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DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to bring on a second manufacturing partner for the iPad as part of the rollout of the updated models rumored for release later this year.
Apple reportedly plans to add a second manufacturer for iPad 3 tablet PCs in addition to Foxconn Electronics with Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and [Pegatron] Technology being indicated as the potential contenders for the possible orders, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
[Pegatron], which reportedly have landed iPhone 5 orders from Apple, stands a better chance of winning the iPad 3 orders, the sources noted.
Both Pegatron and Quanta are existing manufacturing partners for Apple, with Pegatron being responsible for CDMA iPhone 4 production while Quanta is a long-time partner for Mac production.
The report notes that Apple's decision to add a new manufacturer for the iPad is due in significant part to the explosion at Foxconn's new production plant in Chengdu that killed three workers and saw the company temporarily halt work in all of its polishing shops as it investigated the incident. That series of events reportedly convinced Apple of the need to diversify its manufacturing partnerships in order to minimize risk.
Top Rated Comments
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
God, that is going to be such a sexy factory.
There will be NO ipad 2.5, 2S, HD, 3 etc this year.
No iPad 3 this year. No iPad 2 HD - Apple would never want to marginalize the existing iPad 2 has somehow being inferior - not HD - especially when tons of iPad apps call themselves "HD" versions (i.e., Angry Birds, Angry Birds HD).
There's no financial sense in Apple rushing to spend the money to modify the iPad 2 production specs when they still sell every single one they make.
While it's only my opinion, like all the other speculation here, I don't foresee a new iPad until March.
And as for a micro-SD card slot, keep dreaming. Since no other Apple product contains a micro-SD card, there's no reason to put such a slot on the iPad. Standard SD cards found in cameras (and flash thumb drives with a DCIM folder) can be read with the Camera Connection Kit that Apple sells. And since there's no user-accessible file system on the iPad, Apple has no motivation to open up accessing documents on a thumb drives. You're meant to use iCloud (eventually) for that.
I love how just because the iPad is not a retina screen "it's lagging". For goodness sake, it's as good as or better 90% of the laptops on the market. It's not lagging that much unless you compare to the iPhone 4.
Don't get me wrong... I'd love a HD screen for the iPad, but I don't see what's so horrible about the current screen.