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It has been three years running, that a small number of those working at Foxconn have committed suicide for various reasons from 2010 onwards, and the latest suicide at a Foxconn plant would extend this unwanted run to four years. In fact, it was reported that a couple of staff suicide attempts happened in Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant in central China’s Henan province, all within the space of four days.

Both factory workers (one male and the other, female) attempted to snuff out their respective lives by leaping from the building that they were working in between April 24 and April 27. The man is no longer alive, while the woman’s fate remains unknown. It seems that whispers from the inside claim that the Zhengzhou factory has entered “silent mode” from the beginning of April, where workers cannot talk about anything that has nothing to do with work while on company premises, although one does wonder who enforces such a draconian rule. Still, offenders were said to get a lower pay, or worse off, fired. Humans aren’t machines and should not be imposed to work under such rules if the reports are true, and it does seem to be more of a working environment for robots than anything else.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Facebook Mobile Ads Rake In The Dough, AT&T LG Optimus G Pro Hands On Review,

Apple has reportedly sent back a batch of as much as eight million iPhones to Foxconn after the Cupertino-based company deemed the new units unfit for sale. The reason behind Apple’s rejection of the new batch of phones remains rather dubious at this point, but it’s said it’s “due to appearance of substandard or dysfunctional problems.”

According to China Business, and translated by The Register, the total amount that this could cost Foxconn would be around $1.6 billion. However, this would only be the case if the returned iPhones couldn’t be salvaged, which seems rather unlikely. It’s said at least five million and up to eight million iPhones were sent back to the Chinese manufacturer.

It’s not said which iPhone models were sent back, but they could most likely be the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S, the latter of which is still being manufactured and going on sale. It could also even be the rumored iPhone 5S getting the quality rejection, but we highly doubt it, considering that we would’ve heard many rumors about the upcoming phone’s production.

As far as the impact that this will have on Apple, it’s said that eight million iPhone failing to pass Cupertino’s quality inspections could create stock shortages for the company that could last a few weeks, but we doubt that will create many problems on the consumer end, as this time of year doesn’t see as much shipments compared to the fall or the winter.

[via The Register]

Apple reportedly returns 8m iPhone to Foxconn over quality issues is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft has announced the signing of a patent licensing agreement with Hon Hai, parent company of Foxconn. The agreement covers devices that run Chrome OS and Android, such as smartphones and tablets, and is even said to cover televisions. This makes Hon Hai the latest in what is a growing list of manufacturers with Chrome and Android patent licenses.

Not much is known about the lincensing agreement, with the announcement by Microsoft stating that it is confidential in nature. The only detail released was that Microsoft will be getting royalties from Hon Hai, although actual numbers weren’t specified. According to Microsoft, this is one of over 1100 licensing agreements it has taken part in.

Said Microsoft’s Intellectual Property Group’s VP and Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez: “We are pleased that the list of companies benefitting from Microsoft’s Android licensing program now includes the world’s largest contract manufacturer, Hon Hai. By licensing both brand name companies and their contract manufacturers, we have successfully increased the overall effectiveness and global reach of the program.”

Hon Hai also had things to say, with the director of its Intellectual Property Department saying that the company both recognizes and respects the protection of intellectual property, and that its licensing deal with Microsoft is representative of such. The Foxconn parent company is presently the largest maker of contract electronics in the world.

[via Microsoft]

Microsoft announces patent licensing agreement with Foxconn parent Hon Hai is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft has insisted for years that companies building products based on Android and Chrome are treading on ground covered by its patent portfolio, and it’s continuing to press that claim. Today it announced it’s agreed to IP licensing terms with another device maker — Foxconn parent Hon Hai. Perhaps best known for making many Apple products, the massive company manufactures more than 40 percent of consumer electronics devices in the world. According to the press release the deal covers patents for phones, tablets and TVs, and will result in Microsoft receiving royalty payments. We’ve already seen companies like HTC and LG choose to cut a deal over the technology, while Google-owned Motorola is continuing to fight. It’s far too soon to know how those court battles will be resolved, but while the team in Redmond may not have caught up to Android in mobile market share, that doesn’t mean it’s not getting paid.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Mobile, Microsoft, Google

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Source: Microsoft

Rumors of the iPhone 5S have been pouring in lately, so it’s no surprise that we’re now hearing reports that Foxconn is beginning to ramp up production on the iPhone 5S and is beginning to hire more workers to take on the increase in production. The Zhengzhou factory in China, specifically saw in increase in workers, with recruiting beginning back in February.

According to Bloomberg, the extra workers will assemble the iPhone 5S, as well as existing models, like the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S. The move to increase production and hire more workers comes after the authorization from Apple to do so. The Zhengzhou factory alone employs between 250,000 to 300,000 workers.

It’s said that Foxconn has hired around 10,000 assembly-line workers per week since the end of last month, according to the Wall Street Journal, who also claims that their own sources report that Foxconn has ramped up production. Both Foxconn and Apple have declined to comment on the situation, only saying that the companies will increase employment to meet seasonal demands.

Recent rumors have noted that the iPhone 5S will officially enter production at some point during Q2 this year, with the launch of the new phone to take place at some point later this year, perhaps as early as June. However, other reports mention another fall release for the iPhone 5S, with a lower-cost iPhone to follow.

[via Bloomberg]

Foxconn rumored to be on hiring spree for iPhone 5S production is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.