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Microsoft had to use Xbox dev kits to run a 'Halo Infinite' tournament
Microsoft was hurt so badly by Xbox shortages that it ran a 'Halo Infinite' tournament using developer kits.
Sony reportedly cuts PS5 production again as chip shortages and shipment issues bite
Sony's PlayStation 5 may not be able to beat the PS4's first year sales record due to an ongoing component shortage.
Sony reportedly warned that PS5 shortages may continue until 2022
Sony is selling a lot of PlayStation 5s, but it may be some time before the console hits its true sales potential.
Samsung says it may skip the Galaxy Note this year
During Samsung's annual shareholder's meeting, co-CEO Koh Dong-jin said that the company is grappling with a shortage of chips and that it "might be difficult" to release a Note model in the second half of 2021 as it had planned.
NVIDIA brings back the GTX 1050 Ti to mitigate the global GPU shortage
NVIDIA's relatively ancient GTX 1050 Ti GPU is coming back due to an acute shortage of graphics chips.
Nintendo is reportedly ramping up Switch production to meet demand
Nintendo suppliers have reportedly been told that the company will increase Switch production this year by about 10 percent, and part orders covering the April - June period are up by 50 percent.
Dyson to manufacture 15,000 ventilators following UK call for help
Many companies have offered to build much-needed ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, notably GM, Ford and Tesla. However, Dyson has now stepped up to the plate and the UK company known for vacuum cleaners and fans might have an edge over other non-ventilator makers. It developed the "CoVent" device in just ten days using Dyson's current digital motor technology, according to CNN, and has already received an order for 10,000 units from the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Apple warns of iPhone 'supply shortages' due to coronavirus outbreak
The consequences of the coronavirus outbreak will be worse than expected for Apple. The tech firm has warned that global iPhone supply will be "temporarily constrained" while it resumes production. Although its factory partners have reopened, those facilities are restoring their output "more slowly than [Apple] had anticipated." If it's hard to find an iPhone 11 in the near future, you'll know why.
A worldwide material shortage is delaying cassette production
Just when cassette tapes appeared to be making a comeback, a worldwide shortage of gamma ferric oxide has slowed production. National Audio Company (NAC), the largest cassette tape manufacturer in the US, sent a letter to its customers explaining that, due to the shortage, it is unable to fill orders on its usual 30-day schedule. Instead, it's working as fast as the raw material arrives.
Wisconsin firms hope to make radioactive isotopes for nuclear medicine (updated)
Certain cardiac stress tests and other nuclear medicine diagnostics depend on molybdenum-99, or Mo-99, a radioactive isotope that decays into the diagnostic imaging agent technetium 99m, or Tc-99m. The latter is used in more than 40 million medical imaging procedures each year, but Mo-99 is costly and difficult to make. Now, two Wisconsin firms say they've found a more efficient way to make the critical material.
Some iPad Pros now cost $50 more due to flash storage shortage
Apple had a lot to say during its iPhone 8 event, but it left out one important detail if you're in the market for an iPad Pro. The tech titan has quietly raised some iPad Pros' prices by $50, and according to 9to5mac, it's all because of the rising prices of NAND flash storage. When you check the Apple Store, you'll notice that the 256GB and 512GB 10.5-inch Pros now cost $799 and $999, respectively. The 12.5-inch model also got the same treatment, with variants of the same storage capacity setting you back $949 and $1,149.
Good luck buying a 128GB Pixel XL at Verizon tomorrow
Pre-order, pre-order, pre-order. While doing so with video games is basically pointless these days (the chances of a huge AAA title not being readily available at launch are slim), plopping down money in advance for electronics is sadly becoming a necessity. Case in point: If you want a 128GB Pixel XL on Verizon's network tomorrow, you're out of luck. "Initial inventory of Pixel XL 128GB is SOLD OUT... NOT in stores Thurs," Verizon's Jeffrey Nelson tweeted on Wednesday.
What's going on with Nintendo's Amiibo figurines?
When Nintendo first introduced its Amiibo figures, Bill Trinen, senior product marketing manager at Nintendo of America, said that the toys open "a whole range of potential new gameplay experiences" for players on a character-by-character basis. And he's not lying: The toys -- activated by an NFC chip that connects to the Wii U gamepad -- come to life in the latest Smash Bros. game, as well as unlock new characters, levels and other good stuff in various other Nintendo Wii U games. Want a new character or two in Mario Kart 8? Amiibo figures have you covered. But maybe not forever. Why? Because certain Amiibo characters have already been discontinued less than a month after their debut. Or, maybe they haven't? Nintendo's flubbed the messaging here (again), saying one thing about the future of certain figures to one publication, and something fairly different to another. Confused? We are too! Are some Amiibo figures limited edition? Which ones? How about those yet to be released? We asked Nintendo to clear this mess up.
