foxconn

Factories where Samsung DVD players and mobile phones are assembled are rife with labor rights abuses, a Chinese labor watchdog charged today.

According to a report (PDF) released today, HEG Electronics allegedly employs children under the age of 16 and forces its factory employees to work unreasonably long hours.

"The company has clearly violated Chinese labor laws," the watchdog, China Labor Watch, told Bloomberg in an article today. "A serious light needs to be shined on these issues."

According to China Labor Watch's report, which is based on an investigator working undercover at HEG, child … Read more

Greetings Americans in the year 2012,

I'm contacting you today from the not-too-distant future with a warning for the people of your time. A major health care crisis is just around the corner. No, it's not the one you'll hear political candidates jawing about this fall, and you shouldn't listen to them anyway since one is a robot and the other is an alien (which will surprise you in about 18 months when All is Revealed.) Rather, it's the increasing incidence of tech-related ailments that comes from dumping more digital devices into the lives of your aging population.

But first, a little about me.

Using the new "Google Past" feature on my "extended reality" headset from Huawei (made possible by the remarkable advances that have taken place at CERN in the past few years and the generous permission of our benevolent new leaders in Beijing), I'm able to project myself from the current year, 2016, back to your present day, three years before the Greatest Compromise will make most of you full-fledged citizens of Foxconn.… Read more

Indonesia is the next country on Foxconn's list to get a tech-manufacturing factory. According to The Next Web, the company has confirmed it will invest at least $1 billion in opening a factory on the island nation and it could invest up to $9 billion more.

Foxconn is one of Apple's primary manufacturers and has plants in China and Brazil where it makes iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets. According to The Next Web, Indonesia's government is hoping that Foxconn's proposed factory will spur more tech companies to build factories there creating a Southeast Asian tech hub.… Read more

iPhone 5 production reports are rolling in from Asia with more frequency. This time, a Taipei-based report claims that Pegatron has started making the next iPhone.

The Taiwan-based manufacturer has begun production of a new version of the iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, according to Digitimes, citing "industry sources in Taiwan."

This follows a week-earlier report claiming basically the same thing -- though that report did not specify the manufacturer.

That earlier report did get specific about the phone itself, however, saying the back of the new iPhone has both glass and aluminum. By comparison, the iPhone … Read more

Foxconn's Chengdu facility was teeming with applicants this week looking to lend a hand in producing Apple's next iPad, according to a recent report.

Chinese tech site MIC Gadget reported yesterday that thousands of people were lined up outside Foxconn's Chengdu plant, where it assembles Apple products, to hopefully secure a summer job. According to MIC Gadget, Foxconn had one job requirement: all applicants must have good eyesight. MIC Gadget says that those workers are being hired to handle production of the long-rumored iPad Mini.

Although Apple hasn't provided any details on a possible iPad Mini, … Read more

Foxconn, a manufacturer for Apple, will receive parts from Sharp next quarter that will be used to assemble the long-rumored Apple TV, according to a new report.

According to AppleInsider, Chinese news site 21cbh.com is reporting today, citing sources, that Foxconn initially expected to have the parts from Sharp in the fourth quarter, but the timetable has shifted to the third quarter. Sharp is believed to be providing the LCD TV panels that will be used in the television.

Over the last several months, reports have suggested Sharp would play a role in the Apple TV after Hon Hai … Read more

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou isn't shy about talking about the next iPhone, crowing about its virtues at the company's annual shareholder's meeting, according to a report.

Consumers should wait for the iPhone 5 because it will put the Samsung "Galaxy S III to shame," Focus Taiwan reported him as saying this week, citing the Tuesday edition of the China Times.

It's probably safe to say Gou didn't get the green light from Apple headquarters to chat up the next iPhone. Luckily for Apple, he didn't go into any detail about why it … Read more

A 23-year-old man jumped to his death from his apartment building in Chengdu, China Foxconn announced today.

According to the manufacturer, the man had been working at Foxconn for one month before his death. The apartment complex is outside of Foxconn's Chengdu plant. Reuters was first to report on the news.

Suicides have become an all-too-common occurrence among Foxconn workers over the last few years. According to reports, at least 16 people who work at Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen, China, have taken their lives since the beginning of 2010.

Earlier this year, 300 workers at a Foxconn factory that makes Xbox consoles … Read more

Workers at Foxconn's Chengdu factory started a riot earlier this week, according to reports.

According to Hong Kong-based newspaper, Ming Pao (Translate), several workers on Monday clashed with security staff at their off-site dormitory. Not long after, the issue escalated, and over 1,000 people rioted around the dormitory, according to reports. The rioters reportedly ignited firecrackers and threw a host of objects, damaging facilities.

Soon after the riot started, security staff alerted local police, which sent out officers to quell the unrest. The police presence resulted in dozens of arrests, according to reports out of the country.

Foxconn … Read more