Everything china
China Mobile has confirmed that it is in talks with Apple over bringing the iPhone officially to its network. China Mobile’s chairman Xi Guohua told its shareholders about the talks although there is still no news if a deal has been agreed.
Apple and Proview are apparently in talks to settle the case of who has rights to the iPad trademark in China, and rumor has it Apple's initial offer was $16 million. This is after Proview's initial ask of a whooping $2 billion in February, which they've since lowered to $63 million according to anonymous sources.
Foxconn's CEO Terry Gou recently revealed that they intend to split the initial costs of improving factory working conditions following an extensive third-party audit of the facilities where iPads and iPhones are made.
Apple and Proview are duking it out in China over the iPad trademark, but stateside, a California judge recently tossed out the case.
Proview lawyers recently said that Apple has had a change of heart and are discussing settlements with the LED manufacturer over the use of the iPad name in China.
An elderly Chinese lady was stopped at customs trying to import more than 200 iPhones hidden inside used beer bottles. The iPhones which are available for a lot less in Hong Kong were being imported into Shenzhen China.
The Fair Labor Association's report about working conditions at Foxconn, Apple's primary manufacturing partner, vouched that workers would see fewer overtime hours without a change in pay, but employees aren't convinced that they'll be able to keep the same level of income.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is visiting China, having recently toured Foxconn facilities, but so far his most interesting meeting has been with Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang.
Though Apple hasn't announced when the new iPad will be coming to China, the Wi-Fi model has recently passed through the China Quality Certification Center. This bodes well for a launch in the next couple of weeks or months, but there are a few hurdles.
Now that the new iPad is out the door, Foxconn has started hiring to build the next iPhone. According to fresh reports, Foxconn is short 20,000 pairs of hands to handle Apple's production demands for the iPhone 5 (or whatever it's going to be called).
