iPad Mini With Retina Display To Be In Short Supply At Launch, Reuters Reports

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Apple is rumored to be planning the rollout of new iPads in time for the holidays, and there are a couple of different models potentially in the pipeline, including an iPad mini with a high-resolution Retina display. That Retina mini may be in very short supply before the new year, however, according to a new report from Reuters.

Reuters cites sources working in Apple’s supply chain as providing info that suggests is just now ramping up production on a Retina iPad mini, leading to a strong likelihood that there will be relatively few available during the holiday shopping season. Apple still plans to unveil the device this month, according to those same sources.

The Retina mini will be supply constrained at launch because of delays of unknown reasons, the sources say, but one believed it might have something to do with Apple placing extremely tight requirements on its suppliers in terms of power draw for panels used in the device. The display on any mobile is a huge source of battery drain, and Apple typically either matches or improves on the battery life of previous devices when it launches new ones, even in the case of those sporting more power-hungry high-resolution Retina displays. If it is putting Retina into the new iPad mini, it won’t sacrifice the tablet’s long-lasting battery life to do so.

Apple’s Retina mini will be available in large quantifies only next year, and Reuters’ sources couldn’t say for sure whether the Mac maker would hold off on a retail launch entirely until 2014, or offer up only limited numbers of the devices before the end of the year.

At the same time, the supply chain sources said Apple is putting pressure on suppliers to reduce costs (again, not a very surprising request coming from Apple), and that could result in an iPad mini model with just 8GB of storage, which would be positioned as an entry-level device with the potential to come closer to matching the Kindle Fire and other low-cost Android devices in markets like Asia where cost is seen as a limiting factor for continued iPad growth.

Apple probably still won’t hit the $200 mark or even get all that close, and an 8GB version does seem like strange direction for it to take the iPad line. Supply constraints are nothing new for Apple device launch; the iPhone 5s is currently facing similar issues, and basically every new Apple hardware launch is preceded by these kinds of reports of supply issues.

My take is that we’ll see Apple unveil and start selling an iPad mini with Retina display in time for the holidays, irrespective of any potential supply issues. Stock outages are a given, and people will likely have to line up or order far in advance in order to secure them, but these types of leaks seem more a way to control consumer expectation than any kind of sign of real trouble in Apple’s production pipeline.

HTC overcomes supply issues, will double HTC One production capacity this month

HTC overcomes supply issues, will double production capacity this month

After months of supply issues and courtroom wrangling, HTC might have finally put its hardware woes behind it. The company’s North Asian president, Jack Tong, let slip that production capacity for the HTC One will double this month and continue to increase in June to meet “strong demand.” Tong also casually dropped into conversation that the J Butterfly saw its own sales double in Japan when it became free on contract — so perhaps those second-quarter financial results won’t make for such depressing reading.

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Via: ZDNet, Android Beat

Source: Focus Taiwan

Galaxy S 4 launches tomorrow in South Korea, despite Samsung admitting supply issues

?Samsung Galaxy S 4 available today in Hong Kong, while 'supply issues' bite

Smitten with Samsung’s Galaxy S 4? Well, if you’re looking to pick on up right now, you’d best book a red-eye flight to South Korea, where it’ll go on sale in the next 24 hours. The 5-inch 1080p flagship will arrive on all three of the country’s main carriers, with an unspecified global roll-out following on Friday. Meanwhile, the company has also commented on “supply chain problems” affecting its roll-out of the S 4. In a statement to Sky News, Samsung said that initial supplies of the handset may be limited “due to overwhelming global demand” and its limited stock of memory components. The pinch is already being felt in the US, as both Sprint and T-Mobile reassess their launch dates in-store.

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Source: Samsung Tomorrow, Sky News

Two sources talk of Apple iPhone event around September 12th, part sales back it up (update: one more clue)

iPhone 2012 shell

Apple’s plans for its next iPhone refresh may be getting very tangible, very quickly. It all started when iMore heard that Apple was preparing to hold an event unveiling the new hardware on September 12th, with a launch the following week on September 21st. Although the relative newcomer to the iPhone release date rumor game is still building its track record, that claim may have just gotten some extra meat: AllThingsD is joining in the chorus and touts its own sources pointing to an event in the same timeframe. While it’s almost a month earlier in the year than Apple’s iPhone 4S event was in 2011, it’s supported by an Apple filing with the SEC showing a sharp uptick in supply purchasing during the spring, which it would need to start production for the fall. All of it is still rumor, of course, but past experience suggests that iOS fans may want to plan any September camping trips for the Apple Store line late in the month, not Labor Day weekend.

Update: Jim Dalrymple at The Loop, who’s well-known for his accurate one-word confirmations and denials of rumors, just posted his trademark “yep.”

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Two sources talk of Apple iPhone event around September 12th, part sales back it up (update: one more clue) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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