Inside Foxconn: Exclusive look at how an iPad is made

Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz is only the second reporter ever to gain access to visit the factory floor at Apple's Chinese producer Foxconn. See highlights from his tour of the assembly line and the Foxconn facilities and connect to his full audio reports on your public radio station and at http://www.marketplace.org. Marketplace is produced and distributed by American Public Media.
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Source Credit - American Public Media's 'Marketplace'.
Reporter Credit - Rob Schmitz, Shanghai Bureau Chief

Apple iPad 3 - About pricing and plans

Apple has launched it new third generation iPad in the Philippines. The pricing of Apple's current iPad line-up is as follows:

Wifi only models -

• iPad 2 16 GB - Php18,990
• iPad 3 16 GB - Php23,990
• iPad 3 32 GB - Php28,990
• iPad 3 64 GB - Php33,990

WiFi + Cellular

• iPad 2 16 GB - Php24,990
  
• iPad 3 16 GB - Php29,990
• iPad 3 32 GB - Php24,990
• iPad 3 64 GB - Php39,990

Globe Telecom is also offering WiFi + Cellular iPad 3's at the following prices:

On Plan 499

• iPad 3 16 GB - Php29,990
• iPad 3 32 GB - Php24,990
• iPad 3 64 GB - Php39,990

On Plan 999

• iPad 3 16 GB - Php21,990
• iPad 3 32 GB - Php25,990
• iPad 3 64 GB - Php30,990

Pre-paid

• iPad 3 16 GB - Php30,990
• iPad 3 32 GB - Php35,990
• iPad 3 64 GB - Php40,990

Getting an iPad on these plans comes with a 24 month lock-in, but you can buy the device on deferred payment plans ranging from 3 to 12 months depending on the model and the credit card.

Pre-paid units can be available off on deferred payment schemes ranging from 3 to 6 months.

Plan 499 provides you 50 hours of Internet connectivity, which can extend up to with up to 292 hours by using Globe's SuperSurf Promo's. if you use the connection during promo hours. Plan 999 gives you unlimited data access. Unfortunately, the plans Globe has bundled with the iPad provide a maximum speed of 7.2 Mbps. I am not sure if these plans can be upgraded to 21.1 Mbps which is offered by Globe with Globe Tattoo Superstick.

Apple Model Girls

Apple announces Q2 2012 financial results

Apple has announced its financial results for the fiscal second quarter of 2012 that ended in March 31, 2012. Their total revenue for this quarter was $39.2 billion and the quarterly net profit was $11.6 billion. In comparison, the figures were $24.7 billion and $6.0 billion respectively for the same quarter last year.

As usual, the iPhone did very well this quarter, with Apple selling 35.1 million of those, up by 88 percent compared to year-ago quarter. Sales were down compared to the first quarter, however, where Apple managed to sell 37.04 million iPhones, the reason for this being chalked down to the holiday season that boosted the sales in the previous quarter.

As far as iPads are concerned, Apple sold 11.8 million of them, a 151 percent jump over the year-ago quarter but still down from the 15.43 million sold in the previous quarter. Apple also sold 4 million Macs (7 percent increase) and 7.7 million iPods (15 percent increase).

The current amount of cash in Apple’s bank account now stands at a staggering $110 billion, up by $12.4 billion since the last quarter.

For more information, check out the source link below.
Source Labels: iPad Misc Apple iphone

