Apple Inc. Controversy
Criticism of Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. has received criticism for the use of sweatshop labor, environmental destruction, and unethical business practices.
Additionally, it has been criticized for its litigious legal policy of suing before first gathering all the facts necessary to pursue a legitimate lawsuit.
Accusations of anti-competitive behavior
iPhone
There has been criticism of the iPhone and the iPod being locked into iTunes and creating an iTunes Store monopoly for these devices. Similarly, Apple has not licensed its FairPlay DRM system to any other company, preventing content purchased from the iTunes store being used on other manufacturers’ devices. As of April 2009, all music on the iTunes Store is DRM-free. However, this does not apply to other content.
ITunes …show more content…
Apple was caught up in controversy regarding the online sales of music in the European Union where, as a single market, customers are free to purchase goods and services from any member state.
ITunes Stores there forced consumers and other music buyers to iTunes-only sites by restricting content purchases to the country from which the customers’ payment details originated, which in turn forced users in some countries to pay higher prices. On December 3, 2004 the British Office of Fair Trading referred the iTunes Music Store to the European Commission for violation of EU free-trade legislation. Apple commented that they did not believe they violated EU law, but were restricted by legal limits to the rights granted to them by the music labels and publishers. PC World commented that it appeared “the Commission’s main target is not Apple but the music companies and music rights agencies, which work on a national basis and give Apple very little choice but to offer national
stores”.
Google Voice controversy
Apple has been criticized over attempting to prevent iPhone users from using the Google Voice application by disabling it on the iPhone. Apple declined to approve the Google application for use on the iPhone, claiming that the application altered iPhone intended functionality, i.e., that with Google voice installation, voicemail is no longer routed to the iPhone’s native application Visual Voicemail but instead is routed through Google’s application, thus “ruining” the iPhone user experience. This caused controversy among iPhone developers and users, and the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began investigating Apple’s active decision to deny users’ ability to install Google Voice from the Apple online store from where users routinely download and install iPhone applications.
Antitrust issue with Adobe Flash and iPhone OS controversy
With the release of iPhone OS 4.0 SDK, Apple changed its terms of service to prohibit programs that are originally written in non-Apple approved languages from being used on the iPhone. This was criticized for being anti-competitive by disallowing use of Adobe Flash and other programs on the iPhone. The New York Times quoted an Adobe employee alleging the policy to be anti-competitive. On May 3, 2010, Ars Technica and The New York Post reported the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are deciding which agency will launch an antitrust investigation into the matter.
The controversy over Apple’s changes to section 3.3.1 of the iPhone SDK license agreement erupted after John Gruber’s April 8, 2010 Daring Fireball blog post entitled, New iPhone Developer Agreement Bans the Use of Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone. Strong opposition to Apple’s licensing changes spread quickly with bloggers and others. Others were quick to note that the language used in the agreement also banned other developer tools including MonoTouch, Lua, Unity3D, and many others.
Price switching
Apple has been criticized for post-launch price changes, most notably after the price of the iPhone was reduced by $200 just two months after its release, resulting in a flood of complaints to Apple. Apple worked to rectify complaints by offering $100 store credit to early iPhone customers who had bought their iPhones from Apple or AT&T.
Corporate secrecy
Apple has also been criticized for its methods of tightly controlling information regarding product launches, deliberately passing out misinformation in an effort to find leakers and keep the media unsure of Apple Inc.’s current developments. Many agree that Apple’s methods result in more hype surrounding product launches. In some cases, Apple deliberately leaks information to the public to gauge potential viability of products such as the Apple iPad. Many attribute Apple’s secrecy to Steve Jobs’ reclusive nature where “he has always kept things close to the vest…and only confided in relatively few people.
Corporate secrecy policy’s effect on media relations
Think Secret lawsuit
• Further information: Think Secret and Apple v. Does
With regard to leaked information about new Apple products, Apple has been accused of pressuring journalists to release their sources, has filed lawsuits against unknown persons, “John Does”, to find out how their product information has been leaked and has been chastised by the courts for doing so as an abuse of the legal discovery process. In particular, Apple fought a protracted battle against the Think Secret web site that resulted in a “positive solution for both sides”. No sources were revealed.
