supply

One of my favorite products on the Schoolhouse Electric & Supply site is a replica of IBM's standard-issue wall clock from the '60s, sure to make it onto Don Draper's holiday wish list this year.

This run is technically the first, as Schoolhouse Electric hit up IBM to make these iconic clocks available to all of us who didn't work in IBM offices, warehouses, and schools during the mid-20th century.

They're all assembled by hand in the company's factory in Portland, Ore., and each clock is bound by a spun-steel case with the original graphic hands and domed glass lens.

As is usually the case with historical relics, getting your hands on one of these will empty your wallet--the IBM standard-issue wall clock retails for $235 in the Schoolhouse Electric marketplace.

(Via A Continuous Lean)… Read more

In a note to investors, Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar claims that Apple's supply issues regarding the iPhone 4S are due not only to extremely high demand but also a key component not being readily available.

That component? Kumar isn't telling. Or, doesn't know. Either way, there's no telling what the "key component" in the iPhone 4S that is causing supply issues is. According to AppleInsider, Kumar claims the low availability of the iPhone 4S will continue through the holiday quarter, generally Apple's busiest and most lucrative time of the year.

A … Read more

When 2011 is wrapped up, the consumer electronics industry, despite all the marketing and highly-touted gadgets, will have had a disappointing year.

That's according to market research firm IHS iSuppli, which estimates that revenue this year will total $357.3 billion, up only 1.5 percent from a year ago, and well off of the 6.4 percent growth the firm had previously expected.

It seems that despite the bluster and hype, the consumer electronics industry was just as susceptible to the downturn in consumer spending as every other industry. While the holiday season often makes up a bulk … Read more

Ultrabooks will capture more than 40 percent of the laptop market by 2015, becoming, in effect, a counterweight to tablets like Apple's iPad, according to market researcher IHS-iSuppli.

In a research note titled "Ultrabooks to Deliver Ultrafast Growth," iSuppli sees these svelte Windows laptops that run on Intel processors taking 43 percent of the laptop market by 2015.

Currently, Windows 7-based ultrabooks from vendors such as Acer and Asus compete with Apple's MacBook Air. But new designs based on Windows 8 and future Intel processors in the coming years are expected to make them attractive alternatives … Read more

Apple's tight control of the supply chain has been one of its competitive strengths. And that control should get even tighter next year as the company plans to double its current level of spending.

With a treasure chest of more than $80 billion in cash and investments, Apple is looking to spend a whopping $7.1 billion on supply chain expenditures in 2012 and another $2.4 billion in prepayments to major suppliers, according to a profile by BusinessWeek.

Citing interviews with former Apple employees, executives from suppliers, and management experts, BusinessWeek revealed how Apple has spent big bucks … Read more

Amazon could be on track to ship as many as 5 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter, according to an analyst who tracks the market.

"Checks indicate that they could ship upwards of 5 million units in the December quarter [fourth quarter], which is just shy of half of Apple's volume," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw in a phone interview Thursday. That's an increase from Kumar's previous forecast of up to four million in the same quarter.

Why the hike in the forecast? "Because they have received record … Read more

Following claims from a J.P. Morgan analyst that Apple cut the number of iPads it plans to order from suppliers, other analysts have chimed in to disagree.

J.P. Morgan analyst Gokul Hariharan yesterday issued an investor note saying Apple would slash its iPad orders by 25 percent for the fourth quarter, a move that would affect such suppliers as Hon Hai Precision. The report triggered a Bloomberg report and prompted speculation that Apple may be seeing weaker demand for the tablet in Europe or just trying to work with less inventory.

The analyst's claims also took a … Read more

Apple has cut iPad orders from manufacturing partners, Bloomberg is reporting, citing an investment report from JP Morgan Chase.

Apple has reportedly cut fourth-quarter iPad shipments by 25 percent, Bloomberg says, per JP Morgan Chase. The analysts at JP Morgan said that this is the first time they've seen Apple slash iPad shipments since the tablet launched last year.

If Apple has, in fact, cut iPad shipments for the fourth quarter, it will have a profound impact on many of its suppliers, including Hon Hai Precision. According to the analysts, Bloomberg says, Hon Hai was planning to ship 17 … Read more

A Taipei-based technology news site has been publishing a steady stream of flak centered on Intel's Ultrabook laptop strategy. Intel counters, however, that this is little more than rumor and speculation.

Over the last week or so, DigiTimes has been offering up almost a daily dose of grievances, seemingly emanating from that region's suppliers, including ODMs (original design manufacturers) and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).

For example, on its front door as of Tuesday night PT, the publication has three articles critical of Intel's Ultrabook strategy.

The Ultrabook is defined roughly as an ultraportable laptop under 0.8 … Read more