Report: Apple to Lower Notebook Orders for Current Quarter

by , 5:10 PM EST, November 10th, 2008

Apple has reduced orders for notebook computers for the current quarter by 20 to 30 percent, according to a report from Chinese-language newspaper DigiTimes. According to newspaper, manufacturing giants Quanta and Foxconn will absorb the impact of the cuts, which were also reported for PC brand Asustek, although no initial figure for the original order was listed.

Other details which have yet to be clarified include whether Apple is seeing reduced demand across the board or if the cuts pertain to a specific model. Last month, it was reported that Quanta and Foxconn were splitting orders for some 300,000-400,000 previous-generation white 13-inch MacBooks, which the Mac maker now sells for $999.

It is also possible in that Apple shifting towards manufacturing the new late 2008/"Unibody" systems which fetch $300 more per sale.

In recent weeks, Apple has admitted to seeing a drop-off in notebook demand leading up to last month's introductions, though sales were cited as having picked up once the late 2008 notebooks were introduced.

"As you know, there were rampant rumors and lots of press reports about a potential portable transition and we saw some slowing toward particularly the final weeks of September and the initial weeks of October," chief operating office Tim Cook said during a conference call. "However, once announcing [new models] last week, we saw a considerable rebound in sales and we're very, very optimistic about those results."

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