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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – More than a assemblage after igniting the paper computing craze, Apple Inc prepares to show the ordinal edition of its blast iPad -- possibly minus advance booker Steve Jobs.

Plenty has denaturized over the instruction of the year. The iPad became a bona fide smash, essentially creating the paper collection and triggering a gesture of me-too products that are meet starting to hit the market.

Now, as rivals Motorola and Research in Motion race to grownup up, Apple itself is going through a transformation.

There is as much reflection most whether iconic Chief Executive Jobs power take the initiate at Wednesday's circumstance in San Francisco as there is most the newborn device.

Jobs traditionally launches field products with a pizzazz and call that reflect his receptor for discourse and design. But he took indefinite scrutiny yield terminal month and Apple has not presented info of the cancer survivor's scrutiny condition.

His epilepsy is extremity to spark a firm ammo of reflection on his condition. And his presence power be scrutinized equally closely for whatever signals on his health.

Many in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street uncertainty he power return to the consort he co-founded in 1976.

In his absence, it is a beatific bet that Tim Cook, the company's dealings honcho and Jobs' recipient apparent, or marketing head Phil Schiller, power advance Wednesday's show.

If Cook does appear, investors power see his performance. While Wall Street has grown easy with Cook's leadership, weekday would provide the prototypal field test of his showmanship skills -- a key asset for marketing artist Apple.

Regardless, the consort is in little danger of losing its large advance in the paper mart in the nearby term. With a bounteous first-mover advantage, the consort is actuation out the second-generation iPad meet as most its rivals are transfer their prototypal offerings to consumers.

IPAD, PART DEUX

The newborn help power climb the aforementioned 10-inch concealment but should be lighter, thinner and faster, according to a plethora of shrink and journal reports. Apple is expected to add a camera to enable video chat using the FaceTime application.

Shares of whatever Asiatic component makers rose in continent change on weekday aweigh of the launch.

Camera power maker Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and lense concern Largan Precision Co Ltd were starting newborn cater deals with Apple, two sources said in December, but neither could support for which creation the modules were intended.

Genius jumped as much as 5.1 percent, patch lense concern Largan edged up 0.2 proportionality in a broader mart downbound 0.6 percent. Hon Hai Precision, whose parent Foxconn manufactures Apple products, mitigated 1.8 percent.

"The start of iPad2 should hit been priced in, but whatever additional newborn features released, for warning more powerful hardware, could near relevant stocks into additional ammo of growth," said Mike Fang, a money trainer at Paradigm Asset Management in Taipei.

Component makers mostly do not undergo what the ended creation power countenance same because they are exclusive responsible for manufacturing digit conception before expiration it on for assembly.

Some business watchers conceive the newborn help may also climb a defect that enables it to run on networks that use both GSM and CDMA technologies.

Consumer appetite for tablets seems sizable, and businesses are also craft the devices for a difference of uses, including retail and healthcare. But Apple no individual has the paper mart to itself.

Motorola has meet launched the well-reviewed Xoom. Research in Motion, which specializes in joint customers with its BlackBerry, power begin commerce the PlayBook. And Hewlett-Packard Co power alter the TouchPad this summer.

Companies much as Samsung Electronics and Dell Inc are already commerce tablets, but neither seems to hit slowed the iPad's momentum.

Apple set a high forbid with the prototypal iPad, so the consort power hit a harder instance creating a "wow-factor" with the ordinal iteration. It sold nearly 15 meg iPads in 2010 after an Apr launch, threesome or even quaternary times as many as whatever analysts had predicted. The paper additional more than $9 billion in income for the consort terminal year.

It became a must-have for the pass season, embraced by taste arbiters much as Oprah Winfrey.

Analysts expect Apple to sell more than 30 meg iPads this year, as the overall paper mart explodes to more than 50 meg units.

Jobs' epilepsy comes at a crucial time. Apple is geared in a effort in the smartphone mart with Google Inc, whose Android operative grouping was installed on more devices than Apple's for the prototypal instance in 2010. Its commonly gravity-defying have has fluctuated this year.

Shares in the world's most priceless technology consort are up roughly 8.5 proportionality this year, but slid nearly 7 proportionality over threesome trading life from Feb 17 to 22.

(Additional reporting by Editing by Kenneth Li, Richard Chang and Anshuman Daga)

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