Shenzhen
Latest
Foxconn hiring and relocating 400,000 workers
The recent issues at Foxconn haven't actually slowed the company down, apparently -- it has announced that it will be hiring 400,000 more workers at new plants in China, thanks to a 50 percent increase in revenue lately. The total number of people working at Foxconn will be estimated at 1.3 million. Just for comparison's sake, GM employed about 244,500 last year. Foxconn is moving almost that many workers out of its Shenzhen plant -- 170,000 of those workers will be sent to plants closer to their homes. It's crazy to think what the company must be like -- not only are they handling ungodly amounts of people making ungodly amounts of electronic devices, but they're doing it mostly for American companies like Apple, Dell, HP, and so on. This is the giant machine that's pushing out all of those iPhones and Macs that Apple is breaking sales records with. Hopefully the new plants and relocations will help all of the issues that employees there have had in the past.
Keeping it real fake: ePhone won't shatter when you drop it, might melt in the sun
We're guessing that there won't be many tech sites lineblogging outside the Shenzhen KIRF stalls when the ePhone 4GS finally gets a release date. And it's a shame, really: for knock-off fanatics like ourselves, this thing could be in the big leagues, right up there with the iorgane (that's pronounced "i-orange," by the way). Don't let the industrial design fool you -- unlike the real deal, this thing is all plastic, right up to that silver band wrapping 'round the edges. The rear of the unit boasts the Apple logo and 16GB, and while the first designation is definitely inaccurate, we harbor serious doubts about the latter. But what do you expect for $85? Get a closer look after the break.
Dual SIM watchphone gives us two reasons to be non-plussed
Oh, the humble watchphone... we've seen a few iterations, but very few that we'd wear for anything but a laugh. The gang at eSales China are offering a slight twist on the typical fare by throwing in dual SIM cards behind the 1.3-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, 2 mp camera, microSD card, and GSM850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 support. Sold? We weren't either (not for $128 at least). Feel like a good laugh? Get a closer look after the break.
Keepin' it real fake: Nokia X5 goes shanzhai in record time
Is this a new record? Not twelve hours after the Nokia X5 slider got official in Singapore, our friend Albert spotted this curious square-shaped, Nokia-branded KIRF in a flea market in Manaus, Brazil. Of course, this raises the horrible possibility that this odd-ball form factor just might be catching on somewhere -- but we're going to try and put it out of our minds it for the time being.
Chinese government to make Foxconn suicide findings public
We've been struggling to wrap our heads 'round this whole Foxconn imbroglio since the beginning, and while we're pretty skeptical about any official reports we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that the Human Resources and Social Security Ministry in China was looking into the thing, and that they'll be releasing the findings somewhat soonish. According to Vice Minister Zhang Xiaojian, recent strikes at various factories including Brother and Honda (strikes seemingly sparked by the Foxconn incidents) do not constitute "a 'wave' of unrest." Well, that's good -- for business owners, at least. And while the families of the Foxconn suicides maintain that long hours, low pay, and harsh management are to be blamed, Zhang added that "the psychological problems of the workers" can be added to the list. Psychological problems caused by low pay, long hours, and harsh management, perhaps? [Thanks, Xinh]
Foxconn axes suicide compensation, relocating some production to Vietnam or Taiwan
At yesterday's annual shareholder meeting, Foxconn revealed that it'll no longer be compensating families of dead employees as a move to discourage further suicides. CEO Terry Gou reasoned by exhibiting evidence that showed the money -- an amount almost equivalent to ten years' worth of salary -- was a major motivation for the suicides. One such exhibit was a man's suicide letter that contained the following message for his parents: "...now I'm going to jump off Foxconn, really leaving now, but you don't have to be sad, because Foxconn will pay a bit of money, this is all your son can repay you now." Gou also blamed a possible "Werther Effect" created by the news coverage, which might have led to six of the twelve suicides all taking place in May. Consequently, the company will be handing over its welfare management work to the local Chinese government, as it's unable to deal with too many social responsibilities. In the same meeting, the company made an unsurprising announcement that it's looking to relocate some manufacturing work, amid a worsened earnings forecast due to increased wages -- basic salary has gone up from ¥900 ($132) to ¥1,200 ($176), rising to as much as ¥2,000 ($293) for those who meet new performance criteria. This will involve setting up a fully automated facility in either Taiwan or Vietnam, while the existing Vietnamese plant will be receiving more orders. Chairman Samuel Chen also said that Foxconn will be working with its clients to share the load -- no further details on this, but we suspect Apple's rumored direct subsidies are part of the plan.
