Japan's crisis could delay iPad 2: report - Chicago Sun-Times

Japan's crisis could delay iPad 2: report

SUN-TIMES STAFF, WIRES Mar 17, 2011 09:53PM

• E-Mail
• Print

Production of Apple's iPad2 may be delayed by Japan earthquake and tsunami, according to the Wall Street Journal, which quoted a research firm.

Apple Inc.'s iPad requires parts from around the world. The Wi-Fi version of the iPad uses a Toshiba chip to help store data, according to analysis by iFixit.com. The chips that control communications come from Broadcom Corp., in Irvine, Calif. Memory comes from Samsung Electronics Co., in Korea. Texas Instruments Inc., in Dallas, makes a chip used for the touchscreen. The processor is designed by Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif.

Those are just the main semiconductor guts of the machine. A host of other chips, made by other companies, do other things in the iPad: powering the compass, for instance, and sensing when light hits the screen. All the other iPad parts, from the touchscreen glass to the screws and cameras, come from a variety of suppliers.

Toshiba was one of the companies forced to shut factories after the quake. So it's possible that the supply of chips for Apple could be disrupted and delay iPad shipments.

Apple has declined comment. A Toshiba spokesman did not respond.

Other computer makers can expect delays as well. Market research firm IHS iSuppli estimates that Japan is the world's biggest supplier of silicon used to make semiconductor chips. Its supplies make up about 60 percent of the world's total. The nation also is a key supplier of the "wafers" that are the building blocks of computer chips.