Apple may add another iPad screen supplier
updated 10:45 am EDT, Thu April 22, 2010
Would back claims of intense iPad demand
Prime View International, by way of Korean subsidiary Hydis, could become yet another panel supplier for the iPad, anonymous market sources say. Hydis has claimed responsibility for developing the IPS technology in the iPad's screen, which while not unique to the tablet is essential to its image quality. A contract to actually manufacture iPad panels could prove lucrative, given demand for Apple products.
PVI would be joining LG Display, currently the main iPad panel supplier. Sources claim however that Seiko Epson has also joined the chain, and could start shipments in May if they are not already underway. Together Seiko and PVI would likely be complementing LG's work, rather than supplanting it; the need for two or three suppliers may suggest that iPad demand is extremely high, particularly as Apple has used demand to excuse the delay of international models to late May.
