DigiTimes

On-again, off-again, industry publication Digitimes is claiming that Apple's next iPad will enter mass production soon and will launch in March 2012. The catch is that according to their sources, this new iPad product is not seen by Apple as an iPad 3, but instead an upgraded iPad 2. Instead they say "the real iPad 3" won't be launched until the 3rd quarter of 2012 at the earliest. The...

Digitimes reports that Apple and other handheld device vendors are making plans to begin releasing devices featuring curved glass in the first half of next year.Suppliers of the non-Apple camp are working on products with curved cover glass in attempts to gain a competitive edge in the handheld device market dominated by Apple, sources in the glass industry said. But Apple reportedly also has...

Digitimes reports that iPhone touch panel supplier Wintek has apparently experienced some production issues that have caused minor defects in some of the panels being produced for the next-generation "iPhone 5".The defect, "delayed bubble", is difficult to avoid during panel production, particularly when the defect is not detected during the process of laminating touch panels, and only later...

Rumors dating back as far as March have suggested that Apple has been looking to work with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for production of Apple's series of custom system-on-a-chip packages used in its iOS devices. Those rumors have firmed up over time, with TSMC reportedly having begun trial production of Apple's next-generation A6 chip using a new 28-nm process, down from...

Last month, word surfaced that Apple had shifted orders for iPad 2 displays away from LG Display after the company experienced quality issues with its production. The issues were said to be related to an unacceptably high number of panels failing drop testing. Digitimes now reports that those issues have been resolved, and iPad 2 display panel shipments have returned to normal at LG...

Artist's rendition of iPhone 5 with 3.7" display DigiTimes reports that Apple's suppliers for the next-generation iPhone are ramping toward full production capacity, with manufacturing partner Foxconn already said to be producing 150,000 iPhone 5 units per day.Suppliers in the iPhone 5 supply chain in Taiwan have geared up production recently with volume shipments of the new Apple smartphones...

DigiTimes briefly reports that Foxconn is apparently set to produce 20 million iPad 2 units during the current quarter, a significant boost over the prior quarter and even over earlier estimates for this quarter.For the third quarter, Foxconn is expected to ship 20 million units of iPad 2 to Apple, a growth of 60% sequentially, and the orders should be the major growth driver for the company in ...

Digitimes offers a bit of a strange report this morning that just seems to reinforce some details that have been previously reported about the iPhone 5. The strangest bit, however, is that their report attempts to refute a fake "leak" video that circulated on YouTube earlier this month. Despite rumors about iPhone 5 featuring a 4.2-inch panel circulating within the IT market for a while,...

Digitimes claims that Apple has canceled its iPad 3 supply schedule for the second half of 2011, which means the iPad 3 won't be launching until 2012:Apple was originally set to launch its iPad 3 in the second half of 2011 with a supply volume of 1.5-2 million units in the third quarter and 5-6 million in the fourth quarter, but Apple's supply chain partners have recently discovered that the...

Digitimes offers some updated estimates for iPhone production for the second half of 2011. According to them, Apple has increased the orders for their iPhone line by about 12-13% from 50 million units to 56 million units. The iPhone 5 in particular will reportedly account for 25.5-26 million units in the second half of 2011. More specifically, iPhone 5 orders for the 3rd quarter (July, Aug,...

DigiTimes reports that Apple has been forced to shift some of its orders for iPad 2 display panels from LG Display to Samsung and Chimei Innolux after quality issues at LG resulted in unacceptable yields with the panels failing to pass drop tests. Apple has reportedly suspended new display orders with LG, which had been the largest panel supplier for the iPad 2, until the issues can be addressed....

One of Intel's major new initiatives has been to push its processors down into more energy-efficient designs over the next few years. The first step in the process was introducing a new class of laptops dubbed "Ultrabooks". The first Ultrabook demoed was an ASUS model that bore a close resemblance to the MacBook Air, and Intel feels that these ultra-thin and light laptops could make up 40% of...

This isn't a new piece of information, but Digitimes reiterates a previous claim that Pegatron will begin shipping the iPhone 5 in September.Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 10 million units of iPhone 5 to become the second ODM of the smartphone. Shipments will start in September, according to industry sources.The most recent rumors have suggested that Apple will not be launching the...

DigiTimes reports that Apple and Samsung are both "evaluating" the use of solar cells in future consumer products, with the process having advanced as far as discussions with several Taiwanese solar firms about the technology. Any such products are said to be some time off, however, with projects still in the research stage as vendors work toward increasing efficiency of energy conversion.Samsung...

Digitimes reports on several Taiwan-based companies that have been picked to supply parts for the upcoming iPad 3. Taiwan-based IC design houses Novatek Microelectronics, Richtek Technology, Capella Microsystems (Taiwan) and Integrated Memory Logic (iML) have reportedly entered the supply chain for iPad 3, according to industry sources.The exact companies aren't likely of much interest to our...

DigiTimes reports that Apple is off to an aggressive start with its new MacBook Air models, having already pushed out 400,000-500,000 units in June and continuing with strong production through at least the end of August. Sources within Apple's supply chain also indicate that Apple is shooting for total notebook shipments of 13-14 million in 2011, with the possibility of hitting 15 million units....

Earlier this week, DigiTimes reported that Apple was looking at diversifying its production for the iPad by bringing on a second manufacturer in Pegatron or Quanta to join Apple's longtime iOS device partner Foxconn. According to the report, Apple has been interested in moving to a multiple-partner arrangement in order to minimize risk of disruptions such as those caused by an explosion at a...

DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to bring on a second manufacturing partner for the iPad as part of the rollout of the updated models rumored for release later this year.Apple reportedly plans to add a second manufacturer for iPad 3 tablet PCs in addition to Foxconn Electronics with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and [Pegatron] Technology being indicated as the potential contenders for the...

Last week, DigiTimes reported that Apple would be targeting shipments of 12-14 million iPad 2s during the third quarter of 2011, and a new report backs up that conclusion with claims that Apple's touch panel suppliers pushed out five million units in June and plan to produce another five million in July.Five million touch sensors for the iPad 2 will be shipped in July, according to sources with...

DigiTimes reports that upstream suppliers in Apple's manufacturing chain have been given orders to begin preparing for production of next-generation iPhone and iPad models, with a debut expected in the September-October timeframe.Taiwan-based companies included in the supply chain for iPhone 5 and iPad 3 have begun to prepare materials for the production of the two devices, which are likely to...