Apple trades TPK for Wintek to keep iPads flowing

Apple has switched suppliers for the iPad's capacitive touch panel to keep production running, a rumor from Taiwan argued on Friday. The company has supposedly been relying on TPK Touch Solutions for some of the panels but, frustrated with delays, has moved more orders to Wintek to keep production moving. A previous rumor had blamed Wintek itself, but it's implied by DigiTimes that Wintek has either addressed earlier problems or would be used to balance the workload.

The contractor is thought capable of keeping up with its current demand but has said publicly that it wants to be a cornerstone of touchscreen production. It has already planned to setup a new factory in Dongguan in mainland China and may expand the production facilities it already has in place. Wintek already makes iPhone and iPod touch panels.

Screen-related issues have long been suspected of stalling the iPad, first pushing its unveiling to January this year and shipments to early April. Large multi-touch screens aren't new but have rarely been seen outside of notebooks and all-in-one desktops, particularly with the high level of accuracy expected for an Apple tablet.

By Electronista Staff