Pegatron still on track to ship iPhone 5 in September
updated 11:20 pm EDT, Tue August 2, 2011
Pegatron plans hint iPhone 5 still due Sept
Pegatron's plans to be a second iPhone 5 supplier are still on track, the supply chain divulged late Tuesday. Its order is now expected to be 10 million rather than the previously hinted at 15 million, but it would still ship finished devices in September. The data partly contradicts talk that the new Apple hardware might not appear until October, since Pegatron would be shipping directly to Apple and customers.
As the primary manufacturer of CDMA iPhones, Pegatron is no stranger to the manufacturing base but currently plays runner-up to Foxconn, which handles GSM iPhones. Verizon's revelations that the iPhone 5 is probably a dual-mode phone may turn Pegatron's production into a complement rather than a vital responsibility. Such a strategy might, however, prevent the chronic shortages and international delays that have plagued most iPhone releases to date.
Irrespective of the iPhone plans, Pegatron has been hoping to boost its responsibility to include the iPad and Macs. iPhone margins are reportedly small and leave the company eager to diversify its contracts. Pegatron was originally ASUS' manufacturing wing and still produces notebooks for ASUS and other companies, including eight to ten million planned for Acer in 2012.
