Hasta La Gadget!

MobileMe’s impending demise just got one step closer, folks. Apple’s updated iCloud.com to now sport an official login page with what we’re assuming is Cupertino’s rendition of a CNC-machined aluminum unibody badge. It looks like those of you rocking iOS 5 or OS X 10.7.2 and who’ve also created an iCloud account are probably already busy frolicking through email, editing contacts and slinging calendar events all from the comfort of your browser. Those services already existed under its predecessor, but it looks as if Cupertino has spruced ’em up with fresh paint jobs. A screenshot from MacRumors also shows the addition of an iWork section, which we’d surmise means the previously siloed iWork beta now has a new place to call home. We couldn’t get past the migration step with our trusty MobileMe account (disappointing proof is after the break), but you’re more than welcome to tap the more coverage link and have a go yourself.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how much it’ll cost you to claim more than those 5GB that Apple’s tossing in gratis, the folks over at Electronista have confirmed that an extra 10GB will cost $20 per year, while an extra 20GB runs $40 / year and an extra 50GB will demand $100 per annum.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Apple launches iCloud and iWork betas, confirms pricing for extra capacity

Apple launches iCloud and iWork betas, confirms pricing for extra capacity originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone 4 launched on Verizon in Feburary, but many customers are waiting to switch to the iPhone with the iPhone 5

Of Verizon customers planning to buy an iPhone in the future, many will skip the iPhone 4 and go straight for the yet-to-be-released iPhone 5.

According to a small survey by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, 74 percent of Verizon subscribers are holding out purchasing an iPhone until the iPhone 5 comes out.

“We believe that many Verizon customers made the decision to wait and purchase the iPhone 5 when it launches instead of buying the mid-cycle iPhone 4,” Munster said with regards to initial sales figures for the Verizon iPhone earlier this year.

The survey was conducted across 216 Minneapolis-based mobile phone users across multiple carriers.

Trends for the past year have shown that Android is up in popularity over the iPhone, despite the latter smartphone’s launch on Verizon. But perhaps as this survey indicates, a good deal of subscribers simply weren’t ready to jump on the iPhone bandwagon until the iPhone 5’s release.

Currently, rumors of the iPhone 5 are all customers have to go on. The phone is purported to feature a speedy A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera, a flat metal back and curved glass front, and possibly NFC technology.

Most of the latest iPhone 5 rumors have pegged its launch sometime in September. But according to AllThingsD, we may not see the iPhone 5 until October.

Other results of the Piper Jaffray survey include a high iPhone-user retention rate (94 percent of current iPhone users expect to buy another Apple-branded handset in the future), and split feelings amongst Android users — 47 percent plan to stick with Google’s OS, while 42 percent plan to switch to iOS.

Obviously, 216 mobile phone users is a very small sampling, but if the pattern is consistent across Verizon customers, that could mean big news for Apple. “The iPhone’s market share could more than double throughout the next round of phone purchases,” Munster said.

As reported previously, close to 35 percent of consumers plan to purchase the next iPhone sight unseen, according to a recent poll. As far as Wired readers go, that figure was closer to 20% based on results from a Facebook poll.

What phone do you want to buy next? Sound off in the comments section below.

Foxconn chairman Terry Gou addresses journalists at a product-testing facility during a media tour of the factory. Photo courtesy of Thomas Lee

Foxconn has a reputation as maker of our much-beloved iDevices. It also has a reputation for inhumane living and working conditions for employees in its Shenzhen-based plants.

One way to potentially fix that tarnished image: replace some of those workers with robots.

One million robots, in fact, hopefully all in place within the next three years. The robots will be tasked with mundane tasks such as welding, spraying and assembling, which humans currently do. Foxconn currently uses 10,000 robots to supplement its 1.2 million human workers in its production process.

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said in a statement Friday that he wanted to shift the company’s employees “higher up the value chain, beyond basic manufacturing work.” This would enable the Shenzhen factory to improve its overall working conditions, and create increasingly sophisticated products, he said. IDG News was first to report the news.

The worker conditions in China’s Foxconn industrial compound have come under scrutiny in the past few years, since the suicide deaths of 17 workers, and other suicide attempts. Workers have described conditions to be much like working in a “prison” or a “cage.”

Foxconn’s horror stories are symptomatic of a larger problem in China’s components industry, where factory employees reportedly endure harsh working conditions comparable to a sweatshop. Hourly wages of less than a dollar, illegal overtime hours and firings without notice are common among most gadget factories, according to a six-month investigation by GlobalPost.

Workers, whose overtime hours (according to Chinese labor laws) should not exceed 36 hours per month, averaged between 50 and 80 hours each month. Besides grueling hours, if workers made a mistake, they were often humiliated rather than simply being reprimanded. Foxconn is not the only factory whose workers endure such conditions, but due to its connection with Apple, it is probably the most notable. The company says it now has a 24-hour hotline in place, nets surrounding many buildings and a new policy that allows only a 60-hour maximum work week.

Manufacturing robots and humans typically do not work side-by-side in industrial facilities due to the possibility of injury or death to human workers. Current manufacturing robots are unable to sense the whereabouts of humans wandering nearby, but researchers are working to fix that problem.

Will increasing the number of robots in Foxconn’s factories (by a factor of 100) help solve the company’s worker woes?

If the company does in fact shift workers from assembly line manufacturing positions to higher level roles, perhaps workers would be happier — as long as those roles involved increased responsibility and a more varied daily schedule. But would those workers be skilled enough for more advanced positions? Will the company actually spend time and capital training workers in these new or different roles?

It would certainly be easier for Foxconn to just lay the affected workers off: Then money is saved, any overcrowding-related issues are resolved, and working conditions could theoretically improve for the remaining workers. Historically, robots tend to just replace human workers in factory settings rather than complement their duties. They are more efficient than their human counterparts, and don’t require costly things like food, lodgings, or even a paycheck (maybe just some routine maintenance and a bit of supervision).

Hopefully Foxconn can find a solution that doesn’t involve laying off thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of its workers.

See Also:

• New Report Details Onerous, Illegal Working Conditions At Foxconn …
• Inside Foxconn City: A Vast Electronics Factory Under Suicide …
• 1 Million Workers. 90 Million iPhones. 17 Suicides. Who’s to Blame …

This is not the iPhone 5. It’s claimed to be an iPhone 5 clone made by a factory in Shenzhen, China, right where the actual iPhone 5 is being produced. Could this really be what the iPhone 5 looks like? More »

The latest twist in the on-going Apple / Samsung patent soap opera is a doozy, particularly for Android fans Down Under. Samsung will not be advertising or selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, at least until the Korean company gets court approval to do so — or until the suit is resolved. Due to differences between the US and Australian versions of the Android tablet, Samsung is required to present the device to Apple at least seven days before its planned launch. Apple claims that the US version of the tablet infringes on ten of the company’s patents.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales halted in Australia by Apple suit originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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