Apple's (AAPL) iPad 2 got off to a great start during the first weekend of its launch, selling an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 units. Apple holds a substantial lead in the tablet market over competitors like Research In Motion (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), Samsung and LG Display.

How Much Will Suppliers Benefit from iPad 2 Sales in 2011?

Here we take a look at how much various iPad 2 component suppliers stand to gain from the product's success. We assume that Apple will continue to source iPad 2 components from the same set of suppliers throughout 2011.

A few weeks back, we noted that while Apple's (AAPL) products continue to see huge demand, a key concern for the company is management of supply-related constraints. The recent Japanese earthquake has now added to these concerns. According to market research firm iSuppli, the earthquake may cause logistical disruptions and supply shortages for the newly launched iPad 2. Although Apple remains king of the tablet market, it is expected to face a growing set of challengers in 2011 from Research In Motion (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), Samsung and LG.

We maintain a $420 price estimate for Apple stock, roughly 25% above market price.

First we had the iPhone revolution. Now, The Financial Times reports that Apple (AAPL) is planning to expand the iPhone to handle mobile commerce, giving the company access to the multibillion-dollar transaction industry.

You are probably wondering what and how this will be done. The iPhone 5, due out this year, likely will incorporate technology called Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC incorporates financial account information and ties the data to specific devices.

Get ready for a flood of tablets to hit the market as tech companies try to benefit from the glow of Apple's (AAPL) iPad. And one of the first entrants is Samsung Electronics. This week, the company launched its Galaxy Tab.

And yes, the device runs on Google's (GOOG) mobile operating system, Android (version 2.2). The screen comes to 7-inches and you can access the Net via a cell phone connection (and you can make calls as well). There is also storage capacity of 16GB. Interestingly enough, the Galaxy has a front and rear camera, something the iPad does not have.

When you think 3D TV, the possibilities are limitless. That game-winning touchdown pass spiraling out of your flat screen, alien invaders flying ships through the screen ... and yes, even naked women strutting their stuff in your living room.

It's this latter and controversial content that is fueling the 3D business in Japan right now, where a pair of porn stars are leading the charge in developing three-dimensional entertainment that is compatible with Sony (SNE) and Panasonic (PC) televisions.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Bill Feingold.

With SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) -- which turned down a $26 per share bid from Samsung last fall -- now talking about raising equity at well below half that price, I think shareholders are going to be beyond irate. In what appears to be one of the great breaches of fiduciary duty of all time, management belittled Samsung for being opportunistic, trying to take advantage of a depressed stock price.

Funny, I thought that once you go public, you have made a deal that you are willing to accept the market's opinion of your value. I guess Sandisk's management somehow acquired immunity and forgot to tell everyone else.

Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) share of global handset sales has fallen from about 22% three years ago to 12%. Its cell phone division revenue is dropping at a rate of over 30% and loses money ever quarter.

For Motorola to break back into the black, it not only needed to launch new products to pick up market share, but it also needed the worldwide handset business to stay healthy. No such luck.

According to Reuters, "South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have cut their 2009 sales targets as a global downturn spreads." By most accounts these companies and other large manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) have the financial resource to weather a tough year or two. Not so at Motorola.

Motorola had planned to spin off its handset unit, but that has been delayed. The company's other businesses are profitable, so the cell phone business is dragging them down. MOT shares are off 75% this year to just over $4.

As hard as it would have been to imagine a year ago, Motorola may still have to dump its cell operation and perhaps put it into Chapter 11. Its fate is that grim. It needs to escape its employee and creditor obligations to make it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

It is hard to believe that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is still No.1 at anything. But, until recently, it was the market share leader in the cellular handset business in the U.S. The company may be losing money. It may be laying people off. It may have had to delay spinning off its phone business.

Now, MOT has lost its last crown. According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung took the top spot in the third quarter. The paper reports "The South Korean company reached the milestone -- with 22.4% of the market compared with Motorola's 21.1% -- by offering carriers a full portfolio of devices, from high-end products such as the touch-screen Instinct to lower-end phones given free to customers who sign up with a particular carrier."

It sounds like old news, but that is the troubling part of it. Motorola lost most of its share overseas several quarters ago. It says something about the company that it could not come up with one or two models that would be popular in its home market. For crying out loud, the firm's headquarters is in Illinois.

What it comes down to is more depressing than market share. Motorola's product development operation is too devoid of good ideas that it has not produced a single model that consumers are anxious to own, something they would put on a table or desk so that other people could see that they own it.

It is as if the company made plans to fail.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Top Analyst Upgrades
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is trading down over 1% after the telephone giant posted lower earnings. Its earnings report came in at $0.67 EPS vs. the $0.71 estimate, despite adding 2 million wireless subscribers and despite activating 2.4 million 3G iPhone activations. Shares were down 8% at $23.61 in today's final minutes.

It looked like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was going to go out of the business of selling "unlocked" iPhones, which are set up to work on any wireless network. Its new 3G model was going to be sold through about two dozen carriers worldwide. They would be the sole distribution method for the new handset and would make money on the wireless subscription plans marketed with the phones.

It looks like things are not working out that way. According to the AP, "Apple Inc. is putting on sale unlocked iPhone 3G in Hong Kong, allowing people to use it with any mobile phone carrier." The unit will cost consumers $695.

Apple may be taking a significant misstep. If it alienates its carrier partners by undercutting their ability to make money on the product, over time they could push competing products from companies, including the Samsung Instinct and several products that Nokia (NYSE: NOK), the world largest handset company, will introduce later this year.

Apple is a bit vulnerable now. Its 3G iPhone has run into connection problems in the U.S. That may have made some customers less likely to run into stores to get the new devices. Damaging relationships with its distribution operators by offering unlocked iPhones gives the competition an opening.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.