14 DAY TRIAL // A new generation of iPads is set to launch in early 2011, Taiwan sources say, naming Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies as the initial PCB suppliers for the tablet devices.
Digitimes cites industry sources as saying that Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies have signed with Apple to become “the initial PCB suppliers for a second-generation Apple tablet PC, which is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2011.”
According to the same sources, “four more suppliers will be added to the list in February 2011, when shipments of the new iPads ramp up,” the report reveals on.
Ibiden, Tripod and TTM have reportedly received certification from Apple to start working on any-layer HDI boards for iPad 2 which are allegedly set to ship in small quantities as soon as next month.
The publication includes its own take on the matter, noting that Japan-based PCB companies generally have a relatively higher yield rate in the production of any-layer boards, adding that Taiwan-based Compeq Manufacturing and Unimicron Technology are on track to improve their yield rates to 60-70%.
The prediction of a Q1 2011 release of Apple’s iPad 2 (or iPad 2G, as some believe it will be called) makes sense, with Apple introducing the original iPad in January, this year. The Cupertino, California-based company generally takes 12 months to refresh the
The new device should include dual-cameras for Face Time support, and a screen boasting a higher-density pixel count, while the size of the tablet (or at least the size of the screen), should not be changed by much.
As noted by AppleInsider in a report covering the Digitimes’ findings, Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) dispelled rumors of a smaller 7-inch iPad during a quarterly earnings conference call, saying: "The reason we [won't] make a 7-inch tablet isn't because we don't want to hit that price point, it's because we think the screen is too small to express the software.”