Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) has again pushed back its ship date for customers ordering the HTC Droid Incredible, due to intense demand for the high-end smartphone.
The carrier has repeatedly postponed Incredible shipments, and is now reporting that orders will begin shipping by Aug. 3. Throughout June, the ship date for the device was pushed back into July. In late May, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam blamed the situation on component shortages, specifically the phone's AMOLED screen made by Samsung. At the time, he said Samsung had ramped up production, and that Verizon expected to be able to meet demand for the smartphone within the next 30 to 60 days.
Verizon, which is launching its newest flagship Android phone, the Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Droid X, on July 15, has told customers who have been waiting for the Incredible to ship that they can change their order to the Droid X at no additional cost.
Late last month, Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) CEO Dan Hesse said the carrier was running low on the HTC Evo, the carrier's first 3G/4G smartphone, a problem he attributed to higher-than-expected demand rather than component shortages.
Indeed, AMOLED shortages are crimping handset makers pushing out Android phones, according to research firm iSuppli. According to iSuppli, shipments of AMOELD displays for mobile phones are going to increase over the next few years, but will still pale in comparison to shipments of AMLCD screens. Meanwhile, demand for the high-end touchscreens will outstrip supply, iSuppli said. Samsung said last month that its mobile display unit will invest $2.1 billion to build an AMOLED display line that will start production in July 2011.
For more:
- see this Mobile Crunch post
- see this Electric post
- see this Engadget post
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