Steve Jobs created a consumer culture like no other with his company's iDevices, and these days iPhone and iPad launches attract long lines that, in some areas, stretch for blocks. It's pretty insane when you think about it, but what's most remarkable is the amount of people power it takes to pull off these product...Read more...
After news broke that the Fair Labor Association found numerous working condition violations at Foxconn plants in China, there was some worry that when the factories reduced working hours to more humane levels, workers would see a deep dropoff in pay. At least in word if not yet in deed, Foxconn spoke out to alleviate those concerns. Last...Read more...
In January, Apple joined the Free Labor Association, agreeing to uphold the group’s workplace standards. A month later, the FLA launched an independent investigation into working conditions at Foxconn plants in China, where many Apple products are manufactured. Now, the investigation is complete, and the FLA...Read more...
On the Windows Phone blog, Michael Stroh announced that devices running Windows Phone have officially landed in China, a landmark moment for the platform that has thus far lagged far behind stateside juggernauts iOS and Android. The first device bearing the mobile platform will be the HTC Eternity, which may just be a...Read more...
By the end of 2012, the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts China will become the leading market for smartphone shipments, surpassing the current leader, the United States. IDC believes emerging markets will drive smartphone growth around the world, and by 2016, two more such markets -- India and Brazil --...Read more...
Concerns over the working conditions in the Chinese factories that pump out our beloved electronics--particularly those electronics with the Apple logo emblazoned upon them--have certainly been raised before, but an episode of the radio show “This American Life” back in January sparked very focused...Read more...
Take from this what you will, but for the very first time ever, mobile PC shipments outnumbered desktop shipments in China, according to the latest NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly China PC Shipment and Forecast Report. There's a bit of a caveat that goes with the claim. The mobile PC segment, as DisplaySearch calculates...Read more...
Apple recently took a PR hammering after the New York Times published a report claiming that labor conditions at the company's Chinese partner Foxconn continued to be poor--and that Apple knew about it and chose to do nothing. CEO Tim Cook blasted the allegations at the time, but has followed up nonetheless. Apple...Read more...
Just in case you were looking a buzzkill after the chaotic euphoria wrought by CES, here it is: According to the Guardian, dozens of Foxconn workers in the city of Wuhan protested the company’s plan to close the Xbox 360 production line they worked on by threatening to jump from one of the six-story factory...Read more...
If there’s anything Americans like being, it’s the world’s largest of something, which is why today’s news that the U.S. is no longer the world’s largest smartphone market is sure to grind a few people’s gears. According to Strategy Analytics, in Q3 2011, China shipped 23.9 million smartphones, while the...Read more...
Business, and technology, is booming in China. No shock there. As the world soars past 7 billion people, the home to many of them is soaring to new heights in the supercomputer arena. China has just completed their first supercomputer based on Chinese-made microprocessors, with the announcement coming this week at a...Read more...
Chalk this one up on the "Who didn't see it coming" meter. Prices for neodymiumoxide and europium oxide have dropped recently, due to falling demand in European and US markets. In response, Baotou Steel, China's largest rare earth producer (China recently consolidated the rare earth production of multiple companies in...Read more...
For those of you keeping score, China just leapfrogged over the United States to become the largest PC market in the world, according to data by market research firm IDC. The latest figures peg China accounting for 18.5 million units worth $11.9 billion shipped in the second quarter of 2011, enough to edge out the United States, which received...Read more...
Multiple manufacturers in the IT industry have been keeping a wary eye on China's decision to cut back on rare earth exports and the impact it may have on component prices. An article from DigiTimes suggests consumers will see that decision hit the hard drive industry this year, with HDD prices trending upwards an estimated 5-10 percent depending...Read more...
China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier, has come to an agreement with Apple that will see it selling the iPhone by the end of October, according to a new report. The report, which comes via the Chinese-language website ccidcom.com, cited a company filing. China Mobile has 611 million wireless subscribers, or 68 percent of the total...Read more...
Chinese officials have ordered the closure two "counterfeit" Apple stores in Kunming, after investigating all the shops in the southwestern China city. Originally, it was reported that three elaborately camouflaged fake Apple Stores existed in the city, however after officials performed inspections it turned out there were a total...Read more...
After three unauthorized "clone" Apple Stores (or Stoer, as one spelled its name) were uncovered by an expat American blogger, authorities in Kunming, China have begun to inspect all of the electronics shops in the city, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. A worker with the city's industrial and commercial department said...Read more...
An employee at one of three counterfeit Apple stores (not product, stores) in Kunming, China that we wrote about earlier admitted the store was fake, and that he knows it. Earlier reports were that the employees were under the mistaken impression that they were actually working for Apple. The stores, one of which had a sign that misspelled...Read more...
China is well-known for its knock-offs of devices, DVDs, CDs, and more, but they've outdone themselves this time. They've gone and cloned Apple retail stores. A pair of Americans in the Kunming province in southeastern China wandered into one, because hey, it looked like an Apple store - it even had what appeared to be Apple products. Judging...Read more...
China isn't exactly known for fostering open opinions on the Internet, but hey, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China boasts a "high level of freedom of online speech." The research organization that sits under the State Council then goes on to brag about China dropping the axe on 1.3 million websites in 2010, which effectively...Read more...
It's typically atypical, which is something that might be expected from a Japanese firm like Fujitsu. Although this phone isn't even a smartphone, and doesn't appear to have Android on it, but one thing's for sure: it doesn't stink. That's right, despite what you might think from the description, this "gorgeously designed" flip phone doesn't...Read more...
You may not think that a company like Warner Bros. doing business in China is a big deal, but consider the circumstances. China, along with other parts of Asia, are notorious for piracy. It's more of a way of life there, and less of a crime. For whatever reason, it's rampant. Due to this, many content companies have strayed from actually selling...Read more...