Gizmodo incident
In April 2010 a Gizmodo editor, Jason Chen, became the subject of legal controversy in San Mateo, California when the California Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (a multi-county task force that investigates high-tech crimes in the Silicon Valley area, which Apple is a member of the steering committee) seized computers from the editor’s home office, ostensibly to investigate the reverse-engineering of an iPhone. The Gizmodo blog published an article the week prior about the iPhone product’s future, including a product dissection, after Chen’s purchase of a stolen iPhone device. Gawker Media published the warrant on its website as an example of over-reaching by Apple and its improper use of law enforcement to police its patents. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has also come to the defense of Gizmodo, citing the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 that protects journalists from police “rummaging through sensitive information contained in a reporter’s notes and communications” and the warrant served was too broad, as it included “all records and data located and/or stored on any computers, hard drives, or memory storage devices, located at the listed location.”
Reuter’s incident
In February 2010 it was reported that security guards at a Foxconn facility in China that manufactures Apple equipment had a physical confrontation with a Reuter’s reporter. The reporter was attempting to take pictures.
Praises for Apple Inc.
Stevie Wonder praises Steve Jobs and Apple tech
During a recent show, legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder took a few moments to praise those who made significant efforts to make the world accessible to every single person. And he made it a point to single out former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his company.
Entrepreneur Anil Dash was among the first to call attention to this beautiful shout-out and The Los Angeles Time's Jessica Guynn transcribed the relevant portion from the video included above:
“I want you all to give a hand to someone that you know whose health is very bad at this time.... His company took the challenge in making his technology accessible to everyone. In the spirit of caring and moving the world forward: Steve Jobs. Because there's nothing on the iPhone or the iPad that you can do that I can't do. As a matter of fact, I can be talking to you, you can be looking at me, and I can be doing whatever I need to do and you don't even know what I'm doing. Yeah!”
The technological advancements Wonder — who has been blind since childhood — refers to are the accessibility features built into iOS, Apple's mobile operating system. These features include something called VoiceOver, which — according to Apple — is the "world’s first gesture-based screen reader." It basically allows someone to enjoy an iPad's (or iPhone's) features without being able to see the screen.
Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
Microsoft's Bill Gates had some words of praise today for Steve Jobs, the CEO of arch-rival Apple, despite the blistering "Mac and PC" television ads that sharply, and humorously, criticize the new Windows 7 operating system.
Here's another highlight from 12 Nov 2009’s taping of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great, a 90-minute CNBC Town Hall Event hosted by Becky Quick.
David Matthews of Columbia Executive Business School had this question for Bill Gates:
QUESTION: If you could just comment and tell us what your thoughts are on the job Steve Jobs has done as the CEO of Apple? (Audience laughs as Gates smiles.)
GATES: Well, he's done a fantastic job. Apple is in a bit of a different business where they make hardware and software together. But when Steve was coming back to Apple, which was actually through an acquisition of NeXT that he ran, Apple was in very tough shape.
In fact, most likely it wasn't going to survive. And he brought in a team; he brought in inspiration about great products and design that's made Apple back into being an incredible force in doing good things. And it's great to have competitors like that. We write software for Apple, Microsoft does. They compete with Apple. But he, of all the leaders in the industry that I've worked with, he showed more inspiration and he saved the company.
Barclay’s Analyst Praises Apple Business Model, Raises Price Target
Barclay's Capital analyst Ben Reitzes raised his price target on AAPL Wednesday, following Apple's upbeat earnings report for the June quarter. In a research note with the subtitle of "Margins Continue to Surprise," Mr. Reitzes said that the company's "unique" business model was vindicated by Apple's continued financial performance.
In the research note obtained by The Mac Observer, Mr. Reitzes wrote, "We believe the 3Q09 report was very strong with solid demand for AAPL products combined with solid execution."
"Most importantly," he added, "Apple continues to demonstrate how its unique business model can deliver industry-high margins over the short & long-term. We look forward to more new products this quarter."
