Friday’s Apple Rumors — Supply Side

Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Friday: iPad 2 Supply Intact: Speculation that key components in Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iPad 2 would be in short supply following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has run rampant since those events took place. However, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a Friday note that even though iPad 2 demand will continue to outpace supply into this year’s third quarter, Japanese component manufacturers are back on schedule. “Apple recently reduced U.S. iPad 2 lead times, which suggests the situation in Japan has not meaningfully impacted iPad 2 supply. We believe the most critical suppliers are back up and running following the earthquake and the impact to supply will be modest,” wrote Munster. Kodak Patent Dispute Could Cost: Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK ) shares were up almost 9% on Friday after a Bloomberg interview with company CEO Antonio Perez, who said his company could gain $1 billion, provided the International Trade Commission decides to reexamine a patent dispute Kodak filed against Apple and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM ). Kodak claims that the digital cameras used in those companies’ smartphones violates its patent — the same patent that an ITC judge already said that Samsung and LG violated. A different judge determined that Apple and RIM had not violated Kodak’s patent in January. Samsung and LG paid Kodak close to $1 billion in royalties following the ITC’s decision, and, provided the case against Apple and RIM is reopened and subsequently reversed, those companies could pay Kodak even more. Map Quest: 9 to 5 Mac uncovered a new Apple job posting on Friday. The company is looking for a new developer to work on its Maps applications, which hints at a dramatically redesigned version of the mobile operating system’s existing mapping features. Apple has already made moves to beef up the platform’s mapping features. The company is rumored to be introducing a new “Find My Friends” social network that would let iPhone and iPad users instantly locate one another using their devices’ GPSs. As 9 to 5 Mac also notes, Apple acquired a digital mapping company PlaceBase in 2009 and this new job posting hints that Apple will finally put that company’s technology to use. As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at  @ajohnagnello  and  become a fan of  InvestorPlace on Facebook.
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