Apple's rivals slow down tablets' production plans: JP Morgan

Analyst Mark Moskowitz noted that the build plans have dipped by 10 percent, with the reduction in the sales as non-Apple tablet hopefuls have adjusted to the weak showing so far.

Asustek’s Eee Pad Transformer, Motorola’s XOOM, RIM’s PlayBook, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab have dropped their build plans consequently.

In our view, the technical and form factor improvements of the iPad 2 stand to make it tougher for the first generation of competitive offerings to play catch-up, meaning actual shipments could fall well short of plan, Moskowitz wrote in a report.

Earlier reports of JP Morgan warned the investors that the build plan for tablet shipments of Apple’s rivals could “increase the risk of bubble burst.”

Apple’s shipment estimates have been lowered to 6.75 million iPads in the June quarter by the Wall Street analysts due to production constraints.

According to the analyst, the nascent tablet market stands to become big enough to create a ripple effect in the broader tech food chain in 2011.

Total tablet shipment will reach 3 percent and 11 percent of the total handset and smartphone units in 2011, the report said.