shortage

If you're looking to upgrade your TV to one that uses light-emitting diode technology, be prepared for a potential price hike.

According to electronic market research firm iSuppli, LEDs are facing a global supply shortage in 2010, and the year may end with a sharp under-supply of the in-demand devices unless production capacity ramps up.

The research firm's numbers show that total consumption of LEDs reached 63 billion units in 2009. That was close to the industry's total capacity of 75 billion units, indicating that many LED manufacturers were operating at nearly 100 percent utilization levels. In 2008, the total consumption of LEDs was just 57 billion units.

Based on the growing demand during the last couple of years, iSuppli predicted that demand for LEDs in 2010 will be close to 80 billion units and will reach more than 100 billion units in 2011. This means that unless manufacturers significantly increase production, a sharp shortage will likely occur.

According to Sweta Dash, senior director for LCD research at iSuppli, the predicted 2010 shortage applies mostly to LEDs used for the backlighting of large-screen LCD TVs. Thanks to their super-slim form factors and improvements in picture quality, this type of TV has become increasingly popular.

Among products that utilize LEDs, TVs require the most LEDs per unit. Unlike notebooks, which typically use 50 LEDs, or monitors, which employ about 100 LEDs, LCD TVs on average consume anywhere from 300 to 500 LEDs per panel. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--On his first visit to CES as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski on Friday reiterated key policy objectives to free up more wireless spectrum and encourage competition in the TV set-top box.

Top on the chairman's list of issues to emphasize while chatting with Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro here at 2010 CES was the need for more wireless spectrum to be used by wireless broadband providers. He said spectrum scarcity is a key issue that he faces on a daily basis as he deals with communications policy. And he said it was crucial … Read more

WASHINGTON--The wireless and TV broadcasting industries faced off for the first time at a congressional subcommittee meeting on the Hill on Tuesday, setting in motion what could be a long drawn out battle over whether wireless spectrum should be reallocated and where the government will get this new spectrum.

Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, the wireless industry group, and Gordon Smith of the National Association of Broadcasters, were among the witnesses gathered before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet to discuss what the CTIA and the Federal Communications Commission have … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission opened a formal proceeding Wednesday to get feedback on whether it should reclaim some spectrum licenses held by TV broadcasters and auction them off to wireless broadband providers.

The public comment notice issued by the FCC is the first step in a process that could pit TV broadcasters against the FCC and the wireless industry.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a speech earlier in the week that he is interested in taking back some of these airwaves to re-auction them for use in building new wireless broadband services.

Broadcasters oppose a plan under which they'… Read more

Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the Palm Pre might be in short supply when it's made available later this year.

Citing estimates by six market analysts, Bloomberg says the Pre will "debut with about 375,000 units in stock." According to the report, that relatively small number (Apple sold 1 million iPhone 3G units in the first three days of availability last year) might have little to do with Palm's output capacity and quite a bit to do with its desire to live up to the Pre's hype.

"It's important to have a success like selling out," Hugues de La Vergne, a Gartner analyst, told Bloomberg. "The Pre has to live up to the hype or else they'll lose their momentum to rival products coming out soon after."

Neither Palm nor Sprint has confirmed plans to use a stock shortage to sell more Pre units. And don't look for either company to confirm such a claim.

But what if this really is the company's plan? Wouldn't that annoy you?… Read more

According to BMW's Mini division, Mini dealers in the U.S. are almost completely sold out. Much like the Apple iPod, which the stylish little car was oft compared to when it was unveiled 2001, it appears demand has completely outrun the rate at which Mini can supply them.

Dealers report that at this point, 81 percent of Minis sold are preconfigured and ordered. Mini's Oxford, England, plant will boost production to the U.S., but only by between 2,000 and 3,000 vehicles this year.

It is also reported that Mini plans to expand its dealership … Read more

Update: As of 4 p.m. EDT there was no line outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue here. Then again, there weren't any iPhones left to buy either.

NEW YORK--Early on Thursday, Engadget reported that a 60-person line had formed outside the store. But by the afternoon, the line had dissipated and the store was buzzing with its usual crowd of shoppers. (Having lived in New York City for over 10 years it never ceases to amaze me how many people don't seem to have a job and shop all day.)

A store greeter confirmed a line … Read more

The wind turbine shortage is growing, General Electric has confirmed.

The industrial conglomerate said in its conference call with analysts last Friday that the backlog of wind turbines--i.e. orders that have booked but can't ship--has grown to $12 billion. That's up from $11 billion in the fourth quarter and more than twice the size of the backlog in the first quarter a year ago.

Earlier this month, wind park developers and analysts said that a shortage of wind turbines has forced power providers to push projects into the future and juggle supplier agreements. Some have even speculated … Read more

Well, it's been a nice couple of months since the launch of the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3. After the predictably massive crowds and instant sell-outs of the systems on launch day, stores have had plenty of time to restock and get the new next-gen systems back on their shelves. Unfortunately, that hasn't quite been the case.

The Nintendo Wii is still almost impossible to find, and this is a surprising frustration for guys like me who decided not to wait in line for hours to get one at launch. After some legwork and a number of … Read more