manufacturing
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Palm, i-mate, others moving manufacturing contracts back to HTC?
We thought that HTC's bold venture into the direct-to-consumer space pretty much spelled doom for its once-burgeoning ODM business, but apparently not. We don't know if these guys are just exceptionally good at what they do, exceptionally cheap, exceptionally convincing, or some combination of the above, because a report out of Taiwan's Commercial Times claims that Palm, i-mate, and MWG -- all companies who've moved their manufacturing contracts solidly away from HTC in recent years -- have come back into the fold, ultimately bumping HTC's contracting business to account for more than 10 percent of its total business in the first quarter. We're skeptical that these three brands (all of whom compete with HTC at retail) would suddenly decide to throw up the white flag at roughly the same time, but considering the kinds of things that happen when other ODMs come into the picture, a little HTC TLC could be just what the doctor ordered.[Via IntoMobile]
Analyst says Nintendo fed Wii-starved US with Japanese stock
Despite the launch of the Wii in the US occurring months and months ago, there is still a perceivable shortage of the little white console. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter made his own analysis of the recent upturn in US Wii console sales by predicting that Nintendo filled the gap by diverting manufacturing in Japan to feed the US stores. It's almost beyond belief that Nintendo still hasn't been able to get a grasp on its manufacturing process, over nine months since the Wii was released. Wasn't half the point of focusing on casual gaming -- and therefore lower specs -- that the console would be easy to manufacture in vast quantities?[Via Joystiq]
Teardown reveals iPhone parts cost two bills
Unlike video game consoles, phones are typically profitable to manufacture from day one and it turns out that the iPhone is no exception -- far from it, in fact. Teardown specialists at Portelligent claim that the 4GB iPhone runs Apple just $200 worth of components, while the 8GB adds an extra $20, not far off at all from iSuppli's slightly higher estimates from January. Granted those tallies don't include the actual cost of assembling the device -- but even so, those numbers are very far cries from the $500 and $600 asking prices at the register, leaving a healthy $299 and $379 respectively (of which an overwhelming majority are $379) for profit and miscellaneous costs. Interestingly, Portelligent's unceremonious destruction of an iPhone in the name of research revealed no further proof that Hon Hai / Foxconn is the ODM responsible for assembling the darned thing.
Irate would-be Lenovo customers seeing delays on ThinkPad T61
Your idea of the Lenovo buying experience has probably been all but tainted if its latest ThinkPad T61 was, er, would have been your first machine from the company. According to an incredibly long thread over at Notebook Review, more than a few would-be customers are getting progressively angrier as each passing day goes by without any sign of their new laptop. Apparently, a number of manufacturing hiccups are delaying the process, and some users are even reporting ship dates into the first week of September. Moreover, it seems that some loyal users even received consolation emails that tried to explain the delays and apologized by offering up a free accessory and a chance to easily cancel the order. So if you've had a T61 on order since day one and weren't already aware of all this behind the scenes turmoil, do yourself a favor and take a very deep breath before hitting the read link.[Thanks, Craig]
Samsung starts mass producing 16 Gigabit NAND chips
IT News Online tells us that Samsung has begun mass producing 16 Gigabit NAND flash chips. "In rolling out the densest NAND flash in the world, we are throwing open the gates to a much wider playing field for flash-driven consumer electronics," IT News quoted Jim Elliott, director of flash marketing. As you probably know, high density data storage is a prime ingredient of flash-based music players like the iPod Shuffle and Nano lines, and smart phones like the iPhone (as well as digital cameras, handheld computers and memory cards). Denser storage means more capacity for these consumer electronics. I'm guessing that 16 Gb chips probably will not debut in Apple products until the end of this year or the beginning of the next. If I have my facts straight, the iPhone uses 4 Gigabit chips in its design.
