Apple iTV iffy this year because of supply issues, says report

A new report from Asia claims that Apple will not have an easy time getting the very-high-resolution display it needs for the iTV. That would purportedly be a 3,840x2,160 Ultra HD display, according to a report in Digitimes.That resolution is sometimes referred to as 4K Ultra HD.Related storiesApple delays iTV to next year, Jefferies saysThe report cites two obstacles for Apple. One, Ultra HD TV makers in Taiwan are booked up already for 2013 orders. That supply is going to China-based TV makers.Two, it's not clear if one Apple's favorite display suppliers, LG Display -- which provides displays for the iPad and MacBook Pro, among other Apple products -- will be ready for high-volume production this year."If LG...has ample supply of the technology, Apple may try to release the TV by the end of 2013 but is more likely to do so towards the beginning of 2014," according to the report. Investment banking firm Jefferies cited similar timing for the iTV, in a research note earlier this month. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said that he had expected an Apple TV event in March, followed by a launch in September or October. However, he now believes the launch will happen sometime next year as the company's display providers -- LG and Sharp -- are having trouble with yields.

Apple iTunes Store outage leaves 20% of users in the dark

Apple's iTunes Store went down Tuesday morning for nearly three and a half hours, preventing some users from making purchases.The outage -- which started at 6:00 a.m. PT and lasted until 9:26 a.m. PT -- affected 20 percent of users, according to Apple's system status page. It is unclear what caused the outage, though such service disruptions plaguing Apple's systems have been on the rise of late. Screenshot by Nick Statt/CNETAn iTunes Store outage in June affected an equal number of users for an hour and a half on the heels of another outage earlier that week that affected displayed images in the US, UK, and Germany. Related stories:Dialed in 110: Lessons for Android (podcast)The 404 Podcast 498: Where Jeff battles the TriadBuzz Out Loud Podcast 1145: China to Google: Suck itThen, earlier this month, the store went down again and was reportedly followed by a FaceTime disruption shortly thereafter. Of course, these down times are not in the same vein as the security breach in July that kept Apple's Developer site in shambles for weeks. An Apple