A Chinese performance artist named Li Liao took a job assembling iPads, and used his wages to eventually buy one. He then displayed the iPad he bought, plus his uniform, badges and labor contract at an art gallery.
To paraphrase Calvin and Hobbes: “The trouble with avant-garde art is knowing who’s putting on who.”
M.I.C. Gadget (MICG) got a tour of the facility that assembles the popular Xiaomi MI-ONE in Nanjing, China. MICG calls Xiaomi “a legend,” and its brief history is impressive. Xiaomi Tech was founded by Lei Jun in 2010 and released the low-cost Xiaomi MI-ONE (often called the MI-ONE Plus or simply “Xiaomi Phone”) in September of 2011. The company has since sold 1.8 million units.
Both Inventec and Foxconn participate in production, but Inventec’s employees perform most of the work. Its Nanjing plant produces the Xiaomi MI-ONE. It covers an area of 65,000 square meters and employes 3,500 workers. The plant can produce 25,000 – 28,000 units per day, or up to 600,000-700,000 per month.
MICG notes that these Inventec factory workers log 10.5 working hours each day. However, they did not say how many days per week workers are on duty. The article contains many photos, including two of post-production testing facilities.
It’s interesting to see, especially after so much attention has been paid to the Foxconn employees who assemble products for Apple.
Mike Daisey was not glimpsed. Or was he?
“The company hoists a banner on the road that reads simply: “This changes everything. Again. CDMA iPhone 5. Please stay tuned!'”
Here’s another stunning retail location from Apple. Apple plans to open two more stores in Shanghai and 25 total in China. That’s odd behavior for a company that supposedly lacks interest in the Chinese market.