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Sharp reportedly getting cozy with Hon Hai Precision, helping to make phone and tablet LCDs in Chengdu
If we believe Japan's Nikkei, the decision by Hon Hai Precision Industry (that is, Foxconn's daddy) to buy a stake in Sharp was really just the start of a long, torrid love affair in LCD production. While Hon Hai is getting the rosy side of the deal for Sharp's TV-oriented Sakai plant, it's now thought to be paying Sharp for display technology that would go into a new factory in Chengdu for small- and medium-sized LCDs used for smartphones and tablets. If all dovetails as nicely as the two would like, the joint venture would see advanced mobile displays manufactured on the cheap -- the best of both worlds. Suffice it to say that there's a few companies that might be interested, as clients like Apple are no strangers to Chengdu. Before you let visions of IGZO-based LCDs on every iPad and iPhone dance through your head, though, remember that neither Hon Hai nor Sharp has confirmed anything -- and that the plant wouldn't be up and running until 2013 at the earliest, even if everything's in sync.
Koubachi WiFi Plant Sensor takes your cactii's temperature, sends it to your iPhone
Plants, like pets, need to be constantly cared for, but not everyone's blessed with the requisite green thumb. So, for those of you imbued with what we'll call the bad, brown touch, Swiss outfit Koubachi's got a cloud-based solution to sidestep those negligent ways and keep your window garden thriving. Dubbed the WiFi Plant Sensor, this wireless peripheral nestles into the soil of any potted flora or fauna, sending relevant vitality data off to the company's servers where it's then analyzed and beamed back to your handset (via iPhone app) or online account with care instructions in tow. You'll have to cough up £99 (about $156 USD) for the currently available European-only, golf club-like device, but that's about all -- access to the company's apps and services are free for users. So, if you've been dying to pull back the curtain on the secret life of plants or just sick of shelling out to replace your withering window collection, hit up the source below to get your order on. Official presser after the break.
Apple to pitch in on costs for improving Foxconn factory conditions
Apple and Foxconn had already promised to improve working conditions at mainland Chinese factories, and Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has just revealed that the cooperation will be about more than just tightening up standards -- it'll be financial, too. The two companies plan to share the costs of making workers' day-to-day experiences more tolerable, although neither side is forthcoming with how much of the cost it plans to shoulder. Both Foxconn and likely Apple saw the better conditions as a "competitive strength," according to Gou, who implied that any costs would be paid back in goodwill and happier staff. Although it remains to be seen how much impact the cost sharing will have on Foxconn's ability to make its July 2013 target, that one of the contractor's many clients has actively volunteered cash to upgrade conditions is, as far as we can tell, a first.
Samsung shuns point-and-shoot cameras, switches factory to pricier mirrorless types
Samsung's main camera plant in China is being converted to produce high-end mirrorless cameras instead of cheaper compacts. That's a steel-and-concrete sign that the manufacturer is trying to boost digital imaging profits by focusing on cameras with higher margins, and it implies a level adaptability that other companies can only dream of. To drive the point home, Samsung's imaging chief Han Myoung-sup told the WSJ that "low-end compact camera offerings will gradually be reduced" to make way for the "mirrorless segment." A wise move? Well, Sammy's latest NX range of interchangeable-lens (ILC) mirrorless models start at around $700, which is at least twice the going rate for a decent point-and-shoot. While that higher price point may seem off-putting, demand for mirrorless cameras is actually expected to explode by 60 percent this year, according to IDC projections -- while sales of compacts are retreating in the face of ever more powerful smartphone snappers. Ultimately, Samsung's business plan could be good news for us end-users too, if a newly expanded NX range brings the entry point for ILCs down by $200 or so -- although that could just be wishful thinking on our part.