Iran prepping first homegrown mobiles
When your government raises tariffs on imported phones from 4 percent to a staggering sixty percent, you kinda hope there are plans in place to start producing handsets on home turf. That's exactly the bind Iranians find themselves in at the moment, but relief's in sight -- the head of Iran Telecommunication Manufacturing Company says his folks are ready to start selling ITMC-branded phones as soon as June of this year, with a full 300,000 units being thrown together by year's end. Though the manufacturing is homegrown, it appears the technology is not; Iran has contracted with as-yet-unnamed South Korean companies to get the necessary equipment and tech brought over to Iranian borders. If this means Iran gets a DMB-equipped Shine before we do, that's going to be so not cool.[Via textually.org]
Nintendo searching for more Wii manufacturers
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Nintendo_searching_for_more_Wii_manufacturers'; Nintendo has struggled to meet the Wii's demand in every region, so much so that retailers have accused the company of planning "strategic shortages." Four months after the console's initial release, it's still unlikely that you'll be able to find a Wii on store shelves.Up until now, Foxconn Precision Components has been the sole manufacturer behind the Wii's assembly. Nintendo hopes to increase its production by taking on an additional manufacturing partner, researching offers from Asustek Computer, Compal Electronics, Inventec, and Wistron.It's great that Nintendo is looking to increase the amount of systems it ships out, but how long will it be before we see the benefits of this partnership? It was already evident that the Wii's supply was constrained months ago -- why didn't Nintendo bring in a new manufacturer then?[Via Next Generation]
MS loses 360 manufacturer
According to a recent article on DigiTimes, a manufacturing company by the name of Wistron will discontinue is production of the Xbox 360 in 2008. The reasons for this are cited as declining profits on manufacturing the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's new manufacturing relationship with Celestica. According to TeamXbox, Wistron has been manufacturing Xbox 360s since the system's launch.Our tipster suggests the discontinuation may have something to do with the Xbox 360 Elite beginning its manufacturing run. We're not manufacturing industry experts, so we'll leave the speculating to our readers.[Thanks, KilgoreTrout XL]
Apple's doubleshot casting--and the Zune
Last week, the USPTO published an Apple patent for doubleshot casting. Doubleshot casting allows manufacturers to create housings using two color applications, like the clear-over-white and clear-over-black molding that makes the iPod so visually striking. It's the same process that creates the beautiful (at least it is beautiful in my opinion) brown-over-green Zune casing. As Ryan Block, over at our sister blog Engadget, points out, if this patent is granted, Microsoft may be paying Apple a tariff as well coughing up the dough to Universal. Which would be kind of cool.
Europe's PS3 to have limited PS2 backwards compatibility?
We'll admit, we're feeling starting to feel for you folks in Europe, as not only do you now have to actually pay attention to where you're driving, but the PlayStation 3 you were planning on snagging exactly one month from today might be hamstringed right out of the box. According to comments made by David Reeves, president of SCEE, support for PS2 titles will indeed be limited, as he stated that "rather than concentrating on PS2 backwards compatibility, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3." It seems that original PlayStation titles won't be hindered all that much, but the situation looks fairly dire for your current PlayStation 2 discs. The actual list of compatible titles won't be published until launch day, and while it was noted that future titles could be added through PlayStation Network downloads, a Sony spokesperson purportedly stated that "backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as in the US and Japanese models." The reason, while still not pinpointed, could potentially be linked to the Euro-spec'd PS3 rocking a "new chassis" designed to bring manufacturing costs of the console down, which might have demanded some hardware cutbacks somewhere along the line. Regardless of the "why," it looks like UK users could get snubbed by Sony once again, so we seriously hope your PS2 won't mind sharing cabinet space with its newfangled sibling come March 23rd.[Thanks, Stoo and Ryan]
50-percent of your iPhone purchase to pad Apple's wallet?
