Apple has been criticized by Chinese green groups for lax corporate oversight of its suppliers in China, leading to poor environmental and work safety standards that poisoned dozens of factory workers.

Ingenic-designed MIPS-based SoCs are, for example, built into Velocity Micro's Cruz Tablets. The connection represented by MIPS-Ingenic-Velocity Micro illustrates an emerging paradigm in the consumer electronics market: A China-developed processor is driving a host of new consumer devices, while a big ODM community based in greater China (i.e. Foxconn) designs and manufactures them, which are, then, promoted by US-based marketing companies like Velocity Micro, who cultivate channel connections with top retailers.

Hitachi said Monday nothing had been decided with respect to a tie-up with Taiwanese electronics manufacturing services firm Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known as Foxconn.

Protesters picketed Foxconn's annual general meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday, accusing both the Apple Inc. supplier and computer giant of poor corporate ethics after a spate of suicides at Foxconn factories in mainland China

Questions have been raised about whether exporters will have to transform their modus operandi, which for years was predicated on a seemingly endless supply of cheap labour.

Foxconn, the contracted iPhone maker for Apple, is manufacturing a 3G version of iPhone tailored to customers in China, disclosed sources familiar with the matter on July 15.

More rumors are afoot that Foxconn is looking to snap up Pegatron, the OEM arm of the Asustek Group, with the deal to go down as early as the end of this quarter or second-quarter 2009, depending on the source.

Foxconn's channel division has been given an ultimatum, turn profitable before the end of second-quarter 20Q2'09 or that's it. That is not a lot of time for Foxconn Channel to sort things out, especially as the division has been plagued by production delays and a whole host of other issues. Hopefully the current restructuring will help improve things.

Jim Chang, head of Foxconn's Czech arm, told local economic and political daily Hospodárské Noviny on Tuesday that the opening of the group's Székesfehérvár (60 km west of Budapest) unit is but an expansion on the Hungarian market. Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság said on Monday that Foxconn would replace the assembling of Acer PCs from the Czech Republic to Hungary.

The deal involves electronic manufacturing services (EMS), which include the design and testing of electronic parts and assemblies for large computer makers. It also involves handling returns and repair services. The Commission said Foxconn was buying one plant in Szekesfehervar, Hungary and another in Guadalajara, Mexico.