Apple to create 500 jobs in Cork, Ireland
Apple announced today that it will expand its headquarters in Cork, Ireland. "Apple has been in Cork for over 30 years and we are thrilled to be expanding our presence there," an Apple spokesman told the Irish Times. "Our plans will add over 500 new jobs to support our growing business across Europe." The Cupertino Company is meeting with local officials, the IDA Ireland and the Minister for Jobs Richard Burton who says this expansion "is a huge boost for the country." Apple's current plant in Cork was opened in 1980 and was the first non-US headquarters for the company. The Holyhill location now employs 2,800 people who work in backend, supply chain and distribution operations for Europe.
Tim Cook pays a visit to a Foxconn factory, smiles for the camera
We can't say we're particularly surprised, but Apple CEO Tim Cook managed to take some time out of his whirlwind tour of China to pay a visit to a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou charged with making those shiny new iPhones. The above shot of the bespectacled executive in the bright yellow smock was issued by Apple itself to document the trip. The overseas visit and the ensuing factory tour all come in the wake of a new focus on the working conditions of Foxconn factories that arrived thanks in part to a report from This American Life later retracted by the show.
Sharp to cut LCD production in Osaka plant by half
Remember that brand-spanking new production facility in Sakai City, Osaka that Sharp just christened a few years back? Japan's Nikkei business daily reports that Sharp will be cutting output at that factory by a whopping half for a month or maybe longer -- its second major reduction in a year. The Sakai factory typically makes 1.3 million 40-inch panels per month but was running at 80-90 percent capacity after being idled in April. Sharp continues to be impacted by the same cutthroat competition in the LCD market that has affected Japanese rivals like Hitachi and Sony as the high yen continues to push up pricing for domestically produced goods while dragging down overseas revenues. Sharp, which recently announced its 2012 lineup, is now thinking about reconfiguring the plant to make panels with higher resolutions and other features during the slowdown.
Hon Hai sees profit fall nine percent in Q3, pins hopes on new Chinese factories
Hon Hai Precision Holdings has just released its Q3 earnings report, and it probably did so with a whimper. That's because net profits fell to NT$19.2 billion (about $614 million) this quarter, marking an 8.6 percent decline from Q3 2010, when Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) reported a net income of NT$21 billion (around $702 million). The company blamed the decline on a slow economic recovery and its ongoing expansion in China, where new factories are being constructed across inland areas like Chengdu, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. These costs are still taking a toll on Hon Hai's bottom line, though analysts say the expansion could pay off in the long-run, thanks to the lower wages that Hon Hai will have to pay to maintain operations in these less affluent regions. Some are also hopeful that the iPhone 4S will help spur production heading into Q4 of this year, though its ultimate effect, of course, remains to be seen. Hit up the links below for more details and analysis.
Report: Foxconn's Brazil factory ready for business, will begin shipping iPads in December
It appears that Apple is about to expand its manufacturing operations to Brazil, where a new Foxconn factory is already in place and ready to churn out iPads, according to a report from national media outlet UOL. Aolizio Mercadante, the country's minister of science and technology, confirmed the news this week during a hearing held by the Commission of Economic Affairs. "At first many doubted, but it will be the first time that [Apple] will produce iPads outside Chinese territory," Mercadente said. "We are taking a big step for digital inclusion in the country." Located in Jundiaí, the new facility was constructed under a joint venture between Foxconn and the Brazilian government, with the former reportedly contributing $12 million to the initiative. Rumors of a South American expansion began circulating earlier this year, with many expecting Foxconn's Brazil-based operations to get underway during Q1 of 2012, according to DigiTimes. Construction, however, appears to have wrapped up ahead of schedule, with Mercadante claiming that iPad shipments will begin in December. Apple, for its part, has not commented on the report.
Researchers grow crops on super thin film, do away with that pesky soil stuff
Here's the problem with plants: they require dirt which is, well, dirty. Japanese researchers at Mebiol have figured out a way to grow small crops of Earthly flora on clean sheets of hydrogel (commonly found in diapers), called Imec, that measures just tens of microns thick. Roots grow along the membrane, absorbing water through it, but the material is able to block out bacteria and viruses that could harm the plants. Of course, there are downsides. Water is absorbed at a much lower rate through the gel than with traditional soil, so plant size is limited and only the strongest and healthiest varieties can truly thrive on the flexible sheets. By using carefully selected plants and high quality fertilizer though, researchers were able to grow tomatoes, spinach and even melons, and hope to strengthen the film enough to support trees. Not bad for a substance normally used to absorb baby pee. Check out the video after the break.
