No matter how brilliant or beautiful your new gadget may be, it’s doomed if you can’t figure out how to make it efficiently, consistently and economically. An ex-Apple supply guy offers insights on how to make that happen. Read more »
Everyone may be focused on the forthcoming T-Mobile iPhone, but T-Mo revealed a strategy Thursday that will have far greater implications for the mobile industry. By eliminating subsidies it’s changing the way phones and services are sold and altering the consumer’s relationship to the carrier. Read more »
Apple is loading up inventory of the iPhone 5 to meet the expected outsize demand of the holiday cycle and hitting big, important markets like China, South Korea and Brazil before the end of the year. Read more »
Amazon is known for cutting its customers a deal on Kindle hardware, making its money back on services. The new LTE Fire, though, appears to be an exception. Adding 4G to your Kindle costs $130 plus a non-negotiable storage upgrade. Apparently 4G is for suckers. Read more »
Now that businesses have collected and stored all of this data, how are they going to protect it? And most importantly, how are they going to use if safely and legitimately? ISF’s Steve Durbin outlines the five key issues surrounding big data and information security. Read more »
The Valley dismisses corporate America when it comes to technological innovation. Likewise, corporate America knows little about tech companies’ world class operations. Technology strategist Vinnie Mirchandani argues that both sides should wake up to the consumerization of enterprise tech and the enterprising of consumer tech. Read more »
Nine days after monologist Mike Daisey was exposed as a fabulist, a man who manufactured personal stories about Apple’s supply chain in China in hopes of selling a message and theater tickets, he finally apologized for his actions. He once again left out a key detail. Read more »
Apple’s MacBook Air continues to be a hot seller according to the latest sales estimates coming out of Apple’s supply chain. Shipments of the ultra-slim notebook were up to 1.2 million units in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011, up from 1 million the quarter before. Read more »
Some believe Apple’s next iPad launch could lead to a three-tiered pricing strategy aimed at making the iPad appealing to a much broader cross-section of consumers. So is Apple’s next tablet move really designed to lock up the market from top to bottom? Read more »
Apple is reportedly gearing up to unveil three different models of the iPad, including two brand-new offerings, on Jan. 26, according to new reports from supply chain sources on Thursday. There is plenty to like about the report, but I wouldn’t count on its coming true. Read more »
There are a lot of advantages to keeping a hoard of $81 billion in cash on hand, as Apple does. One in particular allows Apple to set itself apart from its competitors in a very real and tangible way: by dominating the global electronics supply chain. Read more »
Like clockwork, IHS iSuppli mercilessly tears down new iPhone models and exposes their inner works, looking to devine the secret of their manufacturing and components costs. On Thursday, the firm released its analysis of the latest and greatest, the iPhone 4S. Read more »
Earlier this week, we heard that Samsung would be responsible for the production of Apple’s A6 processor, and now there’s confirmation that executives of the two companies have sat down to talk about their supply-side relationship. Both appear interested in continuing those arrangements. Read more »
A day after an analyst spooked Apple investors with a report that the company had cut back on iPad production, other analysts are saying everything is fine. Some have their own theories on why Apple may have lowered orders for some iPad parts. Read more »
Apple’s suppliers are gearing up for the iPhone 5′s launch, according to supply-side sources speaking to DigiTimes on Thursday. Foxconn, Apple’s final assembler of iPhone devices, is currently putting together 150,000 handsets per day, with a goal of shipping 5-6 million iPhone 5s in September. Read more »
A report released Wednesday morning by a group of Chinese watchdog groups criticizes Apple for using suppliers that consistently threaten the environment and the health of their workers. It will be interesting to see if calls for greater transparency are answered, given Apple’s generally secretive tendencies. Read more »
The next iPhone won’t get a huge new display, according to a new report. Sources within Apple’s display panel supply stream claim that the iPhone 5′s screen will be between 3.5 and 3.7 inches. They also claim a metal back for Apple’s next smartphone. Read more »
Apple is increasing its iPhone orders for the second half of 2011, according to sources within the company’s supply chain. Order volume has been adjusted upward by 15 percent to more than 56 million this year, including around 26 million next-generation iPhones through year-end. Read more »
Apple may rely less on Samsung as an iOS hardware partner, as TSMC is reportedly testing new chips it’s building for future Apple mobile products. This could be due to the current lawsuit between Apple and Samsung, but even if not, it simply makes sense. Read more »
Reports surrounding Apple’s next iPhone are beginning to stream in, and a new one today claims that the next-generation iPhone will launch during the third quarter. Sources reportedly within Apple’s supply chain also say initial shipment estimates for the new device are high. Read more »
Multiple news sources are reporting an explosion at a Foxconn Chengdu manufacturing plant primarily responsible for iPad 2 production. So far, six men and one woman have been reported as injured (two seriously) as a result of the blast, according to MICgadget. Read more »
Apple could be on the verge of making touch panel supply much more scarce than it already is for the portable device market. A new DigiTimes report Wednesday says that Apple is willing to pay more to secure “sufficient supply” for its products. Read more »
iSuppli, the company responsible for thorough product teardowns of Apple products, reported Thursday that the Japanese earthquake could affect iPad 2 supply volume, since at least five components from that device are likely sourced from Japanese suppliers, including a few hard-to-replace parts. Read more »
Rumor has it that suppliers, model specifics, and new materials have already been chosen for the iPad 2. A new patent has also come to light that introduces some interesting possibilities about what materials might be used in future iPad casing designs. Read more »
Apple is all set to begin production of a 10.1-inch LCD tablet starting in February 2010, according to a recent analyst note by Oppenheimer’s Yair Reiner. Following that, the device should then go on sale in March or April, Reiner says, with an initial production run […] Read more »
