supply

Apple to keep tablet lead over Android in 2012, say analysts

Apple will hold onto a big chunk of the tablet market in 2012, according to a report from IHS-iSuppli and a research note from Deutsche Bank today.

Apple will take back a bit of market share lost to Android in the fourth quarter, while maintaining more than the 60 percent of the market in 2012, according to iSuppli.

iSuppli's key points for iPad in 2012--Rhoda Alexander, analyst:

2012 market share: 61 percent, up from 57 percent in the fourth quarter, down one percentage point from the 62 percent share in 2011. 2012 total tablet shipments: on track to reach … Read more

Intel offers clarification on 'Ivy Bridge' chip delay

Intel today spelled out in more exacting detail just what the Ivy Bridge chip delay means in the wake of comments published Sunday from an Intel executive.

"Reports of an eight-week delay to the Ivy Bridge launch are inaccurate and our schedule has only been impacted by a few weeks," spokesman Jon Carvill told CNET today.

So, for instance, if a desktop Ivy Bridge product was slated for an April launch, that would be pushed to May. And a mobile product scheduled for May, would launch in June. Intel always staggers production schedules. For example, Intel's most … Read more

Are Chinese factory workers getting just $8 for every iPad sale?

Apple's supply chain is once again in the crosshairs, after a South Korean newspaper today reported that Chinese factory workers are paid substantially less than their counterparts elsewhere around the world.

According to the Korea Daily, citing sources, factory workers in China who are producing iPads collectively earn about $8 per unit among them, or about 1.6 percent of the cheapest iPad's selling price.

Korean factory workers, on the other hand, share about $34 per unit among them, giving them 6.8 percent of the sales price, according to the report.

Over the last several months, complaints about working conditions in factories … Read more

Apple catches flak in China supply chain saga

The maker of iPads and iPhones is hardly alone among tech companies that rely heavily on Chinese factories under scrutiny for labor practices. But it has become the flashpoint.

Cook: Apple's improved working conditions more than anyone else Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking at an investor conference, defended the company's track record and its process of manufacturing hit products like the iPhone. (Posted in Apple by Roger Cheng and Josh Lowensohn) February 14, 2012 1:07 p.m. PT

Apple's mess in China: What you need to know faq Apple says it's got a third-party group … Read more

Apple tips chip spending scales in favor of wireless

The popularity of Apple's iPad and iPhone is driving the shift of chip spending to wireless from computers, according to IHS-iSuppli.

Global spending by the world's top device makers on chips for wireless products amounted to $58.6 billion in 2011, up 14.5 percent from $51.2 billion in 2010, according to IHS iSuppli. As a result, spending for computers was topped by wireless, which became the world's largest semiconductor spending segment for device makers--aka, OEMs or original equipment manufacturers--in 2011.

Though this is not the first time wireless spending has exceeded that of computer-related spending (… Read more

Apple-Foxconn relationship probed by 'Sunday Morning' (video)

What's the dirty secret behind all our glittering tech gadgets? That question was on the minds of many this week as The New York Times turned up the heat on a long-simmering story about Apple supplier Foxconn's labor practices (and Apple's response to the situation). In the following video, reporter Martha Teichner of the CBS News program "Sunday Morning" takes a look at the Foxconn-Apple relationship.

For Apple, best numbers yet, mixed press on how it got there

There wasn't a product launch to be seen, but Apple had one of its biggest news-making weeks yet.

That came in the form of what can only be described as a monster earnings report, with Apple breaking its own records, and those set by other companies.

Apple's first fiscal quarter of 2012 was its most profitable, and once again put it within spitting distance of Exxon Mobil to be the world's most valuable company by market cap. Perhaps something that's actually more easily understandable is the fact that the company sold more than 37 million iPhones … Read more

Apple-Foxconn tale goes well beyond Apple, and tech

Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to a New York Times report about the working conditions at its Foxconn contract manufacturer as false and offensive.

In a long letter to employees published by 9to5Mac, Cook outlined how Apple cares about workers in its supply chain and takes steps to audit how they are treated. The response comes after a New York Times went into detail about how Apple’s China manufacturing efforts are a) necessary due to U.S. inability to be nimble and b) the cost advantages of making your electronics abroad.

Apple was the main target of the … Read more

Apple bests Samsung as buyer of tiny mics

Apple's purchases of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) microphones during 2011 have put it ahead of Samsung as the largest buyer, according to a new report by IHS iSuppli.

The research firm says Apple purchased 349 million of the tiny microphones, which are built into its products, a 173 percent increase from the 128 million it bought in 2010. That beat out Samsung, which bought nearly 251 million units, representing a 90 percent increase from its own purchases in the preceding year.

IHS iSuppli attributes the massive growth, which gave Apple 27 percent of the MEMS microphone purchase market share in … Read more