Apple Company

Apple Inc will continue to retain the lion's share of the tablet market as its new 4G-enabled iPad readies for competition from Windows 8-based products, and a cheaper iPad 2 takes on Amazon's popular Kindle Fire, analysts said.

Shares of Apple inched up 1% to as much as $535.89 US in morning trade on Thursday, after the company unveiled an upgraded version of its popular iPad tablet, featuring a more powerful chip, high-definition screen, sharper camera and access to new high-speed wireless networks.

"Apple's ability to increase the screen resolution, graphics capabilities, and integrate 4G LTE without compromising battery life on the new iPad will be a key differentiator versus the competition and a tough act to follow," J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote in a note.

Last month, Microsoft released an incomplete version of Windows 8. It is the first Microsoft operating system compatible with low-power microprocessors designed by ARM Holdings Plc and will run on tablets as well as desktops and laptops, in an effort to counter the runaway success of iPad.

But Apple's latest iPad will allow the company to sustain its competitive advantage and drive a dominant position in the fast-growing tablet market, said analysts.

According to Credit Suisse, Apple will command 66% share of the tablet market in 2012, thanks to its brand, hardware offering and superior ecosystem.

The global tablet user base already reached 67 million in 2011, according to researcher Strategy Analytics.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook introduced the highly anticipated third iteration of the tablet, but broke away from the tradition of calling the third-generation tablet the iPad 3, as some had expected, referring to it simply as the "new iPad."

Still, analysts say the company "is just getting started," and that it will have more to offer, including a full-fledged TV offering and a thinner iPhone 5 that may be capable of operating on the "LTE," or Long-Term Evolution, network.

At speeds roughly 10 times faster than current 3G technology, that may help banish