Apple is rumored to have placed an order for a whopping 10 million iPad Mini units. This long time rumored 7″ sibling to the successful iPad is said to be announced at an event in October, and hit stores in November. 10 million units are to get Apple through the fourth quarter, and is twice the amount of Kindle Fire HD’s ordered by Amazon, all according to the Wall Street Journal.
The patent war with Google-Motorola, among others, have made Apple invest more in its patent portfolio than in R&D. Read the The New York Times feature iEconomy for an interesting insight in how a modern day successful technology has to keep up with the patent system.