Sure, LG's KE850 Prada handset will set users back a cool $778, and the Google Switch just might pop in to make things a bit more interesting, but a recent research report has unveiled that Apple's sure-to-be-sold-out iPhone is a lean, mean, profit-generating machine nonetheless. While Apple's well-known for selling its iPods (and to a lesser extent, its Macs) for much, much more than it cost to manufacture, even we're a bit taken aback at how hard those corporate buyers must be workin' those suppliers on this one. According to iSuppli (no affiliation with Apple, of course), the 4GB iPhone will yield a "49.3 percent profit margin on each unit sold at the $499 retail price," while the 8GB rendition will kick back a 46.9-percent margin. You heard right, they're supposing the $499 mobile only costs Apple $245.83 to produce, while the 8GB flavor demands just $264.85. Of course, this isn't the first time a hot-selling product has been broken down by the numbers to prove just how ripped off we're all getting (if these numbers are to be trusted, that is) -- but hey, unless you've got the means to buy capacitors and LCD touchscreens by the boatload, you're probably stuck paying exactly what they ask. Plus if all this sudden competition gets a bit too heated, don't think Apple doesn't have any room to introduce a (highly desired) price drop.
Vizio readies its sub-$2000 47-inch 1080p LCD TV
Ah Vizio, at it again with the low-cost offerings (which Sony doesn't appreciate very much). While we're sure more than a few folks are kicking back and gazing at their recently-purchased $1,000 42-inch PDP, the firm has divulged that come next February, we can all expect a 47-inch LCD HDTV to hit Sam's Club, Costco, and potentially other big box retailers for "less than $2,000." Oh, and it sports 1080p, too. The firm's CEO declared that current 1080p sets in the $3,000+ range simply "aren't affordable," and is hoping the Super Bowl rush to pick up an HDTV before the big game will boost sales of its undercutting set. An analyst noted that Vizio's offerings didn't "have all the extra features" that other manufactures typically include, and that it didn't feature "the best picture quality," but admitted that it was a bargain and "a good value" nonetheless. So if you know that aging set will need replacing come Super Bowl Sunday, and you've only got about two large to throw down, Vizio should be able to fit the bill quite nicely.
Blu-ray / HD DVD stalemate boosting interest in combo player?
Nothing like a little false hope to brighten your Saturday, right? Of course, we hope the current stalemate in the Blu-ray / HD DVD war actually yields a combo player, but after the on-again / off-again (and again) love affair with the idea, we're not holding our collective breath. Nevertheless, it seems that the current state actually doesn't have one format trouncing the other as many believed would happen after a few months unfolded. Essentially, consumers are "generally indifferent" to the two, and considering there's just seven more HD DVD titles currently available than BD titles, it doesn't look like one or the other will win on sheer studio popularity. While we've seen the Blu-ray-equipped PS3 outsell Microsoft's HD DVD drive 5 to 1, there isn't much substance in such a statistic, but apparently Taiwan-based manufacturers are rethinking their previous denials of unleashing a player that handles both discs. DigiTimes has it that Samsung is "planning to offer dual-format recorders that can record and play back BD and HD DVD movies," while Hitachi (a devout member of the BDA), is also "considering production of dual-format devices." They also went so far as to point out the obvious when noting that a "dual-format device would be more expensive than a single-format unit" -- but hey, it's likely cheaper than buying one of each, eh?
Sony says PS3 manufacturing problems all shored up
We'll believe it when we see it. After suffering through what could very well be the most abysmal launch quantity of all time, Sony says that it has ironed out its manufacturing snags and is now back on track to have one million PS3s "in the pipeline" by the December 31, 2006. According to Sony's PR head, David Karraker: "We will continue to utilise airfreight delivery for PlayStation 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year." One million units sure is a tall order, given the mere 197,000 boxes Sony managed to move in November, and we can't help but wonder if "pipeline" means "chugging through a factory" or "landing on shelves" by December 31st, but we suppose we'll know either way in a couple of weeks. Luckily for Sony, that certain console of theirs that wasn't bleeding ~$250 per sale for the company sold like gangbusters: 664,000 units, besting both the Wii and 360 in North America. FFXII FTW!
