iPod 5G supply may not meet demand

After yesterday's news about one million iTMS video downloads, an article in Business Week today notes that Apple may not be able to supply the iPod 5G's fast enough. The news is based on reports of hardware shortages of both LED backlights and and the Toshiba-Matsushita supplied LCD displays. An analyst quoted in the article notes that between 100,000 and 200,000 iPod 5G's may have been sold in the twenty days since the unit was released. As a comparison, Apple sold one million iPod Nano's in the first 17 days after it was announced. The price point differences between the models may account for this discrepancy.

One might wonder if Business Week's "news" about a perceived shortage of iPod 5G's is simply fodder to help sell units more quickly for the holidays.