Sharp's panels for new iPad delayed

When Apple Inc.'s new iPad tablet computers go on sale Friday, they won't be equipped with Sharp Corp.'s liquid crystal display panels because of a delay in the Japanese electronics maker's delivery, according to a person familiar with the situation. Sharp, which makes screens for consumer electronics and its Aquos-based LCD TVs, hasn't yet started delivering the panels but will likely do so as early as this month in an attempt to make the next batch of iPad shipments from Apple, the person said. Sharp originally planned to start delivering the panels to Apple in late December, but it faced a series of difficulties in customizing them according to the U.S. company's strict requirements for the new iPad, the person said. Shares in Sharp were recently down 4.5% at ¥486 each. The person added that the Osaka-based company will remain a supplier of the new iPad's LCD panels, along with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Display Co. LG Display initially had experienced a delay in shipping panels but has now met Apple's requirements, another person familiar with the situation said, but declined to comment on whether LG panels are now being shipped for the new iPad. "The delivery delay is not only negative for Sharp, but it could give Samsung more bargaining power towards Apple" as the most reliable display supplier, said Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi. The delay highlights the fact that Samsung and Apple are dependent on each other, even though the two firms are locked in legal battles over patent issues all over the world. Samsung supplies key components for various Apple products, but the two companies compete in the smartphone and tablet markets with their own products. Last year, Apple first sued Samsung alleging that the South Korean company copied its tablet and smartphone designs. Samsung has countersued, alleging Apple has violated its telecommunications patents. The timing of when Sharp can start delivering the panels has been closely watched by the market, as it could impact the overall supply of the new iPad, at a time when demand for it is expected to be strong. Apple said in a statement last week that supplies of the new tablet it had set aside for preorders have already sold out and that the only way customers will be able to buy one when it is released on Friday will be through an Apple retail store or through one of the company's authorized resellers. When Apple last week unveiled its new iPad, one of the most obvious improvements from the existing iPad 2 was the touch-screen display with double the resolution of the previous model. The tablet also comes with increased processing power and compatibility with next-generation wireless technology. Sharp is using a new LCD panel technology it developed last year, which it claims achieves high-resolution and low energy consumption. The company produces the panels at its plant in Mie Prefecture, central Japan.