Reuters sources predict shortage for unannounced iPad mini with Retina display
It's little more than a rumor at this point, but stories of delays and shortages have been circulating for about as long as mentions of an iPad mini with Retina display. Reuters spent the morning adding a bit more fuel to that proverbial fire with its own band of anonymous sources. The "people who work in the company's supply chain" confirmed that there have been issues bringing a higher res tablet to market -- issues that may, in fact, impede Cupertino's ability to capitalize on the ever-important holiday push. The refreshed mini is still apparently set for an October release according to the aforementioned unnamed informants, but it "could be available in only limited quantities this year." As to what's actually causing said shortage, no can say for sure, though word is that Apple's own certification process around power consumption may have thrown a wrench in the proceedings.
HTC reportedly suffering One mini shortage due to casing problems
HTC just can't catch a break, it seems: Reuters claims that the company now faces a One mini shortage due to both "design difficulties" with the casing as well as other, unnamed factors. The site's sources didn't explain the shortfall in detail, although we likely can't chalk it up to popularity. Analysts weren't expecting HTC to ship more than 200,000 One minis per month, which suggests that any supply problems would hurt the firm's bottom line. We've reached out to HTC for comment, and we'll let you know if it can confirm or deny its manufacturing woes. In the meantime, we'd suggest buying the full-sized One if you can't find its tiny counterpart in stores.
AllThingsD: carriers indicate lower than usual iPhone 5s stock ahead of Friday's launch
If last week's announcement got you all worked up about a new Apple handset, you may have to wait a little while longer. AllThingsD reports that sources from multiple US carriers are showing "grotesquely" low inventory leading up to Friday's iPhone 5s launch. It's worth noting that stock numbers typically fall short of the demand (especially at the start), but it seems that this release may be even worse than years past. Of course, with a rainbow of other options hitting shelves on the same day, perhaps the high-end model isn't demanding the same amount of attention this time around.
Microsoft starts shipping Surface Pro again, says more coming to market 'quickly'
Microsoft's trying to address the recent shortfall of Surface Pro models, and has vowed via its Surface Pro blog to get more into the market "as quickly as we can." As such, it's begun dispatching 64GB SKUs to Best Buy, Staples and its own Microsoft Store in the US, with Canada to follow in a few days. 128GB SKUs will ship "later this week" to retailers, according to Redmond, "with some units available by the end of the week." All flavors of the tablet-cum-laptop disappeared from shelves shortly after they arrived in retail stores and online, both stateside and north of the border. The company said it'll fulfill orders for customers who made a reservation first, but that your local retailer "should have (stock) soon," too.
Microsoft sells out of 128GB Surface Pro models online and in some stores
If you were wondering how well the public would take to a Microsoft-made tablet costing $899 or more... quite well, at least from initial impressions. The 128GB Surface Pro has sold out at Microsoft's US online store, and checks suggest a lack of stock at both the company's retail stores as well as Best Buy and Staples. Canada is facing similar shortages at Best Buy and Future Shop. Not surprisingly, storage worries (since partly alleviated) have left the 64GB tablet as the only one in consistent supply, and we suspect that the 128GB model in Microsoft's Canadian store won't last for much longer. We'd be cautious before declaring the Surface Pro a runaway hit, however -- there's no word on how many units each store had, and Microsoft has refrained from reporting Surface sale numbers to date. Still, the early uptake is good news for Microsoft's first foray into designing an x86 PC, and it shows that many early adopters aren't hung up on the price.
Nintendo: Wii U to be in larger supply than Wii at launch, replenished more quickly
The Wii U will likely be hard to find this Sunday. "All I can say is that the response has been phenomenal," Nintendo EVP of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt told GamesIndustry.biz, "and we're getting, especially in the higher priced deluxe set, that one's selling out incredibly quickly."However, Moffitt has reason to believe the shortages won't stretch on forever as they did with the Wii. He said that more Wii U systems will be in stores at launch than Wiis were in 2006. "And, second, our replenishments will be more frequent this holiday time than during the Wii launch," he said.
Hard drive shipments recover from floods in Thailand, expected to reach record high
Last year's floods in Thailand caused hard drive shortages after wreaking havoc on a number of electronics manufacturers, but new stats from IHS iSuppli indicate that the HDD market for PCs has fully recovered and is poised to hit an all time high. The firm expects 524 million units for internal use in PCs to ship this year, besting the previous record by 4.3 percent. What's giving the recovery an added boost? According to the analytics group, the extra demand comes courtesy of Windows 8 and Ultrabooks. Unfortunately for deal hounds, the company noted in a report earlier this year that prices aren't expected to dip below the pre-flood range until 2014. If IHS iSuppli projections hold true, total annual hard drive shipments could reach 575.1 million by 2016.
