Apple will release the iPad mini with “Retina Display” in March 2013, a new iPad in September, and will debut an HDTV around $2000 in November 2013, reports Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

The full sized iPad’s product cycle is completely up in the air at this point, so the timing of this one is anyone’s guess.

Thankful for an Apple TV setMunster’s educated guess is that Apple will launch its long heralded Apple TV set in November, giving investors something else to be thankful for.

The television set may come in sizes ranging from 42 inches to 55 inches and could cost in the range of $1,500 to $2,000.

The biggest unknown on this front will be the go to market strategy and content negotiations.

Apple’s obstacle to entering the TV market has never been about technology or vision, according to Steve Jobs.

This is where Eddy Cue will earn his keep as Apple’s online services head and current negotiator.

New Year’s resolution: Hit $1 trillionNext year may even be when Apple finally hits a $1 trillion market cap.

Meanwhile, it also faces some challenges on its way to making stock market history.

That’s why the Motley Fool has outlined all of it for current or prospective Apple shareholders in this premium report.

We’ve continued to add bonus reports, and you can grab them all by clicking here.

It’s down 20% from its September 21 intraday high of $705.07, according to Bloomberg data.

One theory being advanced by analysts is that investors are selling shares because they think capital gains taxes are going increase during President Obama’s second term.

Another reason is that Foxconn leader Terry Gou said, “It’s not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand.”.

Before the iPhone 5 was released, analysts were whispering of about a monster holiday quarter for Apple.

Apple’s best iPhone sales quarter was last holiday quarter when it sold 37 million iPhones.

But since the iPhone 5 came out and Apple has struggled to meet demand, estimates have been coming down.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster cut his iPhone forecast by 4 million.

On the one hand Apple is protecting itself from losing sales to smaller tablets by Google and Amazon.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook also introduced a new iPad with a smaller screen to fend off Amazon, Google and other rivals.

So, even if the iPad Mini is a monster hit, its impact on total sales will be limited.

In fact, Munster at Piper didn’t adjust his iPad revenue number after the iPad Mini came out.

After Apple announced iPad Mini sales, he said, “units may increase driven by iPad Mini, but have a slight cannibalization effect, which, when factoring in the lower average selling price, would result in revenue unchanged.”.

Returning to the iPhone supply issue, there’s another angle to the story.

They thought Apple was going to be able to manufacture boat loads of iPhone 5s, otherwise, why spread the supply thin.

But, there’s a theory being advanced by analyst Walter Piecyk at BTIG that people won’t delay purchases of the iPhone 5.

But, with the aforementioned tax issue, last week’s executive turmoil, and the fact that no one sees Apple releasing a new industry defining product at any point in the near future, and well, suddenly you get a company with oodles of cash, good sales and profit growth diving into a bear market.

Apples Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook may have just subtly revealed that the company missed its iPad sales estimates for the quarter.

This could actually reduce net Apple profits by primarily eroding their existing full sized IPad sales.

Apple likes to sell “the best products at every price point,” as Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook often says, but the company is essentially a luxury brand, and selling the finest possible product is more important than ensuring the highest iPad Mini price fits below the lowest iPad price.

However, as some analysts were quick to point out on Twitter, it doesnt bode well for Apples quarterly iPad sales.

Assuming Apple does follow its “ smaller, lighter” strategy with the iPad – what’s the price point.

At the iPhone 5 event last month, Cook noted that Apple had sold 84 million iPads through the end of June.

Therefore, the latest numbers suggest that Apple sold less than 16 million iPads during the September quarter.

By comparison, a survey of 61 analysts by Fortune found that Wall Streets consensus estimate for iPad sales in the September quarter is about 17.6 million.

Thats still a significant year over year increase from the 11.1 million iPads sold in the third quarter last year, though it falls short of the 17 million sold in the June quarter.

The company is currently the most valuable in the world, and with oodles of money in the bank, Apple could easily afford to sell the iPad Mini at a low enough price point that’s attractive to both consumers and Apple’s investors alike.

It’s long been expected Apple would announce a 7.85 inch screen tablet sometime in October, and after sending out an invite for an Oct.

23 event earlier this week, it appears Apple is set to announce the gadget.

Apple wants the iPad Mini Air baby tablet Nexus killer to compete against the cheap small tablets, not against its own high margin iPad 2.

The tech site says sources close to Apple’s supply chain are reporting Nov.

That report follows one by a site called Geeky Gadgets, which on Wednesday reported the same date.

Geeky Gadgets cited “someone close to a major UK retailer” as its source.9 to 5 Mac also reported the same date, albeit less confidently, in a tweet, which you can see below.

We’ll, of course, get official word from Apple at the company’s event Tuesday, but if you want to mark your calendar early, Nov.

Even the name of the new device remains unknown but observers have taken to calling it the iPad Mini, iPad Nano or even iPad Air.

According to 9to5Mac, Based on wholesale prices we’ve received, we believe the entry model 13 inch Retina MacBook Pro will cost roughly $1699 at launch while the higher spec model will cost $200 300 more.

