Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
Falling Short: Foxconn says it’s having trouble manufacturing enough Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones to meet consumer demand, Reuters notes. Apple unveiled its latest smartphone, the iPhone 5, in September, but reports have repeatedly surfaced that its Asian manufacturing partners are having difficulties with its super-slim design and display. On Wednesday, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou conceded that the company was “falling short of meeting the huge demand” for iPhones. He explained that the phones were “not easy to make.”
Free Apps: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will release free mobile apps for its popular Office Suite for devices running Apple’s iOS and Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android early next year, the Verge notes. The apps will permit users to view Office documents on their devices. Additional functionality — in the form of basic editing tools — will be available with a subscription to Office 365. An account with Microsoft will be needed to use the apps even without a subscription. The apps will support Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, but will be severely limited compared to desktop versions of the software.
Cash Infusion: An analyst says Apple may have made a significant investment in struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp, AppleInsider noted. The suggestion was prompted by Apple’s capital spending report, which was $2.3 billion higher than Wall Street had expected. Last year Apple forecast its capital expenditures for fiscal 2012 at $8 billion, but the recent report indicated that it had spent $10.3 billion instead. While the report didn’t provide specifics, it noted that most of the capital outlays were aimed at “product tooling, manufacturing process equipment and infrastructure.” Sharp, which makes the touchscreens used in iPads and iPhones, has been facing financial and operational difficulties. The analyst says Apple is investing in Sharp to make certain it has an alternative to Samsung for LCD supplies. Apple and Samsung, though long-time partners, are also competitors in the smartphone and tablet markets.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