Syntax-Brillian opens Chinese LCD plant
Syntax-Brillian opened a new 30,000-square foot LCD plant in Nanjing, China on Friday, which is expected to produce 300,000 units anually. The displays will be sold in the Chinese market at five major consumer electronics resellers on the Chinese coast, with additional capacity for the US and Canadian markets. Olevia-branded LCDs from Syntax-Brillian have entered the market fairly well, growing from a relatively unknown brand to the top three in the 25- to 29-inch category, and in the top ten for 35- to 39-inch displays.
Sony, Samsung and Sharp push up 8G LCD production schedules
Whether or not you're actually considering buying one of Sharp, Samsung or Sony's 52-inch 1080p LCDs next year, they're pretty sure you will and as a result are pushing manufacturing schedules up. According to Digitimes, Sony & Samsung's joint manufacturing venture S-LCD is expected to have their eighth generation manufacturing plant ready several months ahead of its original October 2007 launch date. Sharp already has an 8G plant but that's just not good enough, they'll be doubling capacity in March. With heavy price competition among the various "Full HD" LCDs and manufacturing increases, hopefully the 52-inch of 2007 will be the 32-, 37- and 42-inch of this year and last in terms of price drops.
IFA 2006: Sharp already planning new LCD plant in 2009
No one likes an overachiever...unless that overachiever is Sharp and their apparent fixation is making bigger, cheaper, better Aquos LCD HDTVs, because we like them just fine and want them to keep up the good work. The 1080p Aquos LCDs announced earlier in Japan and the US just aren't well enough left alone, President Katsuhiko Machida sees demand doubling what it is now, by the spring of 2009. They don't know what size panel it will target, depending on what is most needed by the market then, but they won't be caught slipping again.
Kodak digital cameras to be manufactured by Flextronics
In a move probably intended to placate investors after a disastrous second quarter -- recently-reported net losses of $282 million were even higher than expected -- Kodak has announced that it will shift the manufacturing of its digital cameras over to Singapore-based Flextronics International. Although Kodak will continue to "develop the high-level system design, product look and feel, and user experience" of the cameras, Flextronics will acquire most of the company's Digital Product Center in Japan, and will be responsible for the assembly, production, and testing of the entire lineup. As part of the deal -- which Kodak hopes will help bring products to market more quickly as well as control costs -- about 550 of its employees will be transplanted to Flextronics facilities in China. While Kodak is currently the number one seller of digital cameras in the US, it's been difficult for the company to make the transition from film, with 100,000 workers having lost their jobs since 1988. Assuming that the requisite conditions are met and regulators give the thumbs up, the two companies plan to seal the deal before the end of the current quarter.[Via LetsGoDigital]
PS3 begins production in Taiwan
According to Chinese-language outlets Apple Daily and Commercial Times, Taiwanese manufacturer Asustek Computer began shipping PlayStation 3 consoles in "small volume" in early July. The papers report Asustek recieved 200,000 component sets in June, inferring Asus could have produced as many as 200,000 consoles. As production ramps up, additional manufacturers (FoxConn) will be added to receive the more than one million component sets suppliers hope to deliver per month in September and October.Sony plans to deliver 2mln PS3 consoles during the "launch window," 4mln by the end of 2006, and 6mln by March '07. In comparison, Microsoft had hoped to sell 10mln Xbox 360 consoles within the first 12 to 16 months giving them a 2.5x larger install base by the beginning of next year. Sony's numbers are looking good if they can meet the torrent of demand this holiday.[Thanks to everyone for the tips; via X-bit Labs]
PS3 complexity could hinder yields
That's a fancy way of saying analysts don't think Sony can make enough oh so complicated machines to keep their well-heeled fans happy this Holiday season. Having suffered through manufacturing-related shortages ourselves, the Xbox 360 community looks forward to feeling their fanboy pain--while we kick back and play Gears of War.[Thanks SuicideNinja]
