Tablets of OLED
Apple fanboys will have to steel themselves and pray for more patience as they wait for Cupertino to deliver their long awaited Apple Tablet, with reports that the launch has been delayed from March until the second half of 2010.
The Taiwanese rumour mill has it on good authority Apple has decided to scrap certain components of its tablet PC model in place of other more expensive bits and bobs, including OLED screens from LG Display.
Apple currently has a five-year $500 million panel purchasing contract with LG, so the whisperings don't come out of the blue.
The Taipei gossip queens also reckon Quanta Computer and Pegatron Technology will be taking a crack at manufacturing the tablet, along with Foxconn Electronics, although it's not currently known how production is to be divided between the three.
Reports say there may even be two types of tablets, one with a 10.6-inch TFT LCD panel and another, more expensive 9.7-inch OLED panel model. Two tablets? Why, that's almost biblical, Apple.
But in terms of cash, punters can expect to be coughing up at least the value of a golden calf for Cupertino's much coveted items of worship. OLED panels currently cost about $500, and with panel prices usually representing around 30 per cent of the device's total cost, that means an outlay of between $1500-$1700 for Apple at current prices.
Now, herein may lie Apple's decision to delay the product's release, because OLED panel pricing is said to be falling, which could mean that if the firm releases its tablets towards the back-end of 2010, the production costs would fall to a slightly more reasonable $1200-$1500, meaning Apple would likely sell them for around $2000 each. Still steeper than a hike up mount Sinai though, if you ask us.
The 10.6-inch LCD panel-based tablet will be a fair bit cheaper, expected to hit shelves at a price of between $800-1,000.
Of course, if a willing telco steps in to offer the device for less money in return for a 3G long term devotion plan, the sect of Apple tablet could soon find itself swelling with followers.
