We love our HTC smartphones and apparently so does the rest of the world — to the tune of 45 to 50 million units in 2011. According to a report from industry insider DigiTimes, HTC is currently in talks with PCB makers about orders for 2011. Will HTC be able to keep up with the growing demand for their beloved smartphones?
This year was a great a time to be a component manufacturer for HTC, but apparently 2011 will even better. With 25 million units projected for all of 2010, the jump to 45 to 50 million units in 2011 is substantial to say the least. So how exactly does HTC plan to address the demand?
Unconfirmed reports indicate that HTC is looking at Ichia Technologies, a supplier for flexible PCB, which has already sent samples to HTC and been green lit for early 2011 production. As expected, Ichia declined to comment on the reported deal, but DigiTimes is sticking by their story.
The problem with the report is that Ichia had previously produced keypads for HTC, but during that time they were heavily booked by Nokia. The end result was a failure to fulfill HTC orders. Granted, the new line of HTC devices will not rely much on keyboards, but it still raises the question — will Ichia be able to meet the new demand?
The demand for HTC devices in 2011 will be as much of a test for production as it will be for HTC to continue to innovate. Now it’s time for you to chime in. Do you think that HTC will actually ship 45 to 50 million devices in 2011? Or will the supply chain fail to support such a tremendous demand? Sound off in the comments below.
via DigiTimes
