14 DAY TRIAL // A designer for a firm wishing to remain anonymous reportedly told TG Daily that Asian suppliers were experiencing 10.1-inch OLED, LED display shortages. In an obvious scenario, the news has turned everyone’s attention to Apple, the Cupertino-based electronics and software maker rumored to finally prepare the introduction of its own tablet device.
Pretty much everyone connected to Apple and/or its products has serious reason to believe a tablet is being worked on in Cupertino as we speak. Analysts, as it is their job to predict these things, go as far as claiming that millions of these Apple-branded tablets are to ship and sell this year alone. This would certainly explain the shortages reported by Asian touchscreen-panel suppliers.
"We were designing a product for a customer and we needed 10 inch screens, but we've been trying for months and can't get one from any of the Asian suppliers," a designer for a firm wishing to remain unnamed told TG Daily, 9to5mac reports.
Following reports saying that Apple was experimenting with different materials for the enclosure of its rumored tablet device, AVY Precision Technology was said to have been tapped for producing aluminum casings for the product. Another part supplier, TPK Solutions, is allegedly Apple’s choice for equipping its tablet computer with high-performance touchscreen panels. Apple reportedly settled on aluminum for the tablet’s enclosure, while additional work on the glass panels has been holding back the tablet’s launch, according to those familiar with Apple matters.
One of the sources leaking this information allegedly said that, "Production of the cases will begin in February, so everything points to a second-quarter launch right now. It doesn't take that long for the company to assemble the PC together, but a second-quarter shipment date is what we're looking at now."