iPhone 4G Shipments to benefit Hon Hai Group
The Hon Hai Group, Taiwan's biggest manufacturing conglomerate, is estimated to become the prime beneficiary of the forthcoming rollout of iPhone 4G, with its subsidiary Foxconn Technology Group contracted to assemble the phones and Chimei Innolux Corp. to offer liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.
Apple Computer will launch the next-generation iPhone in June, planning to ship 24 million systems by the end of this year. Foxconn is estimated to deliver 4.5 million of the phone next month, with the number to ramp up to an estimated 10 to 12 million systems a month in the second half of this year.
Chimei Innolux, the merger body of Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. and the Hon Hai owned Innolux Display Corp., is chosen for the first time to supply the smart phones touch screen modules.
iPhone 4G adopts fringe field switching (FFS) LCD panels. LG Display Co., Ltd. is contracted to supply the panels after licensing FFS technology from Prime View International Co., Ltd. of Taiwan. FFS is noted for wider viewing angle and clearer picture in the sun than traditional LCD technologies.
Industry executives pointed out that iPhone 4G looks pretty similar to the past three generations except for its iPhone 4.0 OS, multiplex capability, and front-end camera.
To stimulate consumption of the new smartphones, Apple considers slashing prices of the new smartphones from levels set for former generations.
The phone is built around CDMA (code division multiple access) wireless technology, inspiring speculations that Apple did so to meet need of Verizon, currently the U.S. No.1 provider of cellular services.
iPhone 4G also is expected to give a boost to Taiwan's battery pack suppliers like Simplo Technology Co., Ltd. and DynaPack Corp., which have introduced durable batteries for the smartphones.