Apple's new iPad goes on sale in India

New Delhi (Reuters) - The new iPad on sale in India on Friday minus the hysteria that had marked the launch of Apple's latest tablet in the United States and nine other countries in March.It was not consumers lining around city streets and no agonizing wait loyal fans waiting to get their hands on a new Apple device."We sell about 12 to 15 of the new iPads today," said Afzal Ahmed, a team leader at Apple Premium Reseller in New Delhi's Connaught Place. "Also, it was almost 40 which was reserved earlier.""It's certainly not the kind of mania we saw with the previous iPads."One reason could be the third generation iPad is more like an improvement, with high-definition "retina" display and better camera than the main innovation.Raman Kumar, a 31-year-old businessman walked into a 7 in the evening in New Delhi's central business district, and bought a white 64GB wi-fi and 4G version - at 50,900 rupees the most expensive iPad on offer.But the Apple fan, who already own the iPhone and the MacBook, said he may not get to use the device frequently."This is basically for my children to play games," he said.A Reuters photographer in a store in Mumbai's Bandra district after saw a teenager and two executives browsing to the new iPad but said there was little evidence will be hot seller.The new iPad on sale in India more than a month after the popular tablet computer was available in 10 countries including the United States.The third iteration of the best selling device is a price between 30,500 rupees and 50,900 rupees in the Indian market according to the variant.The iPad with 16 GB of memory that works only on wi-fi networks is the price of 30,500 rupees, while that can run on both wi-fi as well as fourth generation (4G) mobile networks costs 38,900 rupees.The new iPad, however, is not compatible with the 4G LTE network currently available in India and customers will have to do with the 3G networks.Bharti Airtel has launched India first 4G network in Kolkata this month and is expanding the high-speed network to Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh in the coming months.But the Indian networks are powered by a different radio spectrum band than those used by the 4G iPad, which is supported only on the networks of a handful of U.S. and Canadian carriers.The iPad is the clear market leader around the world, and the new version with faster chips, fourth-generation wireless and acute exposure expected to cement Apple's lead.Customers will have the option to buy the new iPad in black or white with 16, 32, or 64 GB of memory, and can choose a model that works only on wi-fi or in both wi-fi and 4G.The company continued to sell the iPad 2 in India, but slashed their prices, with the 16 GB wi-fi model is now available for 24,500 for the 3G version will cost 32,900 rupees."The price is a little high, but who cares?" Said Hans Tenth, 26, a real estate consultant who has seen the device in a recent trip to Singapore. "It's iPad. I bought one for sure.

Tablet wars Apple vs Samsung vs Asus

Apple just unveiled its latest slate and one of questions you are probably asking yourselves is, “How does it compare to its market rivals?”. That’s why we decided to create a table, comparing the iPad 3 to what are currently two of the hottest slates out there – the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.

Now lets see if those brave Android tablet warriors will be able to take the smug smile off of the iPad 3′s Retina display.

	APPLE IPAD 3 (HD)		SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 10.1	ASUS TRANSFORMER PAD INFINITY 700
OS	Apple iOS 5.1		Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich	Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Display	9.7-inch IPS TFT		10.1-inch PLS TFT	10.1-inch Super IPS+ LCD
Resolution	2048 x 1536 pixels		1280 x 800 pixels	1920 x 1200 pixels
Height	241.2 mm		256.7 mm	263 mm
Width	185.7 mm		175.3 mm	180.8 mm
Thickness	9.4 mm		8.9 mm	8.5 mm
Weight	652 grams (Wi-Fi)	662 grams (Wi-Fi + 4G)	583 grams	586 grams
Processor	1GHz dual-core Cortex A9		1.4GHz dual-core Cortex-A9	1.6 GHz quad-core Cortex-A9	1.5GHz dual-core Krait
GPU	Quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4		Mali-400MP	Twelve-core ULP GeForce	Adreno 225
Storage	• 16GB • 32GB • 64GB		• 16GB • 32GB • 64GB	• 32GB • 64GB
microSD	No		Yes, up to 32GB	Yes, up to 32GB
RAM	? GB		1GB	1GB
Main camera	5MP Auto-Focus (1080p)		3.15 MP Auto-Focus with LED Flash (1080p)	8MP Auto-Focus with LED Flash (1080p)
Main camera Features	• Geo-tagging • Face detection		• Geo-tagging	• Geo-tagging
Front-facing camera	Yes, VGA		Yes, 2MP (720p)	Yes, 2MP (720p)
Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n		802.11 a/b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n
USB	Proprietary connector		Proprietary connector	microUSB port
Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE		Yes, v3.0 with A2DP	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
Battery	42,5Wh		25,9Wh	25Wh
Network	• 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 • 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 • 4G Network LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100		• 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 • 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100	N/A	• 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 • 3G Network HSDPA • 4G Network LTE
Misc	–		S Pen	Optional mobile dock with standard QWERTY keyboard and trackpad
Availability	16 March (U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan)		Q2	Q2
Sensors	• Accelerometer • Gyroscope • Proximity • Compass		• Accelerometer • Gyroscope • Proximity • Compass	• Accelerometer • Gyroscope • Proximity • Compass

So, based purely on the spec sheet alone, which one would you take home with you?