Qisda to Produce NookColor 2?
Digitimes is back again with another rumor. They have sources that are telling them that Qisda, a subsidiary of BenQ, could be the company responsible for assembling the NookColor.
Qisda is expected to receive orders from Barnes & Noble for the vendor’s Nook Color e-book reader, with annual shipments likely to reach one million units in 2012, according to industry sources.
The NC2 has been rumored to be coming out sometime in the next few weeks, but that doesn’t quite fit with this new rumor. If it’s going to ship in the next couple months then Barnes & Noble would have had to work out all the bugs in the production process. The assembly line has to be ready to go now, not soon. In fact, I’d say that assembly would have already started by now.
Now, Qisda is an interesting name to throw around as the builder of the NC2. You’d have to follow this particular niche pretty closely to know this, but BenQ is a sister corp to AUOptronics. The interesting detail is that AUOptronics/BenQ are a direct competitor to E-Ink, makers of E-Ink screens (and the developers of the FFS screen used in the original NookColor). AUOptronics/BenQ make several different types of displays, including LCD and Sipix. This last is an epaper screen tech similar to E-Ink, and it is potentially a competitor in the market ebook reader niche.
So Qisda could end up assembling a device that uses their competitor’s screen tech. That’s actually not so unusual, but I do find it amusing. In any case, this probably isn’t a very important detail. It doesn’t matter to me who makes the NC2; I just want to see it.
P.S. Does anyone know the specific relationship between BenQ and AUOptronics? I used to think the latter owned the former, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
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Comments
Tyler September 5, 2011 um 2:09 am
I wouldn’t think that Barnes and Noble would be releasing the NC2 in September. September is a bad month in retail after the summer months are over. I would figure mid to late October would be better timing to release a new one.
That is, unless their timing is to compete with the Kindle Tablet. They could be doing that just like they timed their product to release before the Nook Touch.
Nate Hoffelder September 5, 2011 um 2:10 am
I think it might launch in September but not ship until October.
DC September 6, 2011 um 1:43 am
Actually BenQ is subsidiary of Qisda, not the other way…
Nate Hoffelder September 6, 2011 um 6:31 am
That’s not what the corporate websites say.
Peter September 7, 2011 um 12:24 am
I believe Barnes and Noble is placing orders from several vendors- too much demand for any one factories supply.