Foxconn Factory Worker Detained Over iPhone 6 Shell Leaks
A Foxconn worker is being detained after being accused of stealing six iPhone 6 rear shells from the factory line and reselling them to an unidentified party in Shenzhen, China, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing details in Chinese newspaper Taihang Daily. The thefts started in late July and netted the 40-year-old male factory worker a total of 6,000 yuan ($960).
The suspect, identified only with the surname Qiao, allegedly responded to an advertisement that offered to purchase “parts from Apple Inc. at high prices.” Qiao snuck out his first shell on July 24 and shipped the product to an address in Shenzhen.
“On July 24, according to the article, Qiao hid one shell in his pocket and successfully avoided the security check by leaving at the peak of quitting time, when lots of workers swarm out of the factory at the same time. He sent the shell to an address in Shenzhen via a local courier service and received his money couple days later.
Apparently encouraged, he stole another five shells that month and sent them to the same buyer, the article said.”
Foxconn reported the thefts to local police in mid-August, who identified Qiao within 20 days through the use of video surveillance, employee records, and courier service logs. Foxconn told CNET in a statement that Foxconn expects its employees to follow the company’s strict Code of Conduct.
“As a matter of company policy, Foxconn does not comment on any aspect of our work for any customer,” a Foxconn Technology Group spokesperson told CNET in an e-mailed statement. “However, we can say that we have a strict Company Code of Conduct that our company and our employees are expected to follow and we do not hesitate to take the appropriate action, including bringing matters to the attention of the relevant law enforcement authorities, should we determine that this Code has been violated.”
Numerous components from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were leaked in the months leading up to Apple’s September announcement event. Detailed photos and videos of the shells provided a glimpse into the design of the two handsets, while internal components hinted at NFC and other features that ultimately appeared in the final device.
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Accessory of the Day: Amazon premium headphones $9.99
Regularly priced at $24.99, these headphones are part of a time-sensitive deal that Amazon is offering today. The magnetic earbuds, coupled with a flat cord, are designed to keep you tangle-free while pumping crystal-clear sound comfortably to your ears. Calls are supported with the built-in mic and remote. At only $9.99 (Prime eligible) and having 3.5/5 star reviews, these little wired headphones are worth their salt.
Deals, Discounts, Freebies, and More! Click here to save today!
The post Accessory of the Day: Amazon premium headphones $9.99 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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NVIDIA’s LTE Shield tablet is finally available for pre-order
If we were to cherry-pick one major fault from our NVIDIA Shield tablet review, it would definitely be the slate’s storage space — 16GB just isn’t enough for a device built for gaming and media consumption. If you were holding off until the company put out a larger capacity version, your day has come: NVIDIA just announced that the 32GB LTE variant of the Shield is now available for pre-order. $399 buys the unlocked LTE tablet in its own right, but NVIDIA tells us that AT&T will be offering it for $299 on contract.
We dropped by NVIDIA’s Santa Clara offices for a quick demo earlier this week and found exactly what we expected: last month’s gaming tablet with lighting fast wireless connectivity. Naturally, like most LTE devices under ideal conditions, it performed admirably — successfully streaming games from NVIDIA’s GRID and a remote PC over the cellular network. The company is also announcing the availability of three new Tegra K1 optimized games: Beach Buggy Racing, BombSquad and Broadsword: Age of Chivalry. Sounds good, but you’ll have to wait until next month to play if you’re ordering today — new tablets don’t start shipping out until the September 30th.
Source: NVIDIA
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FiftyThree’s new Mix service invites Paper users to collaborate
Some artists find inspiration in their peers’ artworks and even think it boring to draw alone. If you feel that way and you use FiftyThree’s Paper app (and maybe its Pencil stylus, as well) religiously, you can take advantage of the startup’s new service to collaborate with anyone you want. This new product is called Mix, and it’s an open platform where all users can share their work by uploading it straight from the Paper app. The latest version of Paper comes loaded with the Mix sharing option, as you can see in the video below — after you’ve uploaded your work, other members can finish it or put their own spin on it.
