Following Apple’s announcement yesterday that more than 1 million videos have been downloaded from iTunes, BusinessWeek reports that demand for the video-enabled fifth-generation iPod may be outstripping supply.
“Apple hasn’t yet said how many of the new players it has sold since the units started shipping Oct. 17, but clues are mounting that there simply aren’t enough around,” says BusinessWeek’s Arik Hesseldahl. “It’s taking Apple between five and seven business days to fill online orders for the video iPod, according to the company’s Web site.”
Component constraints are reportedly to blame for shipping delays with the 5G iPod and iPod nano. iSuppli analyst Vinita Jakhanwal says that the component is probably a light-emitting diode backlight used to brighten the iPod’s screen. “They’re going into iPods, but they’re also going into cell phones,” Jakhanwal says. “The lead times for these backlights has gotten longer in recent weeks.”
