supply

The "limit two per customer" rule became conspicuously absent from the iPhone 5 order form on Apple's Web store today.

It seems that supply has finally met up with demand and the tech giant is letting people order the device willy-nilly.

Not only has the two-per-customer limit been removed, but the 10-phone per lifetime limit has also been lifted, according to MacRumors. Now, MacRumors reports, customers are limited to ten devices for each transaction and no lifetime limit.

Apple started selling unlocked iPhone 5 smartphones last week, which frees users from being tethered to a network. Users … Read more

So, why did Apple go with an unremarkable display for its iPad Mini and how is this related to the overall design? An IHS iSuppli analyst explains.

The iPad Mini sports an average-resolution display that falls short of the super-high-resolution Retina displays on most of Apple's other mobile products like the 9.7-inch iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

I asked Vinita Jakhanwal, a display analyst at IHS iSuppli, to give me her thoughts about Apple's design decisions.

"I think there are a lot of other issues involved in creating a new form factor device," Jakhanwal said.

"… Read more

Microsoft and component suppliers in Asia are in the initial stages of testing a smartphone design, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal.

A source cited in the report says the phone has a screen size of between four and five inches.

Top smartphones from Samsung, Apple, HTC, and Motorola all have screen sizes in that range.

But officials at component suppliers added that they're not sure if the Microsoft phone would go into mass production, according to the report. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment.

If Microsoft does follow through and pushes … Read more

No, it's not a complete version of Apple's much-rumored iPad mini, but it could be a few more pieces of the puzzle.

Parts reseller ETradeSupply, which posted accurate photos and videos of Apple's iPhone 5 casing some three months before its official debut, today has images of what it says is the 8-inch LCD screen for Apple's smaller iPad, as well as its battery.

Neither part is connected to any electronics, or other pieces of housing, though as ETradeSupply notes, the leaked images add credence to the fact that Apple will stick with a 4:3 … Read more

Rumors about an iPad Mini arriving in October have taken a shellacking over the last couple of days.

First, the expected October 10 invites didn't go out. Now a report in Digitimes claims there's a production delay -- a delay that could mean the device won't show up till after October.

If there is a device. The iPad Mini is, of course, an unconfirmed product to begin with. So it's hard to say with a straight face that a rumored product can actually be delayed.

(Update: A report now says the event will take place on … Read more

Cuts, scrapes, and scratches are part of what seems to be slowing Apple's iPhone 5 supply.

According to Bloomberg, the smartphone's delicate aluminum housing, coupled with increasingly stricter quality control, has slowed production and added to the device's supply shortfall.

When Apple launched the iPhone 5 last month, fanatics flocked to stores and Web sites to get the device -- but many were met with "sold out" and "check back soon" notices. Early reports said one of the reasons for the shortage of phones was the device's new LG Display technology.

Now … Read more

What do you do when you have a 1,000-unit-per-month hard-drive habit -- then Thailand floods wipe out your supply?

In the case of online backup specialist Backblaze, whose business could have been crippled when the natural disaster last year raised the price of a $129 3TB drive to $349, you improvise.

The company turned employees, their friends, and their families into an ad hoc supply chain who scoured Best Buy, Costco, NewEgg, B&H Foto, and other retailers across the country for drives. And when they learned that external USB storage devices were actually cheaper than the drives … Read more

Apple might be suffering from an iPhone 5 supply shortfall, all because of its new display technology.

Apple relies primarily on LG Display and more recently on Sharp to produce the iPhone 5's screen, notes a Bloomberg report. However, Sharp has faced some trouble with defects and didn't start shipping screens until the smartphone's debut, a Barclays analyst stated, according to Bloomberg.

An IHS iSuppli analyst also told Bloomberg that "supply constraints" may have hampered the supply of iPhones its first weekend on store shelves.

Apple's iPhone 5 comes with in-cell touch sensing. Unlike … Read more