Top Chinese official calls for improved worker conditions in response to Foxconn deaths
The highest ranking official in the Guangdong province of China has called for improved conditions for workers in light of the recent slew of suicides at Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing, also known as Foxconn. Wang Yang, the provincial party secretary in the province where the suicides have taken place, said that the government must work together with the company to "take effective measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again," While it's still not clear what is causing the deaths, Wang called for measures such as increasing sports and leisure activities for the workers, and improving communication between worker and employer. "Labor unions in private firms should be improved to facilitate better working conditions and more harmonious relations between workers and employers," he said, speaking at a conference in Shenzhen on Saturday, just about one day after Foxconn announced it would increase wages of workers up to 20 percent.
Apple, Dell, and HP comment on suicides as Foxconn CEO shows off the pool
On an 84-degree day (29 C) at a Chinese factory housing some 400,000 workers, at least 2 of them were enjoying the Foxconn swimming pool. We know this because the notoriously secretive Foxconn CEO, Terry Gou, was showing off some of the workers' facilities to the press to assure the world that he was not operating a sweatshop. Foxconn has received a great deal of attention lately after a rash of suicide attempts this year left 2 workers seriously injured and 9 people dead. While these numbers are relatively low compared to World Health Organization data showing a suicide rate of about 14 deaths per 100,000 Chinese, Foxconn contends that there were only one or two suicides a year previously at its Shenzhen factories. Today Gou announced that Foxconn has 70 psychiatrists and 100 voluntary workers trained to help prevent suicide. Great, problem solved. As you probably know, Foxconn is behind the assembly of many major consumer electronics brands including HP, Nokia, Dell, and Apple -- the latter two have come out with statements expressing their respective concern. Apple had this to say: "We are saddened and upset by the recent suicides at Foxconn. We're in direct contact with Foxconn senior management and we believe they are taking this matter very seriously. A team from Apple is independently evaluating the steps they are taking to address these tragic events and we will continue our ongoing inspections of the facilities where our products are made." And Dell this: "We expect our suppliers to employ the same high standards we do in our own facilities. We enforce these standards through a variety of tools, including the Electronics Industry code of conduct, business reviews with suppliers, self-assessments and audits." During today's press event, Tang Wenying, a young Foxconn line supervisor said, "This is a good place to work because they treat us better than many (other) Chinese factories." And that may be the most worrisome aspect of this: Foxconn, by all accounts, provides some of the best conditions for the Chinese workers it employs. What does that say about the anonymous (and thus, invisible) chain of small suppliers and secondary assembly facilities nobody reads about? Update: HP says that it is also investigating "the Foxconn practices that may be associated with these tragic events."
The fate of a generation of workers: Foxconn undercover fully translated (update: videos added)
Machine translations are still years or even decades away from perfection, so rather than sending you to an auto-translated page, we now present -- with exclusive permission from Southern Weekend -- a human translation of this damning article on Foxconn by undercover reporter Liu Zhiyi. (Photo: Southern Weekend) I know of two groups of young people. One group consists of university students like myself, who live in ivory towers and kept company by libraries and lake views. The other group works alongside steel machineries and large containers, all inside a factory of high-precision manufacturing environment. These guys always address their seniors as "laoban" (boss), and call their own colleagues -- regardless of familiarity -- the rude "diaomao" (pubic hair) in loud. After going undercover in Foxconn for 28 days, I came back out. I've been trying to tie the two pictures together. But it's very difficult. Even with people living in these two places sharing the same age, the same youth dream. My undercover was part of Southern Weekend's investigation on the then six Foxconn suicides. We soon found out that most of Southern Weekend's reporters were rejected due to age -- Foxconn only recruits people around the age of 20. In comparison, being just under 23 years old, I was quickly brought into Foxconn. The 28-day undercover work made a strong impact on me. It wasn't about finding out what they died for, but rather to learn how they lived.
Undercover Chinese reporter exposes Foxconn working conditions (update: full English translation)
Some time in April, Chinese news site Southern Weekend sent its intern, Liu Zhiyi, on a 28-day undercover mission at Foxconn's Shenzhen factory, as part of an investigation on what could've led to this year's numerous suicides in one of China's largest factories. While the report doesn't comment on the company's management and support networks (or the lack of) for front-line workers, it appears that the real problem lies in Chinese workers' definition of a "good factory" -- one that pays more by means of offering overtime hours. It's clear what's causing this perception -- there's the sub-standard minimum wage in Shenzhen, and then there are the companies abusing this fact to lure workers with overtime hours above the legal limit. Update: Thanks to Southern Weekend's exclusive permission, we've now published the full human translation of the Chinese report.