Many analysts have criticized or worried about Apple's (perceived) lack of netbook strategy, and its model of offering high end machines in an era where PC makers were all racing to the bottom.
In this research note, however, Mr. Reitzes recognized that a record June quarter for Mac sales of 2.6 million units sold amidst an economic downturn -- when the rest of the PC market saw declining unit sales -- is an indication that Apple may be on to something with its business model
Mr. Reitzes raised his price target on the stock from $173 per share to $188 per share, and reiterated his "Overweight" rating on the stock. The increase is based on him having raised EPS estimates for the September quarter to $1.30 from $1.28, and for fiscal 2010 from $6.28 to $6.75.
His rating on the sector continues to be a "Neutral."
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.
Jobs Rips RIM, Google, Sings Praises Of Apple’s ‘Integrated’ Approach
Steve Jobs made an unusual visit to Apple’s quarterly conference call on 18 Oct 2010, sounding ebullient about Apple’s record sales figures for the fourth quarter of 2010, and boasted of Apple’s dominance over RIM, bashed Google and praised both the homogeny of iOS and the careful thinking that went into the design of the iPad compared to the “avalanche of tablets. Here’re the highlights, and some juicy quotes:
• Apple finally sails past RIM, makers of Blackberry, in this quarter. “I don’t see them catching up in the forseeable future. They must move beyond their comfort area and become a software platform company.”
• Jobs punched back at Google’s claim that Android’s advantage as an open platform. “Google wants to characterize Android as open, and iOS and the iPhone as closed. We think this is disingenuous…Android is very fragmented.”
• Android’s app stores compared with Apple’s
• Jobs hammers the idea that Apple’s integrated approach is the way to go, compared with Android’s fragmentation: “You know, even if Google were right, and the real issue is closed versus open, it’s worth noting that closed systems don’t always win…we think this open versus closed argument is a smokescreen that hides the real question: What’s better for users — fragmented versus integrated? We believe integrated will trump fragmented every time…we believe that it will triumph over the fragmented approach, no matter how any times Google characterizes it as open.”
• Jobs said the waves of tablets hitting the market are no threat to the iPad: “Let’s talk about the avalanche of tablets; first, there are only a few credible competitors, and they all have seven-inch screens. This size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps…we’ve done extensive testing, and 10 inches is the minimum tablet size.
• “The proof of this will be in our competitors pricing, and that’s why we think the current crop of seven-inch tablets will be DOA. Sounds like lots of fun ahead.”
Fun indeed.
INTEL, APPLE PRAISED FOR CLEAN MINERAL EFFORTS
Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Intel have become "pioneers of progress" through their efforts to avoid purchasing minerals that fund armed groups in Central Africa, an advocacy group said Thursday.
The Enough Project ranked companies based on the steps they have taken to make sure their mobile phones, iPads and other gadgets aren't paying for the weapons used to terrorize Congolese civilians.
The group's advocacy was instrumental in pushing through U.S. legislation that has caused a dramatic decline in the minerals trade from embattled areas of the Congo. However, the reduction in exports hasn't led to a corresponding decrease in violence — eastern Congo is in the grip of a fresh rebellion, and 280,000 people have fled their homes since April.
Congo is home to about 70 percent of the world's supply of tantalum, a metal used in cell phones, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The vast country also has massive amounts of tin, gold, copper and cobalt.
Although most of the companies had shown improvement since 2010, the Enough Project cited video game console maker Nintendo Co. as trailing behind the rest of the industry when it comes to "conflict minerals."
Armed groups vying for control of these riches have used profits from illegal mining to purchase weapons used in gruesome attacks on civilians. In other cases, they have captured people and forced them to do the digging.
"The exploitation of Congo's mineral resources continues to exacerbate conflict and instability on the ground and consumers are still largely in the dark as to whether or not their products are conflict free," the report said.
The idea that mining exacerbates the Congolese conflict is controversial. Many experts say the real problem in eastern Congo is the lack of a functioning government, not that there are valuable minerals there.
