A report on Fox Business says that according to research firm IHS iSuppli, Apple’s lower-than-expected iPad sales for the second quarter were due to supply issues with the new speakers, as well as quality concerns over the LCD panels. According to IHS, Apple’s first-quarter iPad 2 supply fell way short of the massive demand for the device. In short, people wanted to buy it, but they just weren’t able too, meaning that the drop in sales did not reflect a fall in popularity for the iPad, it was simply that Apple couldn’t get enough of them out to the customers.
IHS says that Apple’s supply problems had very little to do with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, as Apple took steps to make sure that its supply chain for iPad 2 parts would not be too adversely affected, with Apple even paying more for certain parts that were hard to obtain, just to keep the supply chain going.
Unlike some other analysts who have forecast that Apple’s iPad 2 sales figures will bounce back up in the 3rd quarter, IHS has cut its forecast for Apple’s sales for the rest of 2011, saying that it now believes Apple will ship 39.7 million iPads, which is 9.1% less than its February forecast of 43.7 million.
Source: ISuppli Trims IPad '11 Forecast On Apple's Shipment Shortfall - FoxBusiness.com