Innolux nabs new Apple touchscreen orders

Taiwan display maker Innolux has landed new orders for touchscreens from Apple, say claims from those inside the industry. While few details are available, the company is expected to start shipments soon; the company itself declines to either confirm or deny orders from Apple but says it will soon ship a production run of touch panels using capacitive input like that of Apple's handhelds.

The size of the screens and the amount being delievered is unavailable, though Innolux's largest of two factories producing the screens can generate at most 100,000 units per month.

The new information corroborates a very early report from December which suggested Innolux would start shipping screens to Apple during the spring, though the combination of smaller-scale production and a relatively late shipment make the nature of the shipment unclear.

Apple has historically relied on the competing display firm Wintek for the panels used in the iPhone and iPod touch, suggesting that the California company is expanding capacity to accommodate iPhone 3G demand, switching suppliers, or else relying on Innolux for a separate device. Most such shipments of individual parts start months in advance to build up an adequate supply as well as to give the final manufacturer time to assemble the finished products.

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