Apple Tablet Supply Chain Points To Q2 Launch: Sources

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Apple tablet supply chain points to Q2 launch: sources

Q: Something like this? Photo from: innovationsinnewspapers.com

By Kelvin Soh

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Suppliers for Apple Inc's new tablet computer have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings for it next month, sources said, implying a second-quarter product launch.

AVY Precision Technology Inc, a Taiwanese manufacturer of covers for electronic products, will begin production of the cases in February, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

TPK Solutions, an unlisted touch screen panel maker also based in Taiwan will also supply panels for the product, a third source said, on top of those already being manufactured by another Taiwan company, Wintek Corp.

"Production of the cases will begin in February, so everything points to a second-quarter launch right now," said one of the sources. "It doesn't take that long for the company to assemble the PC together, but a second-quarter shipment date is what we're looking at now."

The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Apple's spokesman would not comment. Officials at AVY and TPK also declined to comment.

A barrage of manufacturers are jockeying for attention ahead of Apple's widely expected announcement of a 10- to 11-inch tablet computer in late January, which analysts say could redefine the nascent category much as the iPhone did for phones. Apple has not publicly confirmed its existence.

Hewlett-Packard Co, Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd were among the global technology names that launched thin, touchscreen, multimedia devices this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

These wireless gadgets can stream video, download music, surf the Web and play games, aiming to win over consumers by bridging the gap between smartphones and laptops.

Some analysts doubt consumers would take to tablets or slates, which join a market crowded with netbooks, e-readers, smartphones and laptops of all configurations.

Most technology companies do their own design work in-house, but outsource much of the assembly and manufacturing to companies based in Asia, which operate large production facilities in lower cost countries.

(Reporting by Kelvin Soh; editing by Edwin Chan and Andre Grenon)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6074...;feedName=usdai

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Tablet? Slate? New devices emerge as Apple looms

Tablet? Slate?

Thu, Jan 7 2010

By Gabriel Madway

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Call it a "slate" or call it a "tablet," the technology world is suddenly awash with a novel category of mobile devices seeking to grab the spotlight from a hugely anticipated product launch by Apple Inc later this month.

Hewlett-Packard Co, Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc, Motorola Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd are among a barrage of companies showing off thin, touchscreen, multimedia devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

The sprawling show floor was flooded with prototype and concept devices in an array of sizes, as vendors test the waters of an as yet unproven market. These wireless gadgets can stream video, download music, surf the Web and play games, aiming to win over consumers by bridging the gap between smartphones and laptops.

They are jockeying for attention ahead of Apple's widely expected announcement of a 10- to 11-inch tablet computer in late January, which could redefine the category much as the iPhone did for phones.

But some analysts doubted if consumers would take to tablets or slates, which join a market crowded with netbooks, e-readers, smartphones and laptops of all configurations.

Gartner analyst Van Baker is skeptical of the category as a whole, saying he doesn't understand what functionality tablets offer that would compel consumers to shell out hundreds of dollars for them.

"Apple could pull it off," Baker said, however, noting that the iPhone, iPod and Macbook maker already charges premium prices for its products so it may be able to persuade consumers to buy a tablet priced in the $500 to $800 range.

Most of the tech vendors that showcased prototypes at CES were coy about pricing or potential launch dates. Apple itself has yet to publicly discuss any tablet.

But HP, the world's largest PC maker, did confirm on Thursday that it would roll out a slate computer this year that will have multitouch capability, runs Windows 7, and has WiFi and 3G wireless connections. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had demonstrated the device at a keynote speech on Wednesday.

"We've been looking at this space for quite some time," Phil McKinney, chief technology officer of HP's computer division, told Reuters. "The difference between a good idea and great idea is timing. We think 2010 is the right timing."

Citing one potential use of what he called a rich media device, McKinney said HP has been working with magazine and newspaper publishers in connection with the slate.

TABLET VS SLATE

The distinction between a slate and tablet at this point seems semantic.

Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha said the company was considering making a tablet. Another Motorola executive, Don Schoch, showed a prototype "media tablet" with a 7-inch screen running Google Inc's Android operating system, a modem by Motorola and a chip from Nvidia Corp.

