Digitimes: 2.6M iPad 2s shipped in March, 12M expected in Q2

According to Digitimes, Apple shipped between 2.4 and 2.6 million iPads during the month of March. Shipments are set to nearly double during the second quarter, according to a conservative estimate by a source:

Sales of iPad 2 are running at a rate faster than its predecessor, and Apple took delivery of 2.4-2.6 million units in March. Apple is likely to take delivery of 4-4.3 million units a month, or a total of over 12 million units, of iPad 2 tablets in the second quarter, said the sources.

In other words, at a monthly rate of more than four million units iPad 2 could sell far better than its predecessor which took nine months to sell 15 million units. The latest figure compares to the Motorola Xoom sales Deutsche Bank pegged at just a hundred thousand units. A steady stream of components will be needed to meet the iPad 2 targets. Asian suppliers are already boosting their production output to meet orders from Apple, Digitimes wrote…

A lot of components go into each iPad 2 and with the crisis in Japan you’d think a steady supply of NAND flash, the A5 processors or touch panels is needed to keep feeding the market. Not so fast – a sufficient supply of cover lenses for touch panel modules will be the key to reach Apple’s Q2 shipment goals, explains the publication.

TPK Touch Solutions, G-Tech Optoelectronics, HannStar Display, Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), Wintek and other touch panel makers are all expanding or looking to expand their manufacturing capacities in the wake of strong iPad 2 sales.