Tablets Get Hit By Component Shortages, Shipments Suffer

Tablets may be looking as though their sales can only go up, but it might be that fate has something to say about it or, more specifically, about the availability of parts needed to make them.

For a certain sort of product to suffer form supply shortages is not really a new occurrence, but when something of this sort affects a particularly popular product type, the media will, naturally, take note.

Back during the first quarter, for instance, sales of all Intel Sandy Bridge-based notebooks and motherboards were stopped because of a design flaw with the chipset.

Still, that instance was caused by a mishap on Intel's part, not by some conditions in regards to component supply.

Now, the tablet segment is starting to feel the brunt of insufficient components, or will start to be affected soon enough.

As reported by Digitimes, May will not bring the hoped improvement in component and key material supply.

More specifically, there don't seem to be enough capacitors, chip-resistors, memory chips, gyroscopes, cover glass and bismaleimide-triazine (BT) resin, at least not for all makers of media tablets.

In other words, supply of the Apple iPad and tablets meant to compete with it will take quite the hit starting this quarter, since supply of slates will be low.

Nothing specific is known at the moment, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and the Motorola XOOM will probably be among the affected products.

All in all, depending on how serious the shortage turns out to be, and how long it persists, total tablet sales, as far as first-tier notebook maker are concerned at least, for the year 2011 might end up at under 5 million.

Needless to say, this won't sit too well with anyone involved, especially after the Eee Pad Transformer actually sold out within minutes of being listed.