LG overwhelmed by iPad display orders

 

Summary

Apple's display supplier says it can't keep up with orders for iPad displays, and things won't improve until next year.

Events

Echelon 2012
June 11 and 12, 2012

University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore

Startup Asia Jakarta 2012
June 7 and 8, 2012

12th Floor, Annex Building, Wisma Nusantara Complex, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 59 Jakarta 10350, Indonesia

MMA Forum Singapore
April 23-25, 2012

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Apple isn't the only one caught off guard by the demand for its iPad. The company that makes the displays for the touch-screen tablet is too.

Last week, LG's CEO Kwon Young-Soo said his company is having trouble filling orders for iPad displays, even though his factories are running at "full capacity".

"Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all," Kwon said, during a call to report the company's quarterly earnings.

LG last year secured a US$500 million contract to supply Apple's LCD displays.

Apple has sold almost 3.3 million iPads since early April, and units have been back-ordered for most customers almost from the first day of sales. Apple says it was surprised by consumers' interest, particularly consumers who aren't usually early adopters of technology, in the iPad.

"Both (the iPad) and the iPhone 4, we had backlogged at end of last quarter," Apple COO Tim Cook said last Tuesdayduring its earnings call. "We are selling both of those products as fast as we can make them."

Cook did not mention that display supply was as tight as it apparently is. LG's Kwon said he is considering increasing production of iPad displays, but that LG won't be able to make enough until early 2011.

The volume of early iPad sales seems to be surprising everyone. After Apple reported the sales numbers, several tech analyst firms said they had to drastically adjust their forecasts for touch-screen tablet sales for the year as a result.

This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.

Talkback

Add your opinion

In order to post a comment, you need to be registered. (Sign In or register below)

Post your comment

ZDNet Asia Live

SingTel (All) SingTel acquires HungryGoWhere for $9.4M ZDNet Asia News http://t.co/QuzQio2Z

Intranets need social to survive http://t.co/pdOHvgBP #intranet #socialintranet #intranet20

Fanboys on AV for Mac: "ludicrous" "a waste of time" "The Mac will protect me" "the most secure ever" "impenetrable" http://t.co/a1o2Sz7E

RT @ameliatmy: the hottest angel investment & venture capital event in #MALAYSIA! will u be there? http://t.co/ChSjkmzu #ABAF

Singapore Game Box in the ZDnet news!
http://t.co/UuTs0SqX http://t.co/YdPKmm39

#radio Radio Bolivia by EnjoyIT 1.0 http://t.co/fdlBPOeI

RT @zdnetasia: SingTel acquires HungryGoWhere for US$9.4 million. http://t.co/Qho1REVZ

Gartner: Mobile CRM gives better ROI than social - http://t.co/s5OfTAXK #CRM

RT @zdnetasia: S'pore sets up portal to grow games sector. http://t.co/In8gtj7L

#Malaysia: 20% yoy rise in overall #wages for both direct and non-direct labor. http://t.co/5T2e0LUU

RT @mikebuetow: #Malaysia: 20% yoy rise in overall #wages for both direct and non-direct labor. http://t.co/5T2e0LUU

@88tc88 RT @KevinZDNetAsia: User experience more important to app monetization than actual content http://t.co/ogbD5wyI… #li #dm12

Dubbed the first social #Olympics, this year's summer games have some of the strictest social rules for all involved http://t.co/4HlcqhW3

Value of big data analytics largely untapped - Zd Net http://t.co/ZuhPrCN4: Pushing cloud limits for d... http://t.co/VyOU0vHz #TheBIBlog

Value of big data analytics largely untapped http://t.co/026PCpSc @zdnetasia

So much as we know , MTK6575 extremely integrated frequency1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, the superiority of 3G / HSPA Modem, and help the...

15 hours ago by y15822137359 on 5 SaaS adoption speed bumps to avoid

I reckon your view: "CRM is strategy, not software", if a company replicating the approach uses in ERP implementation into CRM, what they...

1 day ago by wykoong on Gartner: Mobile CRM gives better ROI than social

This video will teach you about the Excel fill handle but also provide you with a workook to download... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

2 days ago by TradeBrother on A quick fill handle trick for Microsoft Excel

waiting...

4 days ago by eapete on What should count in a company's market value?

Boy, you've opened a can of worms now.

Wait for the rants & raves.

4 days ago by eapete on What should count in a company's market value?

I was puzzling before this whether to replicate the success formula we executed for a financial institute, and come out with a standard s...

4 days ago by wykoong on Drop the egos, copy ideas, then innovate