Keepin' it real fake: phoney Armani handset borrows some of that Samsung glamor
When we reviewed the Samsung Omnia II, we forgot to mention one major drawback: the lack of Giorgio Armani branding. Luckily the KIRFmeisters of Shenzhen have picked up where the original manufacturer dropped the ball. And they threw in a QWERTY keyboard to boot! No word on price or availability of the KIRF Samsung Omnia Pro Giorgio, but that's probably for the best. And yes, it has dual SIM cards. [Thanks, Hiroshi] Update: Egads! We totally forgot about the actual Samsung Omnia Pro Giorgio! But let's be honest here -- it is highly forgettable.
Keepin' it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF
It's been nearly a month since a China Grabber employee drunkenly left his experimental prototype next gen GiPhone at a Sushi Bar in Shenzhen, where it was found and sold to Shanzai.com for several thousand Yuan -- and the gadget world hasn't been the same since. The GiPhone F98 features, as all of these KIRFs do, dual SIM cards, an FM Radio, an "iPhone style" UI, WiFi, Bluetooth, and compatibility with 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz GSM. And it's one of the thickest phones we've seen in a long time! (See for yourself after the break.) Available now for $150, if you dare. [Thanks, Jessica]
The Engadget Show: Inside the gadget markets of China, part two - Shenzhen
You may have already seen the large range of gadgets -- both old and new -- in Hong Kong, but the small presence of KIRFs there does make things a tad less exciting. Want more? Turns out all you need to do is grab a Chinese visa (or a border pass if you're a Hong Kong or Macau resident), take a train ride up north and you'll reach Shenzhen for all the KIRFs you've ever wanted. In this second part of our China tour series, we'll be showing you around the Luohu Commercial City and the Huaqiangbei gadget heaven -- don't worry, there are still many genuine products there for you little angels. Oh, and we also popped into a Meizu store for some hands-on time with the notorious M8. Enjoy.Host: Richard LaiProduced and Directed by: Chad Mumm, Richard LaiExecutive Producer: Joshua FruhlingerFilmed by: Alfred Yu, Richard LaiEdited by: Richard LaiMusic by: Pieces of Eight, SabrepulseOpening titles by: Julien NantiecDownload the Show: The Engadget Show - Segment 008 (HD) / The Engadget Show - Segment 008 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted)Subscribe to the Show:[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V).[RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.Click through for the stream...
Enso's zenPad finds the funds to become reality
With only 500 units ordered and 30 scheduled to ship on May 8th, it's clear the Enso zenPad won't blow up the world, but it's nice to see a startup make good on its promises. We've yet to receive one of the cheap Android tablets ourselves, but we do finally have proof they're on the way: Enso CEO Alberto Armandi just sent us an official, signed receipt for the purchase of 500 MID-560A tablet computers from OEM SMiT, along with a bank document proving they have been bought and (mostly) paid for. What happens now is threefold: The 250 buyers who held out receive a rebranded SMiT tablet, the 250 who didn't get their money back (anecdotal reports indicate refunds are underway), and the whole mess hopefully fades into obscurity, letting the three young entrepreneurs who brought us this niche Chinese device get on with their lives. See the slightly redacted proof Enso actually purchased these things, right after the break.
National Labor Committee report on Chinese CE factories uncovers deplorable conditions
Yesterday, the National Labor Committee produced a report on the working conditions at the KYE Factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China. KYE operates (like many factories in China) a live-work facility and generated sales of $400 million in 2008. KYE manufactures outsourced products for HP, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech, and ASUS. Their largest customer, however, is reportedly Microsoft. The report details some of what we've come to expect in stories of labor abuses -- near children, most of them women, working for 16 or 17 hours a day, living in nearly deplorable conditions, for less than a dollar an hour -- all so that the world's ever-growing need for / addiction to consumer electronics can be fed. Now, the gadget industry isn't the only offender by a stretch -- but it's quickly becoming one of the largest (in addition to producing a truly horrific amount of toxic garbage). After the break are some choice facts from the report that our readers might be interested in ingesting, so read on.
