Gadgets and gizmos

Apple is estimated to ship 17 million Mac computers and 30 million iPad units this year, according to an analyst.

Charlie Wolf, an analyst from Needham & Co., who has previously predicted that Apple will sell 7.5 million iPad 2 units in the third quarter of the 2011 fiscal year, has changed his estimates to 9 million units.

“While competitors have rushed to launch competing tablets, they have made an imperceptible dent in the trajectory of iPad sales,” the analyst wrote in a note to investors. “They have been unable to undercut the price of the iPad; and they’re fallen woefully short in matching its features, ease-of-use and the number of applications written for the device.”

Wolf also increased his third quarter estimates of Mac shipments to 4.25 million units, a higher number from the previously estimated 3.75 million. With an additional 4.9 million Mac units estimated to be sold in the fourth quarter, Wolf sees Apple shipments to reach 17 million in 2011.

On the other hand, Wolf said that Apple’s estimated shipment for the iPhone dropped from 17.5 million to 16 million. This is because the company is making way for the iPhone 5, and is reducing its current iPhone 4 production.

Needham said that Apple should generate $23.5 billion of revenue in the third quarter, while its expected total earnings for the 2011 fiscal year is around $103.6 billion.