Apple cozies up to Toshiba, breaks off with Sharp

Putting all your eggs in one basket is definitely something that Apple does not intend to do, as we recently covered news that they have gotten a third supplier for the iPad 2′s display, and even more recently, word of Apple signing an agreement with Toshiba for the Japanese company to supply displays for the iPhone now, and in the immediate future. Of course, all’s fair in love and war, and the casualty this time around would be Sharp, yet another Japanese firm.

According to the Nikkan Kogyo paper, Apple has been into the boardroom with both Toshiba and Sharp for some time already, having thrown around 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) each in production lines where small LCD displays are concerned. These LCD displays are widely tipped to be used in a future version of the iPhone.
Apple is also touted to limit their investments in Japan to just a solitary company in view of recent happenings in that region. Of course, this announcement had caused Sharp’s shares to drop 2.7% since it was announced, but Sharp did issue a statement after that concerning the Nikkan’s inaccuray. Toshiba investors would be pleased to know that their shares went up by 4%, and Nikkan Kogyo did not issue any comment on the situation at press time.