Edible Apple

On March 7, Apple CEO Tim Cook will likely take the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and take the wraps off of the iPad 3, Apple’s next-gen tablet that will likely feature a Retina Display, upgraded hardware, and perhaps, 4G LTE support.

If history is any indication, the iPad 3 will go on sale shortly after March 7. The iPad 2, for example, went on sale 9 days after Steve Jobs introduced it to the public.

But be advised, if you can’t wait to get your hands on the iPad 3, you might wanna stake out a place in line.

Though they have an uneven track record regarding Apple rumors, Digitimes tends to be more accurate with respect to supply chain issues. That said, Digitimes reports that initial supply of the iPad 3 may be insufficient to meet expected demand due to slower than anticipated throughput of the iPad 3’s Retina Display panels.

Apple may not unable to ramp up the supply of its next-generation iPads (iPad 3), which are expected to be launched at a company event on March 7, due to insufficient supply of high resolution displays, according to industry sources in the supply chain.

Although Apple has chosen Sharp to replace Chimei Innolux (CMI) as one of its three suppliers for the high resolution (QXGA) panels – in addition to LG Display and Samsung Electronics, the whole supply chain has failed to substantially ramp up the supply of QXGA panels, the sources revealed.

As a result, iPad 3 shipments may not get into a groove until sometime in the second quarter.

This wouldn’t be the first time Apple has faced iPad shortages. Last year, the release of the iPad 2 also saw a number of supply and demand inefficiencies as Tim Cook said Apple was battling the “mother of all backlogs” while easily selling every iPad coming off of the production line. During an earnings conference call April, Cook noted that Apple would have sold even more iPads if only they were able to build more of them.

Hopefully history won’t be repeating itself this time around, but you’ve been warned!

via Digitimes