A renowned and noted investment banking firm on Friday shared that Apple's highly anticipated tablet device might just end up becoming one of the most profitable products of the company. As per a "base case" scenario that was put forward by the firm, Apple's tablet might end up selling 5 million units in its first year of release, fetching the company about $2.8 Billion in additional revenue.

Mike Abramsky from RBC Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking division of the Royal Bank of Canada, has estimated that the tablet would have an average selling price of $600, and this would end up adding about 30 cents to per-share earnings to the firm's stock, and this would, in turn, result in a $5- to $10-per-share valuation upside.

An additional, $2.8 Billion in revenue would be a 6% increase for the Apple.

"Anticipation for an Apple Tablet (expected Jan 27) resembles that of Moses bringing down the 10 Commandments. Despite high expectations, we believe Apple plans to redefine portable computing -- as the Mac redefined the PC -- by 'creating' desire for a new converged portable device with innovative touch/gestures -- with iTunes content. A 'Hit' could provide a possible new growth engine for Apple", Mr. Abramsky noted.

The numbers shared by the experts are based on the assumption that there would be a 30% gross margin for the hardware, and an additional 3% would be a result of the Mac and iPod Touch cannibalization.