Apple’s tablet, initially just a whisp of rumor, appears to be taking a more concrete shape. The Cupertino, Calif. company has instructed suppliers to provide glass panels and connectors ahead of a potential Jan. 26 announcement, multiple reports claim.
A subsidiary of Foxconn, Innolux, will supply Apple with the majority of 10-inch glass displays and Wintek, which provides most iPhone display panels, will handle the remainder, according to Taiwan’s DigiTimes. The publication said Apple could announce its tablet in January with major shipments by March, 2010. One report has suggested Apple has told Foxconn it needs 300,000 tablets per month. If true, the report would dovetail with recent speculation Apple booked San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Jan. 26 for a product announcement.
Even before the tablet is unveiled the product hit a delay, prompting the wait until the first quarter of 2010. Apple has been searching for a way to strengthen the tablet’s glass panel, according to DigiTimes. Reportedly, another Foxconn subsidiary, G-Tech Optoelectronics, will provide the answer.
In another hint suppliers are ramping up for an Apple tablet, Cheng Uei Precision received orders for flat-panel “connectors.” However, the company suggests the components won’t ship until the third quarter of 2010, appearing to dispute a January announcement.
At the same time, Apple apparently has trademarked iSlate.com. The Cupertino company has also trademarked “Magic Slate,” a move that could match its “Magic Mouse” product.
All this speculation hasn’t hurt Apple’s stock, which was up 4 percent to $213.10 in early trading Monday after reaching record levels on Thursday.
[Via AppleInsider, Silicon Alley Insider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors and Engadget]
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
