Apple Inc (AAPL) Readies for a Big Holiday Season

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been hampered by some supply-chain issues during the release of the iPhone 5, yet it has shattered sales records and seems to be on track with some analysts’ expectations for the third quarter of 2012 and on through the holiday season. Despite that, the company’s stock fell about 10 percent in the three weeks since it hit its all-time high of $705 per share.

But it’s possible that while a few Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) investors took their profits three weeks ago, there is an opening for another spike, especially with this fourth quarter of 2012 – considered the “holiday quarter” – has now started and other devices besides the iPhone begin to hit store shelves for the holiday season. There are reasons that investors like billionaire fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital will be keeping a close eye on the holiday numbers for Apple Inc (AAPL).

Quietly, while the iPhone has gotten all the publicity, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has quietly started shipping its next-generation iPod Touch, which also was unveiled at the Sept. 12 event where the iPhone 5 was introduced. Sources say that the new iPods are starting to leave the plants in China and may be on store shelves in the U.S. this weekend or by Monday. At the same time, the iPod Nano was also announced in September and was expected to arrive on store shelves this month, though a specific date has not been mentioned yet.

With those, plus the iPhone already out and the expected release of the iPad Mini, there is a gaggle of analysts who have set some high expectations for sales by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with its rollout of a fleet of devices within just a few weeks of each other. This includes some expectations of at least 45 million iPhones sold by the end of 2012, and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) itself was anticipating 10 million iPad Mini units to be sold – double the number of Kindle Fire HD devices ordered by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).