O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Foxconn

  • Rumor: Second-gen iPad to receive iPod touch-like back, wide-ranger speaker system

    The second-generation iPad may have a smaller bezel, a flat back panel and a wide-range speaker, a new unverified report claims.

    Per Japanese Mac blog MacOtakara, an “anonymous Chinese source” has stated that the LCD screen on the next-generation iPad will stay the same size, while the new tablet will be 3mm smaller, reportedly measuring 239mm by 186mm. The current iPad, which measures 242.8 mm by 189.7 mm, was criticized for its wide bezel when it was first unveiled in January.

    Apple will reportedly change the back of the new iPad to be “flat like an iPod touch,” which would also resolve criticisms that the iPad’s curved back is impractical. According to the report, the Ambient Light Sensor has been moved to the “upper center of the rear panel” and has a new 3mm slim hole.

    The rumor also suggested that a slot on the bottom of the device, which was spotted in early case designs, is actually a “large wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh.”

    Production of the new iPad has allegedly already begun, with a tentative shipping date of mid to late January, the report noted. Recent reports have suggested that Foxconn will begin shipping the iPad 2 to Apple in January or February. Apple could ramp up production capacity of the iPad to as much as 6 million per month.

    A second rumor that the next iPad will have two cameras–a front camera for FaceTime and a rear camera equipped for recording video, was labeled as “unreliable information” by the blog.

    Stay tuned for additional information as it becomes available.

  • Rumor: Foxconn to ship second-gen iPad in 100 days to meet April launch

    Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn will begin shipping Apple’s next-generation iPad within the next 100 days according to a story published by DigiTimes.

    After checks with Taiwan-based component makers, the publication reported Tuesday that Foxconn is set to ship the iPad 2 by the end of February 2011, with initial shipments of 400,000-600,000 units. Tuesday’s report echoes an earlier report from the publication that claimed suppliers would ramp up shipments of iPad 2 components in the first quarter of 2011.

    Apple had reportedly planned to begin mass production of the device in January, but ongoing testing of the new iPad’s firmware has apparently forced Apple to postpone its schedule. The new iPad is still expected to launch in April, a year after the first-generation device debuted.

    According to the report, Foxconn’s new production plants in Chengdu are still in “pilot production,” so the iPad 2 will be mainly supplied by the company’s Shenzhen plants.

    In preparation for a spring launch of the second generation of Apple’s successful tablet device, production of the original iPad is expected to drop off in early February. According to the article’s sources, Apple will still place orders for an estimated 1.6-1.8 million iPads through the end of January before reducing orders.

    Anonymous sources have also indicated that Apple would introduce FaceTime-equipped next-gen iPads by the end of the first quarter of 2011, ahead of the usual 12-month product cycle. In November, rumors emerged that the next iPad will be a “world mode” device with both GSM and CDMA radios, allowing it to work on a variety of networks.

    In the U.S., Verizon has already begun selling the iPad, though it currently only offers the Wi-Fi-only model bundled with a MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. The iPad 3G model is not compatible with Verizon’s CDMA network.

  • Fifth-gen iPhone may swap Infineon baseband chip for Qualcomm model

    The fifth-generation iPhone may forgo an Infineon baseband chip in favor of one from Qualcomm, according to an unconfirmed report.

    Per the Commercial Times report, Infineon will not provide the baseband chip for the fifth-generation iPhone. Infineon’s wireless unit was sold to Intel for US$1.4 billion in August.

    According to the report, the next-generation Apple smartphone, which is expected next year, will still be manufactured by the Hon Hai Group and Foxconn, and will include a Qualcomm baseband chip this time around.

    A move away from Infineon would break with precedent. Infineon has supplied Apple with the baseband chip for the iPad 3G and all of the Cupertino, Calif., company’s iPhone models since the smartphone was first released in 2007.

    There has been little indication of trouble in the relationship between Infineon and Apple. After the Intel-Infineon deal, Intel CEO Paul Otellini told Fox Business that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was “very happy” with it.

    On the other hand, relations between Apple and Intel have been tense as of late. Otellini made comments earlier this week criticizing the newly released Apple TV as a “step backward,” especially when compared to the Intel-powered Google TV products set to be released this month.

    A Qualcomm broadband chip would match rumors that Apple is developing a CDMA iPhone. Qualcomm invented the now widely-used CDMA technology. A cryptic “iPhone developer guru” job posting on the Qualcomm website in August claimed that respondents would work on “the most challenging product” of their lives.

    Several analysts see a switch to Qualcomm by Apple as the right move. In light of the Intel-Infineon deal, “Apple may want to diversify its supplier base to reduce dependency on a single supplier,” said Manikandan Raman with the Motley Fool.

    With a 69% share of the CDMA mobile phone chipset market, Qualcomm would be the “logical choice” to help Apple expand to other networks, said Barclays Capital analyst Andrew Gardiner. “Infineon’s wireless unit doesn’t offer chips for CDMA technology.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • iPhone 4 yellow tint could fade after a few days of use, source says

    Following up on yesterday’s story regarding a yellow discoloration found on some of the iPhone 4 screens, this may be a temporary problem at best. Per the AppleInsider forums, a user posted yesterday that Apple’s component manufacturers are involved in pitching the Z-6011 bonding agent to Apple that is found in the iPhone 4. The material is used to bond the layers of glass in the device during the assembly of the hardware.

    “Apple is using a bonding agent called Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 to bond the layers of glass,” austingaijin wrote. “Apparently, Apple (or more likely Foxconn) is shipping these products so quickly that the evaporation process is not complete. However, after one or two days of use, especially with the screen on, will complete the evaporation process and the yellow ‘blotches’ will disappear.”

    Users began to report on Wednesday that the Retina Display on their new iPhone 4 has a discoloration in the bottom corners of its screen. On those affected units, the screen’s corner has a warm yellowish tint to it.

    An issue that could go away after a few days…not the worst thing ever.

    If you’ve seen this on your end, please let us know and stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Rumor: Verizon/CDMA-compatible iPhone in production

    verizonlogo.jpg

    Maybe it’s a “Braveheart” thing; you can’t kill a legend. Or at least a rumor.

    Per DigiTimes, Apple is allegedly manufacturing a CDMA iPhone compatible with the Verizon network, the report alleging that the handset will begin shipping to Apple in the fourth quarter of 2010.

    Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported Thursday that Pegatron Technology has received orders from Apple for a CDMA iPhone 4, according to industry sources. Those orders are expected to help the company grow its revenues in 2011.

    “Pegatron will also start shipping a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 to Apple in the fourth quarter and is currently using its plants in Shanghai, China to produce the products, the sources noted,” the report said. “The company is also working on gaining orders for MacBooks and iPads from Apple.”

    Pegatron manufactures products in a number of markets, including notebook and desktop computers, TV set top boxes, cable modems, game consoles, LCD TVs, digital music players, handsets, tablet PCs and e-book readers.

    The latest DigiTimes rumor stated that Apple was working on two new phones: the iPhone 4, to be launched next week, and a new Verizon-compatible CDMA phone that the newspaper said would go into mass production in September. The report also stated that Pegatron Technology would handle the manufacturing of the CDMA iPhone.

    In May, DigiTimes reported that Pegatron had won the contract from Apple to produce a CDMA iPhone. Previous iPhones were built by Foxconn, which also assembles Apple’s Mac mini, iPods and the iPad, and is the company’s main supplier.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.