Apple is reportedly planning to add a second manufacturer for its next-generation iPad in an attempt to ease supply issues and minimise the risk of missing shipment targets,Digitimes has revealed. The Cupertino-based company has already partnered with Hon Hai’s Foxconn Electronics but it said to be entertaining offers from Taiwan-based Quanta Computer and Pegatron Technology, with the later said to have already secured orders for the next-generation iPhone, referred to by many as the iPhone 5....

Apple is said to have finalised its iPad 3 supplier list, retaining many of its key partners in the iPad 2 supply chain, and will begin production of its next generation tablet device in October,CENS reports. The Taiwanese industry publication says Apple’s contract manufacturers in the supply chain are ready to supply components, with the Cupertino-based company likely to retain LG Display as its main display panel supplier, dumping Samsung and adding Sharp, while Hon Hai (Foxconn et al....

According toDigitimes, Apple has set its sights on shipping over 40 million iPads in 2011, taking delivery of up to 6.5 million of first and second generation tablet devices in the first quarter. Sourcing its information from Apple suppliers, the Chinese publication notes that Apple will receive between 300,000 and 400,000 units in its first batch, easing a potential supply backlog when the yet-to-be-announced iPad 2 makes its debut. The Cupertino company reportedly ordered up to 2 million iPads over January and February to satisfy demand, with order volumes expected to rise substantially above 2 million units for the month of March....

Applehas reportedly invitedmanagers from Chinese mobile operator China Unicom to Cupertino to finalise a deal that will see the state-owned carrier offer Apple’s next-generation smartphone, dubbed the iPhone 5, to more than 18 million of its 3G subscribers. Sources have indicated that the trip will see the two companies confirm a partnership, making it the second operator in the country to have secured a deal to bring the highly-anticipated iPhone 5 to China....

Apple could be on the verge of moving its MacBook range of notebooks away from Intel processing architectures to new chips licensed by UK technology firm ARM, if reports fromSemiAccurateare to be believed. The Cupertino-based company, which switched from PowerPC to Intel processors in January 2006, is said to have already struck a deal with ARM but will likely wait until the company releases processors with full 64-bit cores before it moves its products over to the new chipsets....