Enso's zenPad is vaporware, get refunds while they last (update)
Did you order a Enso zenPad? If so, you'll be happy to hear that the company has decided on a concrete release date; its website is now ticking down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until May 8th, when Enso claims they'll finally ship the rebranded Smit MID. Problem is, if you ordered your zenPad on March 22nd -- the day we wrote about it -- you will have waited 47 days by the time the device ships, exactly two days too many to get a PayPal refund. But more importantly, manufacturer Smit has now disavowed any knowledge of a deal, and Enso itself has admitted that the zenPad as such does not currently exist. We've done quite a bit of digging and even spoke with an Enso founder to get the whole story. Enough promises have now been broken and lies told that if we were you, we'd request refunds ASAP, but if you still want to hang on for a chance at a $155 Android tablet, you can hear the whole tale right after the break. Update: We just spoke to Enso CEO Alberto Armandi, who says that the company has now secured the necessary funding to make good on orders, and promises that he will ship us a zenPad for review within two weeks. We'll revisit this story then. Meanwhile, read how we got to this juncture after the break.
Creation Tech's $65 UMPC is cheap and unlovable
If you're in the market for another Vivienne Tam-designed masterpiece, keep looking! Coming straight outta Shenzhen, Creation Tech's CTEB7G is a 7-inch UMPC featuring damn near everything you could reasonably expect from a $65 UMPC, including a 533MHz VIA VT 8505 CPU, 128MB RAM, 2GB flash storage, 7-inch (800 x 600) display, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet, keyboard with built-in touchpad, three USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, built-in speaker, microphone, and Windows CE 6.0. This thing is underpowered and underpriced, and it looks it -- but we're sure that Ruslan Kogan can find an excuse to rebadge it nonetheless. Please direct all order inquiries to the source link below.
Keepin' it real fake: 'new' iPad is the jumbo iPod you always wanted, coming April 3
Tired of all those "jumbo iPhone" jibes you keep hearing about the iPad? So are we, but there's simply no other way to describe this priceless Shenzhen knockoff than as a supersized iPod. Featuring the unmistakable click wheel and what looks like some sort of riff on Apple's Mac OS, the "new" iPad will be on sale immediately alongside Apple's offering, this April 3, for 2,000 Yuan ($290). Of course, we doubt Shenzhen Huayi's distribution network will stretch quite all the way to the USA, but given the population of 1.3 billion people in China, someone's bound to be happy to help you out. What say you -- does this 4GB pen-friendly beastie do anything for you?[Thanks, Taimur]
Enso's zenPad is the cheap Android tablet you've always wanted, available now
With so many concept Android tablets floating around lately we were inclined to just ignore this one -- until we learned two particularly interesting aspects: it starts at $155, and it's actually shipping now. It's the zenPad from Enso, a five-inch, 800 x 480 Android 1.6 tablet with 8GB of storage (on a replaceable microSD) that, for an additional $25, comes with GPS. It's powered by a 667MHz Samsung 6410 processor, pledges six hours of battery life, and has WiFi built-in while an external 3G adapter is just another $35. That means a fully max'd out unit with GPS and 3G would set you back $210 -- plus $25 for shipping. And yes, they are shipping now, as evidenced by a number of the things popping up on eBay. Sure, it doesn't look as fancy as the Dell Mini 5, but you won't have to fly to Shenzhen to get one. Video demonstration embedded after the break, but the footage was apparently encoded using some demo software, so beware nagging audio intrusions. Update: We were guessing this was a rebrand of something, and thanks to commenter Raikus it looks like this is a Smit MID-650, which eviGroup's Wallet was also said to be based on -- at more than twice the price. Also, we (well, you really) seem to have taken down Enso's site thanks to traffic. Oops! Hit that eBay link if you're desperate to Buy It Now®. Update 2: The annoying demonstration video previously embedded, which Enso had provided, has been replaced by the original, nagware-free version courtesy of ARMdevices.net. Update 3: Possible fraud alert! We got a tip from @PitchingAFit that there are some shady dealings afoot, including Enso not providing updates to those who have bought this thing. The eBay listings for the company have all disappeared and, well, some folks are getting worried. At this point we'd strongly advise against ordering one of these suckers until Enso clarifies the situation. There's a little more info on the current situation over at Multimediawerld.be. %Gallery-88699% [Thanks, Corey]
Keepin' it real fake: Teclast's dual-screened K9 e-reader looks like Alex and Kindle made a baby
We almost hate to throw the KIRF moniker on a product we wouldn't mind owning, but this e-reader that popped up at the EREXPO in Shenzhen certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to the Spring Design Alex e-reader -- and the button layout on the right is a dead ringer for the Kindle. It's called the K9, the latest reader from Teclast, and it follows a growing trend of Android-powered devices with a color LCD on the bottom and an E-Ink screen on top. The screens measure 3.6- and 6-inches respectively and, while we don't know anything else about it at this point, we wouldn't be surprised it inherits its father's tardiness.
