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WSJ: Apple investing in Sharp plant for iPad 3 displays

Sharp is said to be ramping up production of LCD panels for the next-generation iPad after an investment from Apple for its manufacturing facilities, according to a new report.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Sharp will produce the panels at its Kameyama No. 2 plant in central Japan. According to one person familiar with the matter, Apple has invested an unspecified amount in Sharp's factories.

Sharp already provides screens for the iPhone and is expected to also serve as a supplier for the next iPhone. Both the third-generation iPad and the sixth-generation iPhone are expected to launch next year, the tipster said. Japanese newspapers reported in April that Apple will tap Sharp for next-generation "low-temperature poly-silicon" technology to go into the next iPhone.

The report appears to corroborate comments from an analyst earlier this week. Peter Misek with Jeffries claimed recently that Sharp will provide IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) LCD panels for the next iPhone and iPad. IGZO panels would allow for thinner designs and improved battery performance.

"The IGZO technology is perfect in that it offers near-OLED power consumption while having a lower cost and thinness that is only 25% greater than OLED, based on our checks," Misek wrote.

Adding Apple's iPad orders is seen as a big win for Sharp because the device's market dominance should provide steady volume for the manufacturer.

"This would allow Sharp to count on a more stable sales volume and would help its technology gain more attention," Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi told the Journal.

Late last year, rumors emerged that Apple was looking to invest a "large portion" of a $1.2 billion LCD manufacturing facility that Sharp was building. Reports of the investment surfaced again this summer, though some have suggested that Apple simply made an advance payment rather than investing in the plant..

Samsung and LG Display are widely believed to be the current suppliers of iPad LCD screens. Some industry watchers believe that Apple's growing legal battle with Samsung may have prompted Apple to diversify its suppliers. LG has also reportedly suffered quality issues with its iPad panels that may have contributed to limited supply of the iPad 2 earlier this year.

Apple admitted this April during a quarterly earnings conference call that it faced the "mother of all backlogs" with the iPad 2. The second-generation tablet remained in short supply for months after its March launch.

One recent report claimed Samsung, LG Display and Sharp have already begun stockpiling LCD panels for the third-generation iPad in preparation for assembly early next year. The three suppliers are said to have built a total of three million panels in October and November.

The iPad 3 is widely believed to feature a high-definition display with double the resolution of the previous generation. However, the near-Retina Display quality of the alleged 2,048 x 1,536 pixel screen has introduced several technical issues into the mix. For instance, Apple is rumored to be evaluating whether to add a second LED light bar to handle the upgraded display. Suppliers have also reportedly faced challenges with mass production of the screens.

50 Comments

apple ][ 14 Years · 9225 comments

The iPad 3 is going to be sick!

In the meantime, I'm more than happy with using the iPad 2. That thing rules.

Apple has quite a challenge though. I think that it's going to be tough to have 4x as many pixels and still up the ante when it comes to performance (CPU and GPU), thinness and battery life. If anybody can do it, Apple can!

solipsismx 14 Years · 19562 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][

The iPad 3 is going to be sick!

In the meantime, I'm more than happy with using the iPad 2. That thing rules.:

Does anyone even have a feasible iPad 2 competitor coming to market? Tegra 3 looks to make some advances over Apple's A5 and ICS is looking like the first version of Android that's not an inconsistent, non-beta mobile OS, but I don't think Tegra 3 GPUs even matches the iPad 2 so matching an iPad 3 with a Retina Display (265ppi) seems impossible for 2012. Maybe some PenTile sub-pizel fibbing, but it seems like IPS LCDs are going to be the most common for tablets for at least another year.

Quote:
Apple has quite a challenge though. I think that it's going to be tough to have 4x as many pixels and still up the ante when it comes to performance (CPU and GPU), thinness and battery life. If anybody can do it, Apple can!

I'm still skeptical here, but I was skeptical about the iPhone 4 jumping to 960x640 even though the iPad using the same base HW already pushed 1024x768.

apple ][ 14 Years · 9225 comments

Oh, and one more thing.

Can you imagine the disappointment if the next iPad is not going to have that resolution? This rumor has been talked about and repeated so many damn times now that people are going to be whining left and right if it doesn't turn out to be true. The hype has been built up so much now, that
it will be a huge let down if it doesn't happen.

I don't really care too much, because like I mentioned, I'm still happy with the iPad 2, but I'm going to laugh my ass off if the insane resolution screen doesn't happen. That'll teach people not to put too much faith in rumors.

solipsismx 14 Years · 19562 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][

Oh, and one more thing.

Can you imagine the disappointment if the next iPad is not going to have that resolution? This rumor has been talked about and repeated so many damn times now that people are going to be whining left and right if it doesn't turn out to be true. The hype has been built up so much now, that
it will be a huge let down if it doesn't happen.

I don't really care too much, because like I mentioned, I'm still happy with the iPad 2, but I'm going to laugh my ass off if the insane resolution screen doesn't happen. That'll teach people not to put too much faith in rumors.

No rumour has a realistic expectation of authenticity. Even if Apple has had 1 million HiDPI iPad 3 displays shipped to them already, if the competition isn't anywhere close the quality of each display, and/or backlight, and/or overall performance is too low for production then they could make the switch at the last minute. I seem to recall the original iPhone switched from plastic to glass very close to it's ship date.

apple ][ 14 Years · 9225 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX

Does anyone even have a feasible iPad 2 competitor coming to market?

You're probably asking the wrong person that question. But the answer is of course no.

We already know that it doesn't matter if some Android device has better specs on paper, the overall usability is still worse. And they will never be able to match all of the quality apps that are available for the iPad. It's not just the hardware that matters of course, the biggest disadvantage that Android has is Android itself if you ask me.

How many "iPad killers" have already been released and have utterly and pathetically failed so far?

The next person to even mention the word "iPad killer" needs to be slapped in the face. It's like the boy who cried wolf. Nobody pays any attention to these lunatics anymore, when they've already been proven wrong so many times.