
A FocusTaiwan report claims Apple is pressuring its manufacturing partners to meet a February 24th iPad 3 release deadline. This also happens to be Steve Jobs' Birthday.
According to the report, a local chinese-language newspaper reported “the iPad 3 might be launched on Feb. 24 to mark the anniversary of the birth of Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs.” The report also cites Taiwanese supply makers in Apple’s iPad 3 supply chain who claim Apple is pushing for a mid-first quarter launch of the iPad 3.
Those familiar with Chinese manufacturers and international supply chain logistics understand how much of a kink the Chinese New Year can throw into production plans. The Lunar New Year, which falls on January 23 this year, results in a massive amount of workers receiving a rather large chunk of time off delaying component manufacturing and choking supply levels during the first quarter of the year. Most companies plan accordingly to avoid shortages. Apple’s plans reportedly involve forcing component suppliers and manufacturers like Foxconn to greatly limit the time off their employees receive during the holiday.
An iPad 3 release on Jobs Birthday would be a nice gesture, but the likelihood of it happening is another beast. Apple will likely announce the iPad 3 at their WWDC in early January with a release date sometime later in the quarter.
Source: FocusTaiwan [via MacRumors]
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