Blast at Intel's Arizona plant injures seven, investigation under way
Yesterday afternoon, a blast occurred at Intel's Arizona plant just outside Phoenix, injuring seven people with one suffering from severe burns. According to Phoenix Business Journal, the incident took place in a solvent waste treatment room at Fab 22 -- not far from Fab 32 which will be manufacturing 22nm chips -- but Intel Vice President Josh Walden assured us that "there was no damage or release of chemicals to the community," and production has already resumed in both facilities. The company is currently looking into the possible causes of this accident -- you'll know it when we have an update, and we wish the victims a quick recovery. [Image courtesy of neepster]
Qualcomm CEO confirms death of 5.7-inch Mirasol e-reader display, looks forward to 'next version'
Remember that Mirasol e-reader display Qualcomm was hoping to release this year? Yeah, it's not happening. Speaking at a press briefing in San Diego yesterday, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed that the 5.7-inch panel has been abandoned after failing to meet expectations. Instead, the company will devote its attention to the "next version" of the technology, which has Jacobs feeling optimistic: "We have a really interesting roadmap -- we're starting out on e-readers because we figured having E Ink as a competing technology was a good way to get started. But if you think about the power consumption of the screens that are out now [on tablets], they're very bright OLED screens that use up a lot of the power of the battery. We don't today have as vibrant color as an OLED display - but we have a roadmap that gets us to a much brighter color." Presumably, this roadmap would include that low-power "converged e-reader" we heard about a few weeks ago, slated for release by the end of the year. Jacobs also mentioned that Qualcomm is planning to invest a billion dollars in its Taiwan Mirasol plant, which might help produce the kind of volume that, say, Amazon would demand for its Kindle displays. It's all speculation, of course, but Qualcomm certainly seems to have some big plans in store for the rest of the year.
Foxconn plant reopens, resumes operations following explosion
Foxconn confirmed today that its manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China has reopened and resumed operations following an explosion in its iPad 2 production facility last month that killed three employees and left others in hospital. The company has also announced that while its investigation into the incident is "ongoing," it has already addressed the preliminary finding that the explosion was "likely due to an explosion of aluminum dust in a ventilation duct." To that end, it says it has put in place "improvements in workshop ventilation," as well as a "a total revamping of the policies and practices related to the disposal of that dust." All Things D has the company's complete statement at the link below.
Qualcomm lays down $1 billion for new Mirasol plant in Taiwan, catering small and medium devices
Good news, digital bookworms! After months of rumoring, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has just announced that Qualcomm will really be building a new Mirasol plant over there. Specifically, the $1 billion, seven-hectare factory will reside in the Hsinchu Longtan Science Park to mass-produce small and medium flavors of said transflective display, meaning the Snapdragon maker will, for the first time, be able to churn out something smaller than the current lone 5.7-inch model. Yep, those must be the low-power smartphone screens that Qualcomm talked about previously, which sure sound delicious. Now, what's up with our little Pixel Qi?
Intel confirms Oregon plant will be ready to make 450 mm wafers
Intel's already boasted of its massive investment in a new 22 nanometer manufacturing process, and it's now confirmed that it's new plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, dubbed D1X will be ready to produce 450 millimeter wafers. Of course, "ready" seems to be the keyword here -- Intel will apparently stick with 300 mm wafers for a while yet, but have all the necessary preparations put in place to kick start 450 mm production when the industry is ready for it. That shift promises to both increase efficiency and cut costs by allowing more chips to be produced at a time, but it will likely still be years before we see any actual results -- one analyst speculates it could be 2018 at the earliest before 450 mm fabrication tools are ready.
Qualcomm building a $2b Mirasol plant after winning 'major client'?
