Mac news from outside the reality distortion field
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March 28, 2008, 11:39 am

Apple picks trusted supplier to assemble 3G iPhone

chinese-iphone.pngIt should be no surprise that Apple has turned to Foxconn, the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., to build the next generation iPhone.

China’s Commercial Times reported early Friday that Foxconn was competing for the business, and the Dow Jones newswire, citing “a person familiar with the situation,” now reports that Apple (AAPL) has awarded the Taiwan-based firm the exclusive contract. (link)

Apple has chosen a supplier it knows and trusts. Although it keeps a relatively low profile in the United States, Foxconn is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronics and computer components. It built many of the first generation iPhones, as well as MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, iPod nanos and Mac Minis.

It also makes motherboards for Intel (INTC), Dell (DEL) and HP (HPQ), Playstations for Sony (SNE), Wii’s for Nintendo, Xbox 360s for Microsoft (MSFT), cell phones for Motorola (MOT) and Kindles for Amazon (AMZN).

Foxconn employs nearly half a million people and does most of its manufacturing in mainland China. It was China’s largest exporter in 2007.

In 2006 the British press charged that it used abusive employment practices. Apple investigated those charges and declared them largely unfounded, although the company did find that some Foxconn employees were working longer than the 60 hours a week Apple’s Code of Conduct finds acceptable.

Seven months after its release, owners of the new Apple iPhone, love their new smartphones, especially their Internet capabilities, according to a new Consumer Insights Survey by Viewpoints.com, the rating and review Website. Owners like the iPhone’s flexibility of online browsing, listening to music, emailing and text messaging on the go. In turn, they have become brand advocates.
http://www.goiphonestore.com/

Posted By Ivan, Davie FL : April 1, 2008 3:22 pm

I wish to be as rad, delighted, young, and beautiful as this lady.

Tell me, where can I buy this 3G iPhone?

Posted By Gene Hartz : March 30, 2008 8:46 pm

.

about the Microsoft/Yahoo affair…

WHY doesn’t Microsoft TRY to BUY Google, instead???

in latest weeks, I’ve never understood WHY Microsoft should pay $44 billion (or, maybe, $50-60 billion) to buy Yahoo, while, with the SAME money, they could start TEN companies like Yahoo from ZERO, or… BUY everything exists in the world!!! …APPLE… Ikea, Adobe, eBay, Vodafone, General Motors, NASA (as suggested to Yahoo in this article: http://www.ghostnasa.com/posts/024yahoospace.html ) or (maybe) …BUY Google…

Google is on the market (exactly like Yahoo) so, WHY doesn’t Microsoft TRY to BUY it?

of course, Google may cost more than Yahoo, but also it’s value is higher (…and Microsoft seems have no problems to find giant amounts of money…)

Gaetano Marano
————————————
gaetanomarano.it
ghostNASA.com
NewSpaceAgency.com

.

Posted By Gaetano Marano – Italy : March 29, 2008 11:12 am

Apple will not be releasing the new iPhone until June because they have a 12-month contract with AT&T on the pre-existing iPhone. It began in June, and the contract will expire or need to be renegotiated in June. Based on all the other articles that I have been reading, Apple has just recently chosen suppliers for the next iPhone, and production has not yet begun.

My thoughts are that in June, the current iPhone will be allowed for all networks, but the new 3G phone will be AT&T only. However, if AT&T offers Apple a good enough deal, both phones will remain AT&T only.

Posted By Gary, Irvine, CA : March 29, 2008 6:51 am

First graf, it should be Hon Hai Precision ***Industry***

Last graf, it should be Foxconn, with two n’s.

ex ped. Fixed. Thanks.

Posted By Megaduck, Megacity, Ducksylvania : March 28, 2008 5:21 pm

If those Apple stores also ran out of iPhones it must be a inventory glitch. There is no way a new model iPhone is coming out within a couple of weeks. What could they possibly change on a standard iPhone in such a short time? Maybe the change to an OLED screen? I’m certain there won’t be a 3G or 32GB model or a dual-camera iPhone right now. Besides what about all that ATT iPhone inventory that still exists. Then ATT would be stuck with discontinued iPhones. That would be unlikely to happen. I’m sure it’s a simple inventory allocation problem.

Posted By Constable Odo, New York City, NY : March 28, 2008 2:48 pm

In 2006 foreign newspapers alleged ’slave conditions’ in Hon Hai and that workers were brutally ‘overworked’.

Apple investigates and their report states: ‘The single largest complaint (approximately 20% of interviewed workers) was the LACK of OVERTIME during non-peak periods’ (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/ipodreport/)

!!!! apparently the workers biggest complaint wasn’t ‘overwork’ but NOT ENOUGH work!

so much for press reports.

Apple reports also adds “The campus includes factories, employee housing, banks, a post office, a hospital, supermarkets, and a variety of recreational facilities including soccer fields, a swimming pool, TV lounges and Internet cafes. Ten cafeterias are also located throughout the campus offering a variety of menu choices such as fresh vegetables, beef, seafood, rice, poultry, and stir-fry noodles. In addition, employees have access to 13 different restaurants on campus. Employees were pleased with the variety and quality of food offerings.”

Sweat shops with swimming pools!

Posted By Dave. Victoria. BC. : March 28, 2008 2:40 pm

Xbox 230? What is that…come on now. Never heard of it Philip but worth a laugh. 230+130=360.

Posted By LV San Diego Ca : March 28, 2008 1:04 pm

XBox 360s, not Xbox 230s.

ex ped: Typo. Fixed now. Thanks.

Posted By Anonymous : March 28, 2008 12:15 pm

You mean Xbox 360’s.

By the way, I live in Portland and the flagship Apple Store in Downtown Portland is ALSO SOLD OUT OF IPHONES. I went there last night, heard multiple people ask to buy one, and the workers said they were all out.

Now what are the chances that Apple retail allocators would allow all these flagship stores to run out of inventory? It’s almost impossible.

I bet you Apple asked these stores to ship back all the iPhones they had because 3g is coming soon baby!

Posted By David, Portland, OR : March 28, 2008 12:14 pm

“In 2006 the British press charged that it used abusive employment practices. Apple investigated those charges and declared them largely unfounded, although the company did find that some Foxcomm employees were working longer than the 60 hours a week Apple’s Code of Conduct finds acceptable.”

Those Chinese workers want to make overtime money. British press also found themself kill people in Iraq.

Posted By s1, wa : March 28, 2008 11:56 am
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Philip Elmer-DeWittSilicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
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