LG Can't Meet Apple Demand For iPad DisplaysLG Can't Meet Apple Demand For iPad Displays

LG Display's CEO, Kwon Young-soo has indicated that while demand for its LCD TV screens is somewhat soft, it is having trouble with the smaller LEDs for the iPad.

"Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all," he said. "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products, but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year."

The iPad has a 9.7-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen multitouch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology. It has 1024-by-768-pixel resolution, at 132 pixels per inch (ppi).

Apple has sold 3.47 million iPads since the device first launched in the U.S. in April. Apple has slowly been making the iPad available in more countries around the world, most recently in Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. Demand in Hong Kong has been high.

The iPad has been only available via gray market channels in Hong Kong so far. Independent vendors, such as Kurt Lo, have been importing them from the U.S. and other countries through friends and then re-selling them at a mark-up.

Now that it is officially available in Hong Kong, vendors like Lo will purchase them legitimately and then sell them via gray market channels to mainland China, where the iPad is not yet available. "Crazy — the iPad is crazy," Lo said. “Makes me very crazy and very busy today.”

With today's launches, the iPad is now available in a total of 19 countries.