Hasta La Gadget!

Hon Hai, better known in the west as the iPhone maker Foxconn, seems to be doing just fine after allegedly losing some orders from Apple to competitor Pegatron in September 2012. According to Bloomberg, the company’s second quarter revenues hit $30 billion, up 0.6 percent from the same quarter a year ago. That’s far better than the 19 percent drop it experienced during the first quarter. While there’s no guidance as to Q3 figures, we’ve got to think that an iPhone 5S can help fill those coffers.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Bloomberg

If you think that the name Hon Hai is extremely familiar, that is because they are the parent company of Foxconn, and I am quite sure that Foxconn has made quite a name for itself in the world consciousness with them being one of the main manufacturers of Apple devices. Well, just today, Microsoft Corp. and Hon Hai have come together to sign a worldwide patent licensing agreement which will be able to deliver broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for devices that are powered by either the Android or Chrome operating systems, and these will include smartphones, tablets and TVs.

Needless to say, the contents of the agreement will remain confidential, although there are parties that claim that Microsoft will be on the receiving end of royalties from Hon Hai under the agreement. Hon Hai is not the first, and neither does it look like they will be the last in a growing list of contract manufacturing and original design manufacturing companies that have something to do with Android and Chrome patent licenses.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Cooler Master Unveils Quickfire Stealth Mechanical Keyboard, Chrome Makes Itself More Useful At The Office,

Have you heard of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. before? Sure you have, you can more or less say that thanks to the wonder that is called the Apple iPhone, the company has managed to turn over a handsome profit this quarter – in a record figure, to boot, being the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics while they are at it. Fourth-quarter net income actually managed to increase by another 5.6% to $1.2 billion, which is more than what 14 analyst estimated prior.

In order to break their previous record, Hon Hai managed to solve production issues that affected output of the iPhone 5 in the previous quarter, which certainly helped the company raise revenue and margins along the way. As for the Taipei-listed flagship of Terry Gou’s Foxconn Technology Group, who is also their rival in one way, Foxconn could very well face a drop in sales and profit this quarter, no thanks to the possible wane in iPhone demand with Samsung’s aggressive marketing of their smartphones. We do wonder, however, where would Hon Hai be in the large scheme of things if Apple was not around as one of their major customers.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry 10 Partners with PBS, Viacom & Univision, Windows Phone 8 Update Activates FM Radio, Double-Tap To Wake On Lumia 920,

News just came in that workers at Foxconn’s Taiyuan plant have started a riot in the wee hours in China, and that police forces are on site to control the crowd. While the motive isn’t clear, Sina Weibo user Li Tian reports that the riot isn’t related to the recent anti-Japan protests, though judging by his photos, much damage has been done in the process. The same site suffered from a strike back in March over salary dispute — the front-line workers failed to receive the promised pay rise. On a similar note, Foxconn’s Chengdu plant also had a riot in June, but that was apparently due to an argument between some workers and a local restaurant owner.

Update: We are seeing unofficial reports claiming the “2,000-people” riot was triggered by security guards hitting a worker at 10pm local time.

Update 2: According to a provincial website, Foxconn’s Taiyuan industrial park focuses on magnesium alloy components for consumer electronics, heat conduction products, LED lighting products, mobile phone products and magnesium alloy automotive components.

Update 3: An undercover report from August mentioned that the Taiyuan plant processed the back casing of the iPhone 5. It also highlighted the company’s harsh management as well as “practically compulsory” over-time work. We don’t doubt that this riot escalated due to dissatisfaction over working conditions.

Update 4: Unsurprisingly, the original Sina Weibo posts have since been deleted. At the time of publication, the author had already noticed that some of the photos were already being censored by Sina. However, the photos over at Baidu Tieba are still intact.

Update 5: Well this is interesting. Foxconn has told Reuters that there was “a fight among workers from different production lines,” but the company’s spokesperson said they’re “still investigating the cause of the fight and the number of people involved.” An official statement will be released on Monday.

Update 6: The Next Web has heard that there were no deaths in the incident. Here’s hoping those 40 injured people will recover quickly.

Continue reading Riot breaks out at Foxconn’s Taiyuan plant, reportedly over guards beating up a worker

Filed under: Misc, Apple

Riot breaks out at Foxconn’s Taiyuan plant, reportedly over guards beating up a worker originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn’s parent, Hon Hai Precision Industry, partnered up with Sharp earlier this year, taking a stake in Sharp’s Sakai LCD manufacturing plant and investing another $850 million in the company. Unfortunately, that latter investment deal is in danger of dissolving due to Sharp’s financial troubles. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sharp’s shares have fallen enough in the months since the aforementioned agreement was consummated in March — due to flagging sales and excess inventory — that Sharp’s given Hon Hai the option to back out of the deal. However, Hon Hai’s still interested in buying ten percent of the Japanese company, and has expressed an interest in renegotiating the terms of the investment. So, it seems we’ll have to wait and see if Sharp accepts Hon Hai’s continued advances, but you can read more about the company’s financial woes right now at the source below.

Filed under: Displays

Foxconn investment in Sharp looking less likely due to LCD manufacturer’s shrinking stock value originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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