7-Eleven strikes deal with Hon Hai to sell tablets and notebooks in Taiwan

7-Eleven strikes deal with Hon Hai to sell tablets and notebooks in Taiwan

The stars have aligned in such a way that two of our favorite, yet disparate interests are crossing paths: gadgets and Slurpees. Hon Hai Precision Industry (better known as Foxconn’s parent company) has struck a deal with 7-Eleven, and will manufacture slates for the latter to sell in Taiwan. Details are slim on the 7-inch (7.11-inch?) tablet, but it’s now up for pre-order, and the pair hope to give 3,000 units new homes in the first three months of sales. As absurd as it sounds, this isn’t the first partnership between the unlikely couple. In June, a similar deal resulted in 7-Eleven-branded TVs (in 40-, 60- and 70-inch flavors), and over 15,000 have been sold since. Now, a 50-inch set has been added to the mix, and between five and ten new products — which include smartphones and laptops — will be available by years’ end. Rather than crowding the inside of shops with the gadgets, the televisions were up for order through the convenience store’s 7net website as well as brick and mortar locations, and it appears the other hardware will follow suit. We don’t expect the gas station to dabble in electronics stateside, so you might as well make the most of a trip to Taiwan and pick up a Honey Lemon Slurpee while you’re at it.

[Image credit: Nicky Fernandes, Flickr]

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Source: Taipei Times

Google Glass will reportedly be built in America, at least initially

Google Glass will reportedly be built in America, at least initially

That $1,500 price tag for Google Glass Explorer Edition? Perhaps it makes a bit more sense considering that US labor will be used to manufacturer it. According to unnamed sources cited by Financial Times, the first run of production-quality Glass headsets will be built in Santa Clara, California. The reason? A lot is riding on the quality of Glass, and it’s likely that Google just wants to keep a close eye on every single prototype that leaves the lab. In fact, it’s not exactly uncommon — the outfit did the same for its ill-fated Nexus Q, and Apple is building some of its iMacs here in the states as well.

It’s also important to note that the initial batch of Glass headsets won’t be high yield, so there’s little reason for Google to look overseas with so few units slated for production. Whether or not the lines in NorCal will continue to hum once these things hit critical mass remains to be seen, but it is interesting that Hon Hai Precision (read: Foxconn) will reportedly manage the facility that cranks ’em out.

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Financial Times

Hon Hai shows record profits, keeps making money from making iPhones

Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn Technology, has reported its earnings for the year and notched a net income of $3.2 billion according to the Financial Times. Most familiar as the manufacturing muscle behind Apple’s iPhones, iPads and the like, the Taiwan-based manufacturer beat analyst predictions on high margins for those products. Its subsidiary, Foxconn International Holdings, is the world’s largest cellphone maker and produces devices for companies including Nokia and Motorola, but suffered a net loss of $316.4 million. As a result, some are concerned about Foxconn’s heavy reliance on Apple as a customer going forward. Still, the company is reportedly continuing a plan to increase vertical integration, by manufacturing the parts for devices and not just putting them together — we’ll see if anyone notices changes in the final product anytime soon.

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Source: FT, BBC, Bloomberg

Foxconn announces $226 million half-year net loss, blames usual suspects

Foxconn announces $226 million halfyear net loss, blames usual suspectsManufacturing behemoth Foxconn (Hon Hai) has announced a record net loss of $226 million on turnover of $2 billion for the first half of the year. Unsurprisingly, it attributed the loss to the European debt crisis, global economic slowdown and its customers “continuous struggle” for market share. While it made a big push to encourage new customers, capacity far outstripped demand. In order to stem the tide, it’s relocating some of its Shenzhen-based facilities to sites in Northern China — and it’s also in talks with carriers to become an ODM, building white-label smartphones in the same way that Huawei and ZTE do. While the loss isn’t a rosy picture, the company does have nearly $2 billion stashed in the bank, so it shouldn’t be worrying too much.

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Foxconn announces $226 million half-year net loss, blames usual suspects originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn investment in Sharp looking less likely due to LCD manufacturer’s shrinking stock value

Foxconn investment in Sharp looking less likely due to LCD manufacturer's shrinking stock valueFoxconn’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.

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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.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments