09/15, 7:50am
Apple tablet part details appear
Apple's frequently rumored tablet received more details on Tuesday with an apparent leak of production plans. Taiwan's Economic News claims the touchscreen hardware is now slated for February and that companies will start shipping parts in December. The publication reiterates the presence of a near 10-inch touch display but now insists the tablet will be based on a custom processor (likely ARM-based) from recent acquisition PA Semi and will use HSDPA for its 3G access, likely putting it on AT&T's network.
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07/13, 8:05am
Apple Touch Netbook Oct
Rumors of a touchscreen Apple netbook gained fuel on Monday with a claim by China's InfoTimes that supposedly confirms launch details. Backing earlier claims, the site says the system will use a 9.7-inch touchscreen supplied by Wintek and is due to ship in October. Apple is expected to avoid competing directly with regular, sub-$500 netbooks and may use the touchscreen and other features to bring the price closer to $800, much like the Sony VAIO P.
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05/29, 9:55am
Wintek staff set deadline
Wintek workers say they are growing more aggravated by a lack of Apple response to labor rights complaints, and are now asking the latter company to publicly acknowledge workplace violations by May 31st. The employees have been pressuring Apple to enforce its ethics standards, charging Wintek with cutting salaries, neglecting safety problems and demanding unpaid overtime, as well as firing 600 people without warning in December, and wrongfully terminating 19 more workers during a strike in April. Rights groups have also asked for the Electronics Industry Citizen Coalition to investigate Apple's conduct.
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05/22, 7:15am
Wintek Apple Tablet Rumor
Contract manufacturer Wintek has been tapped by Apple to supply touchscreens for a tablet device, Taiwanese integrated circuit designers claimed on Friday. They describe the device as an "e-book form factor netbook" but provide few other details, including when the panels would ship. The news, however, parallels earlier reports of Wintek providing 10-inch touchscreens for the second half of 2009 or later.
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05/21, 5:15pm
Apple in Taiwan labor row
Apple has become the focus of a conflict over worker rights in Taiwan, local reporters say. Labor groups today carried banners and microphones outside of Apple's Taipei office, hoping to put indirect pressure on Wintek, a major supplier of flat-panel displays. The latter is accused of firing over 600 workers in December without warning, moreover cutting salaries, and forcing some of its people to work unpaid overtime in order to fulfill rush orders.
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03/10, 8:10am
Apple Netbook 10in Rumor
The purported Apple touchscreen netbook has gained a minor amount of corroboration on Tuesday from sources of Dow Jones. The trading outlet echoes the earlier claims that Wintek is producing a touchscreen for an Apple computer assembled by Quanta but adds that the screen will measure between 9.7 and 10 inches diagonal, or roughly in line with existing netbook sizes. Other details are still "under evaluation," according to the unnamed sources behind the reported leak.
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03/09, 7:45am
Apple Touch Netbook Rumor
Apple is gearing up suppliers to build a touchscreen netbook that would ship in the summer of this year, according to Taiwan's Commercial Times. Following a confirmation by local display maker Wintek that it's developing touchscreens for new Apple products, the Times said that at least some of these panels are destined for a netbook that would ship sometime during the summer. A regular supplier of Apple, Quanta, would manufacture the netbook itself.
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06/26, 9:35am
Innolux Apple Touch Orders
Taiwan display maker Innolux has landed new orders for touchscreens from Apple, say claims from those inside the industry. While few details are available, the company is expected to start shipments soon; the company itself declines to either confirm or deny orders from Apple but says it will soon ship a production run of touch panels using capacitive input like that of Apple's handhelds.
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