Foxconn to manufacture Apple's iPhone - report
Foxconn Electronics, the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has secured a contract with Apple Computer to manufacturer its first mobile handset that will also dual as a digital music player, according to an overseas report.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times on Wednesday cited Taiwan-based sources within Apple's iPod component supply chain as saying the phone is due to arrive during the first half of next year.
The paper offered no other details of the phone or contract between the two companies, other than to say the initial build order was for some 12 million units.
According to the same report, Foxconn has also assumed the role of Apple's third notebook manufacturer and will soon begin churning out 15-inch MacBook Pros for delivery by January.
Asustek, which manufacturers Apple's 13-inch MacBooks, will not be affected by the Foxconn win, the report states. It's unclear if the deal will place any burden on Quanta Computer, that Taiwan-based firm that up until now has been Apple's sole supply of 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro systems.
Analysts on target
Apple's order for 12 million handsets falls in line with predictions presented in a September research report released by investment firm PiperJaffray. In the report, analyst Gene Munster said he expected Apple to release an "iPhone" within the next 4 to 6 months that would sell between 8 million and 12 million during the its first year. He later said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was likely timing the launch of the device with market precision.
Over the last twelve month, several other Wall Street firms have weighed in with expectations that Apple would soon introduce a cell phone capable of also acting as a digital music player.
UBS Investment Research's Ben Reitzes was one of the first to suggest Apple had much to gain from going after the 800+ million unit per-year handset market. Reitzes was later joined by analysts at several other firms, including American Technology Research, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Prudential.
One analyst high in his convictions over an Apple-branded cell phone is American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, who in September said the device had progressed to near completion as a production unit.
"The design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors (we are not certain of the exact colors but we suspect black, white and platinum, similar to Apple's current color scheme of iPods and Macs)," he wrote in a note to clients.
Analysts at Prudential have also weighed in with their findings on the iPod cell phone initiative, stating in an October report that Apple would initially produce two models -- one being a smart phone, which would include an integrated keyboard, video and music capability, while the other model would be slimmer with only music functionality.
For Apple, the secrets already out
For its part, Apple in recent months has uncharacteristically relented in its strides to keep the cell phone initiative a secret. After chief executive Steve Jobs was overheard blabbing about the project to his chorines, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer all but told a teleconference filled with analysts, "hey, we're working on it."
Of course, there's also the company's numerous filings for an "iPhone" trademark.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times on Wednesday cited Taiwan-based sources within Apple's iPod component supply chain as saying the phone is due to arrive during the first half of next year.
The paper offered no other details of the phone or contract between the two companies, other than to say the initial build order was for some 12 million units.
According to the same report, Foxconn has also assumed the role of Apple's third notebook manufacturer and will soon begin churning out 15-inch MacBook Pros for delivery by January.
Asustek, which manufacturers Apple's 13-inch MacBooks, will not be affected by the Foxconn win, the report states. It's unclear if the deal will place any burden on Quanta Computer, that Taiwan-based firm that up until now has been Apple's sole supply of 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro systems.
Analysts on target
Apple's order for 12 million handsets falls in line with predictions presented in a September research report released by investment firm PiperJaffray. In the report, analyst Gene Munster said he expected Apple to release an "iPhone" within the next 4 to 6 months that would sell between 8 million and 12 million during the its first year. He later said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was likely timing the launch of the device with market precision.
Over the last twelve month, several other Wall Street firms have weighed in with expectations that Apple would soon introduce a cell phone capable of also acting as a digital music player.
UBS Investment Research's Ben Reitzes was one of the first to suggest Apple had much to gain from going after the 800+ million unit per-year handset market. Reitzes was later joined by analysts at several other firms, including American Technology Research, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Prudential.
One analyst high in his convictions over an Apple-branded cell phone is American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, who in September said the device had progressed to near completion as a production unit.
"The design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors (we are not certain of the exact colors but we suspect black, white and platinum, similar to Apple's current color scheme of iPods and Macs)," he wrote in a note to clients.
Analysts at Prudential have also weighed in with their findings on the iPod cell phone initiative, stating in an October report that Apple would initially produce two models -- one being a smart phone, which would include an integrated keyboard, video and music capability, while the other model would be slimmer with only music functionality.
For Apple, the secrets already out
For its part, Apple in recent months has uncharacteristically relented in its strides to keep the cell phone initiative a secret. After chief executive Steve Jobs was overheard blabbing about the project to his chorines, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer all but told a teleconference filled with analysts, "hey, we're working on it."
Of course, there's also the company's numerous filings for an "iPhone" trademark.
Comments
If the phone supports i-mode and 3G, and the price is competitive, I will definitely get one.
I don't care what network or what price. I'm getting one!!
I don't care if it's poo wrapped in tin foil with fish hooks sticking out of it - I'm getting one!
...lol
Sweatshop Labor
Foxconn Electronics, a factory located in China that supplies $20.7 billion worth of products annually to Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Sony, and other top name brands, has come under criticism for alleged labor violations. According to British newspaper the Mail on Sunday, labor rights violations at Foxconn Electronics include the following:
* Wages below the legal minimum, with workers reportedly earning $50 a month
* Routine work shifts of 15 hours
* Poor and unsafe working conditions
* Inadequate dormitories
China Labor Bulletin research director Robin Munro stated, "They're not sharing proportionally in the benefits and profits in this huge globalization effort?. The only reason they can survive in these cities is because all they do is work." Foxconn states that there are huge discrepancies between the truth and allegations cited in the report.
-- Associated Press, 06/16/2006
Source URL: http://www.wired.com/news/technology...n_technology_1
I don't care if it's poo wrapped in tin foil with fish hooks sticking out of it - I'm getting one!
I'm laughing uncontrollably....I agree 100%. After waiting this long I don't care what the damn thing looks or smells like.
On both suggested models the green phone icon changes to red when on a call. It must be press to hang up, and the touch sensor is so clever it can tell the difference between your face and your thumb, so you wont hang up be accident, that and the sensor inside can tell if there is much light getting to the front of the phone, so it takes this and the time of day into account too before it decides if you really wanted to hang up
Anyone think the preverbal iPhone will coincide with the 6G iPod release or do you think the iPhone will be the 6G iPhone?
The phone product will most likely be a separate product, iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPhone? iPod Phone? iCell? iPDA? iLife Mobile?
I assume this will not be available to Verizon customers because of the Vcast competition... and T-mobile and Cingular customers will have all the fun.
It will be T-Mobile, not Cingular. (Don't ask me how I know -- can't tell you).
I don't care if it's poo wrapped in tin foil with fish hooks sticking out of it - I'm getting one!
Sounds good but it better have Bluetoof.
It will be T-Mobile, not Cingular. (Don't ask me how I know -- can't tell you).
Probably cus you made it up out of thin air!
It will be T-Mobile, not Cingular. (Don't ask me how I know -- can't tell you).
Alrighty then.
The phone product will most likely be a separate product, iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPhone? iPod Phone? iCell? iPDA? iLife Mobile?
Right, but even if it is a separate product do you think the release will coincide with the 6G iPod release?