Apple to manufacture 100,000 Mac minis a month, more...
Prince McleanAn overseas publication offers its insight into who is manufacturing Apple's latest products, and throws in some wild rumors pertaining to G5-based iBooks and PowerBooks.
According to the report, which cites sources close to the Taiwanese contract manufacturer, Foxconn is expected to ship at least 100,000 Mac mini computers per month to Apple, or roughly 300,000 per quarter.
The report also confirms that Asustek has been enlisted by Apple to produce its new flash-based iPod shuffle player. Asustek will reportedly supply Apple with 400,000 to 500,000 of these puppies a month, or nearly 1.5 million per quarter.
Strikingly, the same DigiTimes report also claims that in the second quarter of the year, Asustek will begin supplying Apple G5-based iBooks at a rate of approximately 125,000 per month. During the same timeframe, Quanta, another Taiwanese contract manufacturer, will produce PowerBook G5 models at a rate of 30,000 to 50,000 per month, the report states.
While AppleInsider is fully confident in DigiTimes' ability to accurately assess and report on Apple's existing overseas manufacturing contracts, the publication has in the past provided inaccurate information in regards to unannounced products.
AppleInsider ceases to believe that Apple in the second quarter of 2005 could simultaneously launch both iBooks and PowerBooks based on a G5 processor, and do so successfully and proficiently. In the meantime, we're chalking this rumor up for forum discussion.
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