"The minerals trade is a symptom of a deeper problem — that nobody is in charge," said Laura Seay, an assistant professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta who studies the eastern Congo and travels there.
Thursday's (16 Aug 2012) report comes just days before a key development is expected on the issue. U.S. legislation passed in July 2010 required American companies using tungsten, tin, tantalum and gold to reveal their supply chains in an effort to avoid using conflict minerals.
However, the law has not been fully implemented yet because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to draft rules on how the law should be applied. The SEC is due to vote on those final regulations next Wednesday.
Even though that law is not yet in effect, the Enough Project said its existence already had helped propel many companies to take action.
The Washington-based group praised Intel Corp. for its pledge to produce a conflict-free micro processing chip by 2013, becoming the first company to publicly commit to such a deadline.
It also singled out Hewlett-Packard Co. as "the most active corporate participant in a diplomacy work group on Congo."
Apple Inc. was the first company to require its suppliers to use only metals from smelters that have been certified "conflict-free," when enough are available, the Enough Project said.
The group also gave high points to Motorola Solutions Inc., Royal Philips Electronics N.V., Acer Group, Dell Inc. and Microsoft Corp., but described other companies as "laggards."
"Despite growing public awareness about this issue and significant industry movement, Nintendo has made no known effort to trace or audit its supply chain," the report said. "Sharp, HTC, Nikon, and Canon are taking initial steps to join industry efforts, but their progress remains far behind industry leaders."
In a statement released Thursday, Nintendo said it outsources the manufacture and assembly of all Nintendo products and "therefore is not directly involved in the sourcing of raw materials that are ultimately used in our products."
"We nonetheless take our social responsibilities as a global company very seriously and expect our production partners to do the same," the statement said.
The Enough Project said that it wanted the companies to know more about the origins of the minerals they were buying, but not to avoid buying from the country altogether.
"A handful of companies are helping Congo develop a clean trade, but some companies are taking a hands-off approach to instruct their suppliers to not buy minerals from Congo and the region," the group said. "This approach helps cut off armed groups but leaves mining communities in Congo behind."
Apple Inc. has received criticism for the use of sweatshop labor, environmental destruction, and unethical business practices.
Additionally, it has been criticized for its litigious legal policy of suing before first gathering all the facts necessary to pursue a legitimate lawsuit.
Accusations of anti-competitive behavior
iPhone
There has been criticism of the iPhone and the iPod being locked into iTunes and creating an iTunes Store monopoly for these devices. Similarly, Apple has not licensed its FairPlay DRM system to any other company, preventing content purchased from the iTunes store being used on other manufacturers’ devices. As of April 2009, all music on the iTunes Store is DRM-free. However, this does not apply to other content.
ITunes …show more content…
Apple was caught up in controversy regarding the online sales of music in the European Union where, as a single market, customers are free to purchase goods and services from any member state.
ITunes Stores there forced consumers and other music buyers to iTunes-only sites by restricting content purchases to the country from which the customers’ payment details originated, which in turn forced users in some countries to pay higher prices. On December 3, 2004 the British Office of Fair Trading referred the iTunes Music Store to the European Commission for violation of EU free-trade legislation. Apple commented that they did not believe they violated EU law, but were restricted by legal limits to the rights granted to them by the music labels and publishers. PC World commented that it appeared “the Commission’s main target is not Apple but the music companies and music rights agencies, which work on a national basis and give Apple very little choice but to offer national
stores”.
Google Voice controversy
Apple has been criticized over attempting to prevent iPhone users from using the Google Voice application by disabling it on the iPhone. Apple declined to approve the Google application for use on the iPhone, claiming that the application altered iPhone intended functionality, i.e., that with Google voice installation, voicemail is no longer routed to the iPhone’s native application Visual Voicemail but instead is routed through Google’s application, thus “ruining” the iPhone user experience. This caused controversy among iPhone developers and users, and the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began investigating Apple’s active decision to deny users’ ability to install Google Voice from the Apple online store from where users routinely download and install iPhone applications.
