Protesters plan to stage a demonstration tomorrow in an effort to take Apple to task for partnering with Eastern manufacturers repeatedly accused of mistreating factory workers. Change.org and SomeOfUs have combined their efforts to raise awareness of poor working conditions in factories operated by Foxconn that manufacture consumer electronics for Apple and other vendors. The two organizations have gathered more than 250,000 electronic signatures on petitions that call for Apple to demand improvements be mad...

A new web-based petition singles out Apple and calls for the company to force its suppliers to reform the working conditions at their factories. Original device manufacturer Hon Hai and its subsidiary Foxconn are among the Eastern firms repeatedly accused of mistreating workers, and Apple has again been called upon to demand change as Foxconn’s biggest customer. Read on for more. (more…)

Foxconn plans to build five additional factories in Brazil to produce liquid crystal displays for future Apple products. The plan was announced by the Secretary of Planning and Development for the State of São Paulo, Julio Semeghini, and reported by Brazilian news outlet, Folha. The five factories are in addition to the one already believed to producing iPads and iPhones, and each is reportedly set to employ roughly 1,000 workers. In addition to building Apple products, the factories will also manufacture no...

The New York Times recently published an article discussing the unsafe working conditions in the factories Apple employs to build its products. It’s no secret that several factories belonging to Apple’s ODM partners have harsh working conditions; there are rumors of anti-suicide pledges that Foxconn workers have to sign, and safety is obviously a concern following multiple preventable explosions at Foxconn plants. While much has reportedly been done to improve working conditions at these plants,...

Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai reported revenue growth of 19.89% year-over-year in 2011 and 37.5% quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter last year, Taiwan Economic News said Friday. Hon Hai recorded $10.5 billion in revenue for the month of December, $92 billion in revenue for the year and $30.5 billion in revenue for the full fourth quarter of 2011. Hon Hai said the growth was propelled by a strong demand for new computers, phones and other consumer electronics. Analysts predict that the company, perhap...

Pegatron Technology has reportedly received a small volume of orders for the upcoming iPad 3, which is set to launch in March, according to Digitimes. Apple has reportedly revamped the company’s outsourcing strategy and will have Pegatron focus on production of the iPad series, with Foxconn serving serving as an auxiliary in 2013. Foxconn‘s primary focus will be the iPhone, with Pegatron only producing a small number of smartphones. The new strategy is meant to decrease risk and increase the quali...

Following the successful launch of its first tablet last week, Amazon reportedly plans to launch a second model as soon as the second quarter next year. Fresh off an apparent miss — Asus went on record in denying an earlier report from the site on Friday — DigiTimes cites unnamed sources from within Amazon’s supply chain in claiming that the company’s next Kindle Fire tablet is scheduled to launch by the end of the second quarter 2012. The site reported earlier this month that Amazon’s 8...

Apple recently had a meeting with Chinese environmental groups during which it admitted that 15 of the plants it uses in its supply chain violate China’s environmental regulations. The Cupertino-based company has typically ignored any accusations that its plants are over polluting. Apple reportedly made the admission during a three-hour discussion with the EnviroFriends Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Friends of Nature and the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. Read on f...

The Kindle Fire hasn’t even hit the market yet but the tablet’s successor is already reported to be set for a launch in the second half of next year. Reportedly, Foxconn has secured orders for the device and is working to get the tablet out of the door and onto store shelves during that time period, DigiTimes said on Wednesday. Quanta Computer is building the current generation Kindle Fire, although Amazon is largely believed to already have a second-generation quad-core “Hollywood” ...

Foxconn’s plans to build a $12 billion factory in Brazil dedicated to producing iPads is “in doubt,” government officials in Brazil told Reuters. Reportedly, negotiations have stalled because both sides have yet to reach an agreement on tax breaks for Foxconn. Additionally, Brazil may not be able to populate the factory with enough skilled laborers. Worse still, Brazil has been tasked with building infrastructure for the 2014 World Cup followed by the Olympics two years later. Skeptics argue...

Claims that surfaced on Monday suggesting Apple had cut iPad 2 orders for the fourth quarter have reportedly been confirmed. JP Morgan analysts Mark Moskowitz and Gokul Hariharan wrote in a note to investors on Monday that Apple had reduced its fourth-quarter iPad 2 orders from 17 million to 13 million units, suggesting that demand for Apple’s market-leading iPad might finally be waning. Some speculated that a portion of iPad production may have moved to Foxconn’s new factory in Brazil while o...

A Foxconn factory in Shadong, China caught fire on Tuesday but the blaze was quickly extinguished, Reuters reported. Foxconn said there will not be an impact on production and there were no worker casualties. An explosion caused damage at a Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China in May, and resulted in three Foxconn worker deaths, 15 injuries and a slowdown in Apple iPad production. That tragedy also caused a 2.14% monthly revenue dip, or about US$6.95 billion in lost revenue. A Foxconn spokesperson told Reuters t...

Apple has reportedly cut its fourth-quarter iPad orders to China-based manufacturing partners by 25%, JP Morgan analysts Mark Moskowitz and Gokul Hariharan wrote in a research note on Sunday. According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan expects Hon Hai’s iPad 2 production to drop from 17 million units to 13 million units in the fourth quarter as a result of the cut, though Moskowitz did not adjust his earlier iPad shipment projections of 10.9 million units and 12 million units in the third and fourth calendar qua...

Those who follow technology press closely were disappointed to learn that a revamped iPad rumored to launch this fall — possibly a “Pro” model with a Retina Display — is likely not going to become a reality. Apple never made any official mention of the device, of course, so we have no way of knowing whether or not earlier rumors were accurate. What we can seemingly say, however, is that consumers don’t seem to care. Apple continues to sell iPad 2 tablets as fast as its manufacturing par...