According to a FiftyThree rep, they’ve already seen a bunch of “incredible projects” during the beta testing phase, ranging from fun co-drawn pieces to collaborative inventions. If you want to start collaborating right now, you may want to launch Paper or to go to the Mix portal to sign up for an invitation ASAP — the startup’s sending out thousands of invites per week on a first-come-first-serve basis, letting people in by batches. By the end of October, though, the service will ultimately open its gates to the public, and everyone who signs up will instantly get an account.
Source: Mix, FiftyThree
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NFC on the iPhone 6 is limited to Apple Pay, at least for now
If you were hoping to use NFC on the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to pair with your camera or share files with friends… well, you’ll have to keep waiting. Apple has confirmed to Cult of Mac that the new iPhones’ near field wireless is currently limited to use with Apple Pay. In other words, you won’t see it used either for core iOS features or in third-party apps, at least not in the near future. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the technology will go to waste in the long run. We already know that the Apple Watch can unlock your hotel door, so the crew in Cupertino isn’t averse to letting developers use NFC for tasks beyond payments. And if you’ll recall, Apple initially limited its Touch ID fingerprint reader to unlocking the iPhone and making iTunes purchases before opening it up to developers in iOS 8; it wouldn’t be surprising to see expanded NFC support on the iPhone once Apple is more comfortable.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Cult of Mac
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LittleBits’ BitLab wants to be the app store of hardware components
Thinking about building something out of LittleBits’ library of interconnecting circuit boards? Until today, your creativity has been artificially limited — LittleBits uses a proprietary magnetic connector for each of its snap-on components, without any ability to add objects to your project that fall outside of the company’s offered modules. Today that changes: Today LittleBits announced a new program that allows customers to prototype, design, manufacture and sell their own LittleBit components. It’s called Bitlab, and the company hopes that it will become an “App Store for hardware.”
Despite the company’s comparison to Apple’s App Store, the BitLab is a little more complicated than a software distribution system. Hardware developers interested in adding to LittleBits’ component library need to build a working-model hardware out of the BitLab HDK — a $39.95 kit that comes with a collection of modules (also all sold separately) deigned to be connected to breadboards or non-standard components for the express purpose of prototyping. Developers then submit their prototype schematics to the BitLab website, where it will face the scrutiny of both the community and the LittleBits staff. If a prospective module is approved, LittleBits will work with the developer to streamline the product, push it through to manufacturing and award the designer 10% of the modules sales on the LittleBits’ store.
Company CEO and founder Ayah Bdier sees the BitLab as more than a way to give the community a way to design its own components though, she sees it as a potential disruption of hardware development. “When the Apple App store first launched, a lot of the apps were games. They had frivolous features like ‘make your face look fat,’” Bdeir told Engadget. “Now you have companies that are entirely based around the App Store. We think the same thing can happen with hardware.” Either way, the BitLab was a natural extension for LittleBits — the CEO said that its community had already made a habit of hacking and modifying modules to create new sensors and components.
BitLab launches today, but interested folks won’t have to wait to enjoy the program’s fruits: LittleBits recruited a handful of hardware developers to create new bits ahead of the program’s launch — including modules from Makey Makey and Bare Conductive. Curious? Check out the company’s official announcement at the source link below.
Filed under: Misc
Source: LittleBits
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Goodbye Clear Channel, Hello iHeartMedia
When iHeartRadio first launched years ago, it was a just a mobile app to let people listen to any of Clear Channel’s 800-something radio stations on their phones. Now, three years and some 50 million subscribers later, the “iHeart” moniker has grown powerful enough to spark a major rebrand – the Clear Channel we know (and probably love to hate) just changed its name to iHeartMedia. To hear CEO Bob Pittman tell the tale, the shift only really came together six weeks ago, but it’s hard not to to see why. After all, the iHeart name has been talked up by nearly every DJ on every one of Clear Channel’s stations for ages now, to say nothing of the massive annual music festival that’s right around the corner too. There’s also the seemingly inextricable link between “Clear Channel” and stodgy old radio players, an association that the company’s brass are eager to get rid of. No, iHeartMedia is all about embracing the digital music wave, but here’s the big question that needs answering: is a name change really going to help the company do battle with its most bitter rivals?