Antitrust issue with Adobe Flash and iPhone OS controversy
With the release of iPhone OS 4.0 SDK, Apple changed its terms of service to prohibit programs that are originally written in non-Apple approved languages from being used on the iPhone. This was criticized for being anti-competitive by disallowing use of Adobe Flash and other programs on the iPhone. The New York Times quoted an Adobe employee alleging the policy to be anti-competitive. On May 3, 2010, Ars Technica and The New York Post reported the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are deciding which agency will launch an antitrust investigation into the matter.
The controversy over Apple’s changes to section 3.3.1 of the iPhone SDK license agreement erupted after John Gruber’s April 8, 2010 Daring Fireball blog post entitled, New iPhone Developer Agreement Bans the Use of Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone. Strong opposition to Apple’s licensing changes spread quickly with bloggers and others. Others were quick to note that the language used in the agreement also banned other developer tools including MonoTouch, Lua, Unity3D, and many others.
Price switching
Apple has been criticized for post-launch price changes, most notably after the price of the iPhone was reduced by $200 just two months after its release, resulting in a flood of complaints to Apple. Apple worked to rectify complaints by offering $100 store credit to early iPhone customers who had bought their iPhones from Apple or AT&T.
Corporate secrecy
Apple has also been criticized for its methods of tightly controlling information regarding product launches, deliberately passing out misinformation in an effort to find leakers and keep the media unsure of Apple Inc.’s current developments. Many agree that Apple’s methods result in more hype surrounding product launches. In some cases, Apple deliberately leaks information to the public to gauge potential viability of products such as the Apple iPad. Many attribute Apple’s secrecy to Steve Jobs’ reclusive nature where “he has always kept things close to the vest…and only confided in relatively few people.
Corporate secrecy policy’s effect on media relations
Think Secret lawsuit
• Further information: Think Secret and Apple v. Does
With regard to leaked information about new Apple products, Apple has been accused of pressuring journalists to release their sources, has filed lawsuits against unknown persons, “John Does”, to find out how their product information has been leaked and has been chastised by the courts for doing so as an abuse of the legal discovery process. In particular, Apple fought a protracted battle against the Think Secret web site that resulted in a “positive solution for both sides”. No sources were revealed.
Gizmodo incident
In April 2010 a Gizmodo editor, Jason Chen, became the subject of legal controversy in San Mateo, California when the California Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (a multi-county task force that investigates high-tech crimes in the Silicon Valley area, which Apple is a member of the steering committee) seized computers from the editor’s home office, ostensibly to investigate the reverse-engineering of an iPhone. The Gizmodo blog published an article the week prior about the iPhone product’s future, including a product dissection, after Chen’s purchase of a stolen iPhone device. Gawker Media published the warrant on its website as an example of over-reaching by Apple and its improper use of law enforcement to police its patents. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has also come to the defense of Gizmodo, citing the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 that protects journalists from police “rummaging through sensitive information contained in a reporter’s notes and communications” and the warrant served was too broad, as it included “all records and data located and/or stored on any computers, hard drives, or memory storage devices, located at the listed location.”
Reuter’s incident
In February 2010 it was reported that security guards at a Foxconn facility in China that manufactures Apple equipment had a physical confrontation with a Reuter’s reporter. The reporter was attempting to take pictures.
Praises for Apple Inc.
Stevie Wonder praises Steve Jobs and Apple tech
During a recent show, legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder took a few moments to praise those who made significant efforts to make the world accessible to every single person. And he made it a point to single out former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his company.
Entrepreneur Anil Dash was among the first to call attention to this beautiful shout-out and The Los Angeles Time's Jessica Guynn transcribed the relevant portion from the video included above:
“I want you all to give a hand to someone that you know whose health is very bad at this time.... His company took the challenge in making his technology accessible to everyone. In the spirit of caring and moving the world forward: Steve Jobs. Because there's nothing on the iPhone or the iPad that you can do that I can't do. As a matter of fact, I can be talking to you, you can be looking at me, and I can be doing whatever I need to do and you don't even know what I'm doing. Yeah!”
