In what is likely the result of strong demand and constrained supply, Apple has reportedly tapped Chimei Innolux Corp. as the third supplier of touchscreen sensors used on the hot-selling iPad 2. Chimei Innolux now joins TPK Holding Corp. and Wintek as the main suppliers of the sensors used on Apple’s popular tablet.
According to Bloomberg, Chimei Innolux will begin supplying said components to Apple next month. For those unaware, Chimei Innolux is an affiliate of Foxconn, one of Apple’s most utilized overseas manufacturing partners responsible for helping produce the iPhone and a host of other consumer electronics from a variety of companies.
The order may deepen Apple’s ties with billionaire tycoon Terry Gou’s Foxconn, the Taiwanese assembler of the iPad and iPhone. The iPad, the fastest-selling technology product in history as measured by revenue, will continue to dominate the global market for tablet computers, controlling more than three- fifths of the market next year, Gartner Inc. said this month.
In addition to the sensors, which are required to recognize multitouch gestures, Digitimes also reports that Apple will source the iPads IPS display to Chimei as well, joining LG and Samsung who already provide the displays used on the iPad.
Over the past few years, Apple has increasingly reached out to more manufacturers for device components as demand for Apple’s more popular products have skyrocketed. It’s also entirely plausible that Apple is equally concerned with maintaining a steady stream of key component parts and is hedging its bets by having a number of firms at the ready. Presumably, this helps Apple attain favorable pricing as well.
via Bloomberg
Wed, Apr 20, 2011
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