Apple's boost in orders for touchscreens may stall Amazon tablets

Digitimes Yenting Chen and Steve Shen focus today on Taiwan-based touch panel makers who may have some involvement with touch panel orders from Amazon for its tablet PCs "to be launched in the second half of 2011."

Apparently, it's an idea somewhere but any actual action on them may be delayed due to Apple's large boost in orders for the same type of touch screens in the same time frame.   Digitimes writes:

' The first batch of touch panels to be delivered to Amazon slated for September is likely to top 1.5-2 million units, according to industry sources.

Amazon reportedly has held talks with TPK Holdings, Wintek, HannStar Display and J Touch for the supply of touch panels, indicated the sources, noting that Amazon targets to ship four million tablet PCs before the end of 2011.

TPK, a major supplier of touch modules for Apple's iPad tablet PCs, has been reluctant to make a commitment to suppling [sic] touch panels to Amazon on concerns of capacity, the sources noted. TPK declined to comment.

Wintek has also landed a fair amount of orders from Apple recently and will see its revenues edge higher in the third quarter. However, the company also revealed that its production schedule will become tight in the second half of the year and it may be difficult for the company to accommodate orders from Amazon. '

The Telegraph's Shane Richmond (while pointing out that HP's tablet computer, the TouchPad, launches tomorrow in Britain tomorrow) points us to another Digitimes article, by Max Wang and Joseph Tsai, which adds that

'Apple is turning more aggressive in placing orders for its iPad 2 and is set to ship 12-14 million units in the quarter, up from 7-9 million units in the second, according to market watchers.

In order to significantly increase its shipments in the third quarter, Apple has been piling up its inventory of iPad 2 components such as panels in the second quarter to minimize the risk of facing component shortages.

The companies they name here, expected to benefit from the increased orders are: LG Display, Catcher Technology, TPK Holdings and Radiant Opto-Electronics Corporation

At this point, just more conjecture, really, although Apple's boost of orders at the same time may be natural or a delaying-tactic, as news analyses have been in agreement that Amazon's ecosystem presents the first real challenge to the iPad, and timing is everything in this business.

Below is the ongoing list of earlier blog articles on the many stronger rumors circulating on online gadget news sites about a coming Amazon color LCD tablet or family of tablets (by year end).

  ONE rumor has been about a smaller e-Ink Kindle as well, with touch screen, some time during the fall (David Carnoy at CNet, who's repeated it twice since then).)

Kindleworld ANDROID TABLET blog articles on the larger rumors:

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Kindle News: Latest Amazon Tablet Rumors - by Aug or Sept
http://bit.ly/kwatabs

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
RUMOR: Amazon 10" color tablet to offer free streaming video as promo. Updated
http://bit.ly/kwtstream

Monday, May 16, 2011
Amazon tablet family rumors grow, with 'Coyote' and 'Hollywood' code names
http://bit.ly/kwamtab2

Saturday, May 14, 2011
Amazon's Android Tablet(s) later this year - more on the likely display
with samples of the type of screen resolution we might see
http://bit.ly/kwamtab

Thursday, May 12, 2011
Jeff Bezos talks about possible Tablet and concerns over adKindles
http://bit.ly/kwcrjb

Thursday, April 21, 2011
Is Samsung building an Android tablet for Amazon?
http://bit.ly/kwatss

Tuesday, May 24, 2011
SMALLER E-INK Kindle [possibility] with touchscreen - per David Carnoy
http://bit.ly/kwksmall#ksmall

Friday, November 5, 2010
That Amazon Android Tablet May be a Reality - UPDATE
http://bit.ly/kwktab2

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