Well, if this isn't a statement of intent, we don't know what is. Those good old market sources are reporting today that Qualcomm has set aside a cool $2 billion to build a new Mirasol display production plant in Taiwan. The chipmaker already has a Mirasol facility in Longtan, a joint venture with Foxlink, but is said to be the sole investor in this new build. The whole thing has apparently been spurred on by a major client having "already started the design-in process" after seeing production samples of the 5.7-inch, low power, color display. We can't know for sure who that client may be, but Qualcomm's been doing some real heavy flirting with Amazon and all those overtures might (might!) finally have paid off. Of couse, as Jeff Bezos himself said, a color Kindle isn't likely to hit the market anytime soon, and this new factory isn't expected to begin volume production until 2012, but we'll take a slow and speculative roadmap over no roadmap at all.
TSMC begins construction of new $9.3b foundry, wants to sate our constant hunger for chips
TSMC might not necessarily be a household name, but the product of its labors tends to be all over home electronics. Aiming to keep that trend going, the Taiwanese chipmaker has just broken ground on its third 300mm wafer plant, located in Taichung's Central Taiwan Science Park. The new Fab 15 will have a capacity of over 100,000 wafers per month -- earning it the prestige of being described as a Gigafab -- and once operational it'll create 8,000 new skilled jobs in the area. Semiconductors built there will also be suitably modern, with 40nm and 28nm production facilities being installed, and lest you worry about such trivial things as the environment, TSMC says it's doing a few things to minimize the foundry's energy usage and greenhouse gas emission. Then again, if you're going to spend nearly $10 billion on something, would you expect anything less?
Rumor: Apple paying Foxconn workers directly
After all of the trouble last week at Foxconn, the Chinese factory suffering from worker suicides, rumor has it that Apple is stepping up to increase wages at the plant by paying workers directly. A Chinese website claims that Apple may eventually pay workers as a percentage of product sales, though the numbers aren't quite clear -- the website says the payout would be around 1 to 2 percent of product sales, which sounds high. The report also says that the iPad will be the first product under this plan, which is good news for the workers considering how it's selling. This is still just a rumor at this point -- Foxconn makes products for all kinds of companies, and while it would be excellent for Apple to contribute to the low wages these workers are paid, it seems unlikely that it would step in with more money. Most likely, Apple would simply pressure Foxconn to make more changes, which is what Apple and other clients have done so far. But obviously the suicides are a major issue, and if Apple can alleviate the problem by providing higher wages on its own, that may help. We'll have to wait and see if any officially announced plans come to light.
Panasonic opens the doors on its biggest plasma plant yet
Despite worries / FUD from some corners that plasma HDTVs may be going away, Panasonic's latest giant investment in the technology should keep its high quality televisions coming our way for quite some time. Just a few days ago it opened its biggest plant ever in Amagasaki, which should eventually contribute to a total production capacity of over one million screens per month. Check out the pics and a video on AV Watch of robotic arms pulling 150-inch glass panels into place -- those of us hosting events on a smaller scale than the Winter Olympics are more likely to see these cut into 42-, 46- or 50-inch varieties -- before they become the 3D or even 4K televisions of the future. Still a die hard LCD fan? At least be warmed by the news of increased efficiency and reduced emissions, lower prices and cleaner air are something we can all appreciate.
Inside Sharp's new LCD factory, we can see our next HDTV from here
The path back to LCD leadership for Sharp begins at its just opened Sakai City manufacturing facility. Being a 10th generation facility means it can roll out more and bigger displays, producing six 60-inch LCDs from each glass substrate, 60% more than older 8g facilities. Check out the pics for a peek at where 72,000 substrates per month will be made, delivering those slim LED backlit televisions getting so much love, along with solar panels (also being installed on the roofs for that extra green vibe that's in vogue these days) and a few of the more than 100,000 energy efficient LEDs lighting the factory itself. Whether your closest HDTV purchase is a turkey fueled memory from last weekend or yet to come, bargain hunters and AV fans alike can appreciate an eyeful of the robots and testing equipment slicing, dicing and stamping screens headed for shelves nearby, whether bearing an Aquos brand or any number of other nameplates.