Aaron Lee, Taipei; Adam Hwang

 

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has obtained ODM orders for 10-inch Kindle Fire from Amazon and will begin shipments in the second quarter of 2012, while Wistron is likely to start ODM production of Nook Tablet for Barnes & Noble, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Quanta Computer and Inventec are the current ODMs of the 7-inch Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet respectively, the sources pointed out.

Vendors usually choose only one ODM when launching a new product, but will seek additional ODMs to reduce risks and for price negotiations if the new product receives good market response, the sources indicated.

According to IHS iSuppli, Amazon sold 3.9 million Kindle Fires and Barnes & Noble sold 1.92 million Nook Tablets in the fourth quarter of 2011. According to a Digitimes Research forecast, fewer than 1.5 million Kindle Fires and 300,000 Nook Tablets will be shipped in the first quarter of 2012.