Schoch said the tablet could sell for around $300 and be ready commercially by the fourth quarter, but whether it actually comes to market would depend on factors including the successful deployment of an advanced mobile network by Verizon Wireless.

Dell said it could bring a 5-inch slate, which resembled a large smartphone, to market this year, and that it was studying a number of different screen sizes.

"There's going to be tablets of every form and kind coming," said Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, whose graphics chips are found in many multimedia gadgets.

Huang said a number of new devices based on Nvidia's Tegra chip are forthcoming and called 2010 the beginning of a "tablet revolution."

Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Doug Reid estimated the overall tablet hardware market in 2010 at $3.5 billion to $5.3 billion, rising to $30 billion by 2014, driven by Apple. But he said tablets could cannibalize sales of netbooks and laptops, estimating average tablet selling prices at $700.

"We view the re-invigoration of tablet product development now underway and related growth opportunity in 2010 as a near term positive for the PC industry," he wrote in a note issued on Thursday.

Tablets have been tried a number of times over the years by various companies, without much success.

For now, tablets appear to be distinct from electronic readers such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, which are best used for books and periodicals and have little multimedia functionality. E-readers are also growing in popularity, with a stack of new models hitting the CES show floor.

"The tablet phenomenon is an opportunity," said Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's entertainment and devices unit.

"The truth is those (different types of screens) are all going to blend at one level. Over time, the distinction between screens from the user perspective, that's going to blur a little bit. The service delivery is going to be critical."

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, Sinead Carew, Franklin Paul, Bill Rigby and Edwin Chan, writing by Tiffany Wu; editing by Carol Bishopric)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6065...me=ustechnology

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Apple to host event January 27, tablet expected

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will host a special event on January 27 where it is widely expected to unveil its tablet computer, as the company looks to extend its hot hand into a brand new product category.

The event next week is shaping up as Apple's most eagerly anticipated product launch since the iPhone three years ago.

The company has never acknowledged the existence of the tablet, but rumors and speculation have been building for months.

Although few details about the tablet are known for certain, the device is said to resemble a large version of the iPhone, with a roughly 10-inch touchscreen.

Analysts say such a device would try to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops, allowing users to stream video, surf the Web and play games while on the go.

Cost estimates on the tablet -- which analysts expect to begin shipping in March or April -- run upwards of $1,000.

Tablet computers have never managed to catch on with consumers, and industry watchers say Apple will have to offer a compelling reason to buy such a device.

If consumers do gravitate to the tablet, it could also propel Apple into the digital book market popularized by Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader, analysts say.

The tablet category is certainly seeing plenty of interest from Apple's competitors of late.

The Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas earlier this month was practically bursting with tablets -- or "slates" as some were called -- many of them prototypes, from companies like Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd.

Analysts said Apple's rivals were trying to steal some of its thunder ahead of the tablet launch.

Although there is plenty of skepticism about the tablet category as a whole, Wall Street has been fairly upbeat on the prospects for Apple's device, and shares have run up in recent weeks as new information about the device cropped up in various media reports.

Apple's shares closed at $205.93 on Friday, roughly $10 below its all-time high. Markets in the United States were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday.

Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner has estimated the Apple tablet could boost its earnings per share by 25 cents to 38 cents per quarter. His estimate assumed sales of 1 million to 1.5 million units per quarter at an average price of $1,000.

Suppliers for Apple's new tablet computer have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings for it in February, sources told Reuters earlier this nonth, implying a second-quarter product launch.

BIG WEEK

Next week is shaping up as a big one for Cupertino, California-based Apple. The company is set to release its quarterly results on January 25.

Apple sent an email invitation to reporters on Monday for the January 27 media event, which will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.

The invitation did not give any details. It said only, "Come see our latest creation."

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to provide any comment beyond the invitation.

Apple is famous for its splashy media extravanganzas, where Chief Executive Steve Jobs takes to the stage to show off the company's latest consumer device.

The Yerba Buena Center theater is the same one the company used last September to show off new iPods, where Jobs made his first public appearance after his medical leave.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60H4...me=ustechnology

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