The technological advancements Wonder — who has been blind since childhood — refers to are the accessibility features built into iOS, Apple's mobile operating system. These features include something called VoiceOver, which — according to Apple — is the "world’s first gesture-based screen reader." It basically allows someone to enjoy an iPad's (or iPhone's) features without being able to see the screen.
Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
Microsoft's Bill Gates had some words of praise today for Steve Jobs, the CEO of arch-rival Apple, despite the blistering "Mac and PC" television ads that sharply, and humorously, criticize the new Windows 7 operating system.
Here's another highlight from 12 Nov 2009’s taping of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great, a 90-minute CNBC Town Hall Event hosted by Becky Quick.
David Matthews of Columbia Executive Business School had this question for Bill Gates:
QUESTION: If you could just comment and tell us what your thoughts are on the job Steve Jobs has done as the CEO of Apple? (Audience laughs as Gates smiles.)
GATES: Well, he's done a fantastic job. Apple is in a bit of a different business where they make hardware and software together. But when Steve was coming back to Apple, which was actually through an acquisition of NeXT that he ran, Apple was in very tough shape.
In fact, most likely it wasn't going to survive. And he brought in a team; he brought in inspiration about great products and design that's made Apple back into being an incredible force in doing good things. And it's great to have competitors like that. We write software for Apple, Microsoft does. They compete with Apple. But he, of all the leaders in the industry that I've worked with, he showed more inspiration and he saved the company.
Barclay’s Analyst Praises Apple Business Model, Raises Price Target
Barclay's Capital analyst Ben Reitzes raised his price target on AAPL Wednesday, following Apple's upbeat earnings report for the June quarter. In a research note with the subtitle of "Margins Continue to Surprise," Mr. Reitzes said that the company's "unique" business model was vindicated by Apple's continued financial performance.
In the research note obtained by The Mac Observer, Mr. Reitzes wrote, "We believe the 3Q09 report was very strong with solid demand for AAPL products combined with solid execution."
"Most importantly," he added, "Apple continues to demonstrate how its unique business model can deliver industry-high margins over the short & long-term. We look forward to more new products this quarter."
Many analysts have criticized or worried about Apple's (perceived) lack of netbook strategy, and its model of offering high end machines in an era where PC makers were all racing to the bottom.
In this research note, however, Mr. Reitzes recognized that a record June quarter for Mac sales of 2.6 million units sold amidst an economic downturn -- when the rest of the PC market saw declining unit sales -- is an indication that Apple may be on to something with its business model
Mr. Reitzes raised his price target on the stock from $173 per share to $188 per share, and reiterated his "Overweight" rating on the stock. The increase is based on him having raised EPS estimates for the September quarter to $1.30 from $1.28, and for fiscal 2010 from $6.28 to $6.75.
His rating on the sector continues to be a "Neutral."
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.
Jobs Rips RIM, Google, Sings Praises Of Apple’s ‘Integrated’ Approach
Steve Jobs made an unusual visit to Apple’s quarterly conference call on 18 Oct 2010, sounding ebullient about Apple’s record sales figures for the fourth quarter of 2010, and boasted of Apple’s dominance over RIM, bashed Google and praised both the homogeny of iOS and the careful thinking that went into the design of the iPad compared to the “avalanche of tablets. Here’re the highlights, and some juicy quotes:
• Apple finally sails past RIM, makers of Blackberry, in this quarter. “I don’t see them catching up in the forseeable future. They must move beyond their comfort area and become a software platform company.”
• Jobs punched back at Google’s claim that Android’s advantage as an open platform. “Google wants to characterize Android as open, and iOS and the iPhone as closed. We think this is disingenuous…Android is very fragmented.”
• Android’s app stores compared with Apple’s
• Jobs hammers the idea that Apple’s integrated approach is the way to go, compared with Android’s fragmentation: “You know, even if Google were right, and the real issue is closed versus open, it’s worth noting that closed systems don’t always win…we think this open versus closed argument is a smokescreen that hides the real question: What’s better for users — fragmented versus integrated? We believe integrated will trump fragmented every time…we believe that it will triumph over the fragmented approach, no matter how any times Google characterizes it as open.”