NEWS ANALYSIS: Apple’s iPad Mini is reportedly in production right now, meaning it might launch in the next month or so.

But according to reports, the iPad Mini will come with a 7.85 inch screen, making the device a bit more manageable for those who want to go mobile.

According to the Journal’s sources, LG Display and AU Optronics began production on the LCD screens last month.

Simply put, the iPad Mini will prompt some major changes in the tablet market.

But if Apple launches the iPad Mini and it sells well, all of those products that many customers scoffed at because the iPhone maker did, will now be legitimized.

The Japanese blog Macotakara also reported rumors that production has already started at Foxconn in Brazil.47 PhotosThe evolution of Apple products Several sources speculate that the look and feel of an iPad Mini will be just like an iPad, but smaller.

If that holds true, competitors will need to reduce their prices to show a clear difference between their products and the iPad Mini.

Most journalists and analyst believe the iPad Mini will have a 7.85 inch display, LTE support, front and rear camera, iOS6 and a retail price between $249 and $299.

If one were willing to bet, there’d be a good chance the iPad Mini will succeed as well.

While Apple dominates the full sized tablet market, scores of competitors have cropped up with smaller, cheaper alternative tablet computers.

Last fall, Amazon and Barnes & Noble announced 7 inch tablets the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, respectively.

Companies such as Vizio, Barnes & Noble and a host of others, are trying to carve out a slice of the tablet space for themselves with extremely limited success.

In June, Google announced the Nexus 7 Tablet, which is also priced at $199.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble announced updates to the tablets last month.

The Kindle Fire HD+ and Nook HD+ are both 9 inch tablets with high definition displays that run on the Android operating system, which start between $269 and $299.

Soon after its launch, vendors will be offering up 8 inch tablets to gloat about their bigger screen and stave off any attempt by Apple to say that its display is larger than their 7 inch options.

Over the past couple of years, Apple has been taking steps to overhaul its retail operations and customer experience with the iPad.

From iPads for employees equipped with RetailMe and Concierge software to manage store operations, to iPads loaded up with software for the Genius Bar, to iPads with Smart Sign software sitting beside every product display in the store, Apple has overhauled its retail stores with the iPad.

This advanced haptics system would also work with almost every portable Apple device, including iPhones, iPod Touch devices, iPads, MacBooks, and even TVs, video projectors and e Ink displays.

AT&T, Apples first carrier partner, is planning to take these cues from Apple Retail in order to overhaul the way its stores work as well.

After having spent one year researching the Apple stores, this fact didn’t surprise us.

Currently, all AT&T stores are equipped with inefficient counter areas where employees work behind outdated computers.

These computers run software called OPUS that functions as the point of sale system as well as allowing employees to check inventory levels, news from corporate, customer upgrade information, and more.

AT&T has already started to take steps away from the counter in certain markets by deploying iPhones and tablets with stripped down versions of OPUS.

These iPhones are basic in their functionality, allowing employees to only conduct simple tasks like accepting payments for accessories and basic account management.

However, in the next two years, AT&T plans to completely rid its stores of computers and counters, moving completely over to the iPad with a feature complete version of OPUS.

‘s The Daily found themselves out of a job Tuesday when the iPad only digital newspaper fired 50 of its 170 employees.

Mogul Rupert Murdoch’s tablet era crown jewelis already showing signs of falling apart.

The company announced the layoffs and some major content changes today in a memo to staff and a press release, on multiple occasions citing the readers as the force behind many specific changes.

“These are important changes that will allow The Daily to be more nimble editorially and to focus on the elements that our readers have told us through their consumption that they like and want,” editor in chief Jesse Angelo said in a statement.

“Unfortunately,” he continued, “these changes have forced us to make difficult decisions and to say goodbye to some colleagues who have worked hard to make The Daily successful.”.

Just a few weeks ago, Angelo fought back against “misinformed, untrue rumors” about the paper’s impending demise, telling his employees to “ignore them.”.

He blamed what he said were competitors’ false reports on the status of the tablet only paper, and did his best to lift employee’s spirits by reminding them of the more than 100,000 paying subscribers who were renewing at a 98 percent rate and the advertisers who continued to buy space in the periodical.

The cuts will be concentrated in the sports and opinion sections, with sports content from now on coming from content partners, including Fox Sports, instead of being produced in house.

Murdoch introduced his iPad only newspaper in early February 2011 with a package of nearly 100 pages of original content produced in six different categories: news, sports, gossip and celebrity, opinion, arts and life, and apps and games.

A daily subscription costs iPad users 99 cents per week or $39.99 for an entire year, which translates to just 14 cents and 11 cents per issue, respectively.

Hasn’t given up on its endeavor just yet, saying in a statement that the company remains committed to The Daily, a sentiment publisher Greg Clayman echoed in a statement.

“As more and more people buy and use tablets in their daily lives, The Daily will grow with them. Like all good digital products, however, we must change and evolve to remain fresh, competitive and sustainable,” he said.

The digital newspaper will continue its original reporting, photography, and video, through a portrait only orientation, providing only video playback in landscape mode.