Has Apple contracted its tablet battery supplier?

Apple has contracted a new battery supplier, C-Tech, to produce power cells for its iPhones and iPods, the supplier announced today.

The company also makes batteries for HP. It currently produces 500,000 notebook batteries and 2.5 million for handsets and other portable devices every month at its two Chinese plants.

With a view to the rumoured Apple tablet, interesting to reflect: C-Tech hopes to step into the battery pack market for products such as eBook readers and electric vehicles, DigiTimes reports.

Involvement in the Apple ecosystem is powerful good magic for suppliers in the present economic climate, as PC manufacturers hope the WIndows 7 release will generate some interest in their machines, and mobile firms face increasing competition from Cupertino, inclusion in an Apple product can save the day for component suppliers.

Apple’s latest financial filing revealed an extended list of new to the ecoystem suppliers, all of whom hope to benefit from the company’s recession-busting success.

Companies cast asunder from Apple’s supply chain benison frequently ail - take, for example, UK firm Wolfson Microelectronics, which lost its contract with Appple recently and now faces a bleak few months as it builds its business up again.