Second iPod manufacturer up and running

While Taiwanese contract manufacturers Inventec continues to crank out the bulk of all of Apple's hard drive-based iPods, a second company has joined the fray.

Confirmation came this week via chipmaker PortalPlayer's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the document, the company notes that it is now shipping chips to a second, unnamed manufacturer that is building products for Apple.

The move is not a shock. Last September, Taiwan's DigiTimes reported that Apple had inked a pact with Asustek to serve as a second supplier for the iPod mini.