• Jobs said the waves of tablets hitting the market are no threat to the iPad: “Let’s talk about the avalanche of tablets; first, there are only a few credible competitors, and they all have seven-inch screens. This size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps…we’ve done extensive testing, and 10 inches is the minimum tablet size.
• “The proof of this will be in our competitors pricing, and that’s why we think the current crop of seven-inch tablets will be DOA. Sounds like lots of fun ahead.”
Fun indeed.
INTEL, APPLE PRAISED FOR CLEAN MINERAL EFFORTS
Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Intel have become "pioneers of progress" through their efforts to avoid purchasing minerals that fund armed groups in Central Africa, an advocacy group said Thursday.
The Enough Project ranked companies based on the steps they have taken to make sure their mobile phones, iPads and other gadgets aren't paying for the weapons used to terrorize Congolese civilians.
The group's advocacy was instrumental in pushing through U.S. legislation that has caused a dramatic decline in the minerals trade from embattled areas of the Congo. However, the reduction in exports hasn't led to a corresponding decrease in violence — eastern Congo is in the grip of a fresh rebellion, and 280,000 people have fled their homes since April.
Congo is home to about 70 percent of the world's supply of tantalum, a metal used in cell phones, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The vast country also has massive amounts of tin, gold, copper and cobalt.
Although most of the companies had shown improvement since 2010, the Enough Project cited video game console maker Nintendo Co. as trailing behind the rest of the industry when it comes to "conflict minerals."
Armed groups vying for control of these riches have used profits from illegal mining to purchase weapons used in gruesome attacks on civilians. In other cases, they have captured people and forced them to do the digging.
"The exploitation of Congo's mineral resources continues to exacerbate conflict and instability on the ground and consumers are still largely in the dark as to whether or not their products are conflict free," the report said.
The idea that mining exacerbates the Congolese conflict is controversial. Many experts say the real problem in eastern Congo is the lack of a functioning government, not that there are valuable minerals there.
"The minerals trade is a symptom of a deeper problem — that nobody is in charge," said Laura Seay, an assistant professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta who studies the eastern Congo and travels there.
Thursday's (16 Aug 2012) report comes just days before a key development is expected on the issue. U.S. legislation passed in July 2010 required American companies using tungsten, tin, tantalum and gold to reveal their supply chains in an effort to avoid using conflict minerals.
However, the law has not been fully implemented yet because the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to draft rules on how the law should be applied. The SEC is due to vote on those final regulations next Wednesday.
Even though that law is not yet in effect, the Enough Project said its existence already had helped propel many companies to take action.
The Washington-based group praised Intel Corp. for its pledge to produce a conflict-free micro processing chip by 2013, becoming the first company to publicly commit to such a deadline.
It also singled out Hewlett-Packard Co. as "the most active corporate participant in a diplomacy work group on Congo."
Apple Inc. was the first company to require its suppliers to use only metals from smelters that have been certified "conflict-free," when enough are available, the Enough Project said.
The group also gave high points to Motorola Solutions Inc., Royal Philips Electronics N.V., Acer Group, Dell Inc. and Microsoft Corp., but described other companies as "laggards."
"Despite growing public awareness about this issue and significant industry movement, Nintendo has made no known effort to trace or audit its supply chain," the report said. "Sharp, HTC, Nikon, and Canon are taking initial steps to join industry efforts, but their progress remains far behind industry leaders."
In a statement released Thursday, Nintendo said it outsources the manufacture and assembly of all Nintendo products and "therefore is not directly involved in the sourcing of raw materials that are ultimately used in our products."
"We nonetheless take our social responsibilities as a global company very seriously and expect our production partners to do the same," the statement said.
The Enough Project said that it wanted the companies to know more about the origins of the minerals they were buying, but not to avoid buying from the country altogether.
"A handful of companies are helping Congo develop a clean trade, but some companies are taking a hands-off approach to instruct their suppliers to not buy minerals from Congo and the region," the group said. "This approach helps cut off armed groups but leaves mining communities in Congo behind."