Source: iHeartMedia
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Meet the Leica X-E, an almost-affordable APS-C compact
Leica just released an update to its X2 point-and-shoot camera here at Photokina. The X-E has a look and feel that’s very similar to its predecessor, with comparable specs as well. There’s a 16.5-megapixel APS-C sensor that, like the X model also announced today, can capture images with a level of quality that rivals that of many DSLRs. What you can’t do, unfortunately, is swap in a different lens — there’s a 24mm f/2.8 optic permanently attached, which is what you’d expect given the light weight and compact size, but if you need to get closer to your subject, you’ll need to walk forward rather than zoom in.
As with all APS-C sensors, the X-E’s has a crop factor of 1.5x, making that 24mm lens equivalent to a 35mm optic on a full-frame camera. There’s a 230k-dot (low-res) 2.7-inch LCD, a 5 fps continuous shooting mode and a top sensitivity of ISO 12,500. The X-E does not, however, shoot video, which is quite disappointing given the price. At €1,490 in Europe or $1,795 in the US, you might be better off spending an extra grand for Sony’s full-frame RX1, but if a Leica’s what you’re after, this is a decent choice. The X-E is available now through select retailers.
Photos by Edgar Alvarez.
Filed under: Cameras
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Engadget giveaway: win a Scorpion EX Pro Kit courtesy of Cam Caddie!
Unless you’re aiming to film the next Cloverfield-style cinematic masterpiece, you may want to consider some tools to smooth out those shots. Cam Caddie has just the thing, with kits like its Scorpion EX Pro. It includes a USA-made composite thermoplastic grip for stabilization and a series of add-ons for mounting it to shoulder supports, tripods and dollies. It’s built to work with DSLR cameras, GoPros and smartphones (up to 5.1-inch screens) and can be expanded with options like Cam Caddie’s 7-inch 1080p HD display to help track the action. And you know what? They’ve given us one of these fully fleshed out set ups for one lucky Engadget reader this week. Whether your doing music videos, Kafka-esque art films or just recording ollies down that double set of stairs, this kit will help you improve your game and mitigate that nausea inducing jitter. All you need to do is head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for your shot at the big time.
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Cam Caddie Scorpion EX Pro Kit, one (1) Cam Caddie Shoulder Hands Free Support Rig, one (1) Smartphone Clip and one (1) Cam Caddie 7-inch IPS Monitor (1080P HD).
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Cam Caddie and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until September 17th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Filed under: Announcements, Cameras
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Microsoft’s new accessories include a wired Xbox One controller for PC gaming
If yesterday was Microsoft’s day for announcing big news (read: a $2.5 billion acquisition), today is the day it moves on to less pressing topics. The company’s hardware team just unveiled a few new accessories, including a wired Xbox One controller for PC gaming, and a portable Bluetooth keyboard that can pair with three different devices at once. Starting with the controller, this is basically the same one that already ships with the Xbox. In fact, because it comes with a battery pack in the box, you could use it wirelessly with the Xbone, in case you need a second controller. Heck, even the price is the same, at $60. The only difference? It includes a USB cable, allowing you to use it with a Windows PC. Unfortunately, for now, at least, the controller can’t be used wirelessly with a PC. Then again, the last-gen Xbox 360 controller started as wired-only, but later got a dongle, allowing you to use it wirelessly. So maybe Microsoft will follow a similar timetable with the Xbone controller.
Moving on, the Universal Mobile Keyboard ($70) uses Bluetooth to pair with up to three devices. It’ll work with any operating system — not just Windows — but you can only pair with one gadget per OS at a time. Of note: The keyboard portion is detachable, meaning you could leave the tablet propped up in the built-in stand and put the keyboard on your lap. In my hands-on, I found the small buttons surprisingly easy to type on, save for the tiny Delete key. All told, too, the stand is sturdy enough to support some fairly big devices, including the 12-inch Samsung Galaxy Note Pro. Basically, you can use it with any tablet so long as it’s not too thick. That means an iPad with no Smart Cover is OK, but an older-gen Surface Pro probably won’t fit. Finally, Microsoft is also re-releasing its foldable Arc Touch Mouse, except this time it’ll come in gray and won’t have any Surface branding on it. It will still cost $70.
All of the above go on sale this fall, in time for the holiday shopping season, with the keyboard and mouse arriving in October and the controller landing sometime in November. Because no: It is not too early to start thinking about stocking stuffers.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Microsoft
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