Are the iPad 2’s Reported Display Defects More Serious than First Thought?

[Maura]

A very interesting report on Cult of Mac today, with David W. Martin writing about a possible back lighting issue on his iPad 2, which has also been reported by other iPad 2 owners, both in this forum and around the web. As Martin writes, most people put the iPad 2 backlight bleed issue down to a similar problem experienced by iPhone 4 owners, when the adhesive used to glue the screen in place took a couple of days to settle down once the iPhone 4 was unpacked, a problem which disappeared of its own accord after a couple of days. However, for Martin, this has turned out not to be the cause of the anomaly with his iPad 2, with an Apple Genius at the Genius Bar telling him that the problem is nothing to do with adhesive and is actually a backlighting issue that will not just fade away in a day or two. Martin has been told that his iPad 2 will have to be replaced. Meanwhile, Martin refers to the other reports of iPad 2 screen defects, with 9to5Mac reporting on one customer who went through four iPad 2s before finding one that did not have display problems. There have been several different issues reported, not just the backlight issue, with others reporting dead pixels, and our own Phil Synowiec has himself reported on a mysterious dead pixel that has appeared on his iPad 2 screen, as you can see in his post directly below this.
Martin says that Apple PR reps have so far not made any comment on the issue. It’s going to be interesting to see today if the story starts developing further and turns into a real problem for Apple, in the same way in which the iPhone 4 “death-grip†antenna issue snowballed until Apple had to acknowledge it.

Source: My iPad 2 is Being Replaced And Other Screen Defects Reported | Cult of Mac

 

[Demandarin]

That's why I usually never buy the first wave of a new electronics device. First waves almost always has flaws, bugs, or something wrong with them. It's better to just wait. U avoid the lines and more then likely to get a device that's not defect in some shape or form. I hope everyone who has a defected device gets it replaced asap with a perfect working one.

 

[ipaduser434]

I'm hoping that this is not just the tip of an iceberg full of problems. Apple's stock was downgraded yesterday because of issues relating to Foxconn Technology/Hon Hai Precision Industry, which builds the iPads.

Bloomberg just reported that Apple could face shortages for iPad 2 components:

"Five parts for the device are made in Japan and could be affected by the disaster, the research firm said today in an e- mailed statement. They include Nand flash-memory chips from Toshiba Corp. (6502); dynamic random-access memory from Elpida Memory Inc. (6665); an electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor Inc.; the touch-screen overlay glass, probably from Asahi Glass Co.; and the system battery from Apple Japan Inc."

I hope Bloomberg is wrong for the sake of all those folks in Japan, who don't need additional economic problems. They have enough on their plate.