苹果公司（Apple）首席运营官蒂姆•库克或许会将这称为公司近600亿美元现金的又一次“绝佳运用”。

    汇聚电子产业链种种传闻的台湾日报《电子时报》（DigiTimes）31日报道，苹果已同意承担所有因日本地震、海啸以及灾后工厂限电造成的额外元件成本。

    如果这是真的，可能产生两种效应：

    • 这意味着苹果的上游元件供应商——即那些须购入日本芯片、电池、触摸屏和其他部件的公司——的盈利能力将 “不受损害”，正如《电子时报》所称。

    • 这意味着苹果的竞争对手们，即便财力尚不足以做出这样的承诺，也将不得不承担这些额外的成本或将其转嫁至消费者——苹果在快速发展的平板电脑市场上早已十分显著的优势将因此进一步扩大。

    《电子时报》的消息人士预计，如果不出现零部件供应短缺，本季度iPad 2发货量预计将达到每月400万台。据这些消息人士称，供应异方性导电胶膜（ACF）、氧化铟锡（ITO）等材料的日本公司库存足可坚持至5月份，但可能到不了6月份。

    Here's what Apple COO Tim Cook might call another "fantastic use" for the company's nearly $60 billion cash reserves.

    According to a report Thursday in DigiTimes, the Taipei-based daily that is a rich source of electronics supply-chain rumors, Apple (AAPL) has agreed to absorb all the additional component costs created by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the resulting factory brownouts.

    If true, this could have two effects:

    • It would mean that Apple's upstream component suppliers -- the companies that have to pay for those Japanese chips, batteries, touch screens and other parts -- would see their profitability "undamaged," as DigiTimes puts it.

    • It would mean that Apple's competitors, whose pockets might not be deep enough to make such a guarantee, would either have to swallow the extra costs or pass them on to consumers -- increasing Apple's already sizable advantage in the rapidly growing market for tablet computers.

    DigiTimes' sources also report that iPad 2 shipments are expected to reach 4 million units per month this quarter, provide Apple doesn't run short of parts. According to these sources, the Japanese companies that supply such parts as anisotropic conductive films (ACF) and indium tin oxide (ITO) materials -- have enough inventory to last until May, but may not be able to sustain supplies until June.