LG Display blamed for iPad 2 shortage, Chimei due in May

A large part of the iPad 2's shortage issues were put at LG Display's feet on Thursday night through claims from supply sources. LG Display reportedly had light leakage problems for screens made at its sixth-generation LCD plant and could only ship 3.2 million iPad LCDs between January and March. Samsung, already helping out, ended up producing more at seven million, Digitimes understood.

While the 9.2 million total was well in excess of the 4.69 million Apple sold, much of that production would have been intended for the spring. Apple is known to have stopped original iPad production near the very start of the year and to have shifted over to production around February. Shipments would have started out in low numbers both due to the LG Display issue and the usual time needed to ramp up production at a contractor like Foxconn.

LG Display was said to have already fixed the problem and should be producing many more in spring. Plans for Chimei Innolux to pitch in were reportedly still on track and would have it shipping the 9.7-inch, IPS-based touchscreens this month.

While unconfirmed, the LG issues would support complaints from some iPad 2 buyers who've noticed light leakage on some of the earliest production runs. Apple has readily acknowledged that it was limited only by supply in the first quarter of the year and hinted at LG's resolution with confidence production would get back on track quickly.

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ASUS confirms Eee Pad Transformer shortage, cites demand

ASUS partly confirmed rumors of Eee Pad Transformer shortages on Friday through a statement from spokesman David Chang. He didn't acknowledge talk of just 10,000 of the Android 3.0 tablets shipping in April but anticipated that it would take at least a month to get back on track, with 100,000 in May and 200,000 in June. There would be a "significant alleviation" of shortages by June, Chang told NetbookNews, two months after it went on sale.

The representative wouldn't touch on beliefs that the shortage had been caused by Apple's supply demands for the iPad 2 cutting into ASUS' supply. He instead argued that demand for the Transformer was exceeding predictions "by far." While the tablet is available worldwide, US distributors have cast doubt on claims of sheer interest since retailers didn't receive promised stock to gauge supply.

The 300,000-plus sales would still give ASUS a rare win in the mobile space over some of its competitors. While still just a small fraction of what Apple sells, the number would eclipse the 250,000 Xooms Motorola shipped in the winter. Depending on Motorola's performance in the spring, the Eee Pad Transformer could be the most popular Android 3.0 tablet. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 may be popular but aren't shipping until early June.

The Transformer has earned much of its reputation through offering relatively high quality but for just $400 in a 16GB edition, $200 less than the 32GB-only Xoom and $100 less than a 16GB iPad 2. Its signature trick is an optional keyboard dock that also supplies a trackpad and a second battery that boosts it to 16 hours of use.

Electronista