Otaku Gadgets

Now that we are officially in the month of the iPad launch, a scary rumor has popped up about the iPad. According to some analyst, there has been a technical problem at Hon Hai Precision’s iPad production and has a result the first launch of the iPad will be limited to the US and will have a low number of units available. Hon Hai Precision is better known as Foxconn, Apple’s manufacturer of choice for many Apple products.

According to the rumor that is spreading, the estimated availability of the iPad at launch this month will not be in millions but about 300,000. If that is really the case, then there will be a huge shortage of iPads given that the interest we have been perceiving from the market translates into purchases. However, even if half the iPad owners of the US decide to buy the iPad, it will be a significant number alright. According to dear old Wikipedia, there are approximately 6.2 million iPhones that are currently active in the US. Halve that you get 3 million buyers. Halve that further and you still have 1.5 million buyers. So Apple is definitely going to be dealing with at least a million sales if they can keep up with the demand.

This claim has been made by the analyst Peter Misek from Canccord Adams. It is nothing new for analysts to be making predictions like this and it is also nothing new that they are often completely wrong about it. So don’t lose heart or any other body part just yet, this shortage might be a controlled rumor from Apple to judge the tension before launch.

After all, even if the iPad is in short supply and in great demand at launch, it is not like that will be a bad thing for Apple. Those who know even elementary economics will know that is actually a good scenario for the seller and a bad one for the buyer. And then when the scarcity goes away, Apple will have a burst of sales thanks to ‘pent up demand’. Much like gay marriages when they were legalized but much more hi-tech.

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