[anon(5956773)]

A few years back, Apple was under fire for it's factory conditions in China. Does anyone have any reports on where current BlackBerry phones are made, specifically the Classic and original Passport? I don't think they're made in Canada.

Did anyone read about the conditions of the factories? I know many people comment on the quality of the classic compared to the quality of the 9900. Where was the 9900 made?

[CivilDissident]

Foxconn is a scumbag, human rights violating corporation... I am NOT happy with BlackBerry's partnership with Foxconn which operates factories in Asia, Europe, Mexico and Brazil among other places... (usually stationed where labor laws and human rights issues are lax or flat out ignored...) BlackBerrys are probably manufactured at the Asia and Mexico facilities...

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[CivilDissident]

Yup, Indonesia and Mexico http://m.crackberry.com/blackberry-a...ership-foxconn SweatshopBerry

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[AnimalPak200]

We can take solace in the fact that they're probably just hanging around taking it easy most of the time, making about one device per day to meet demand.

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[early2bed]

Probably the same factory conditions as Apple contractors except that Apple has gotten a lot of heat over the past several years about conditions at suppliers going all the way back to how the minerals are extracted from the ground. Apple agreed to make some changes but I don't know whether those same changes would apply to those same workers who are working for the same companies but not on Apple devices. It would seem that the conditions wouldn't vary whether you were extracting metals to go into iPhones vs any other smartphones. It's not as if the mine in a developing nation has a big Apple logo at the entrance.

[bakron1]

I am sorry to say this, but the average consumer could care less where a product is made or by who, it's all about the bottom line (cost) these days.

I still look for Made in USA labels to support my fellow workers here, but the majority of folks just don't give a **** as long as the price is right.

[CivilDissident]

the average consumer could care less

Apathy... A disease that plagues modern humanity...

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[bakron1]

Apathy... A disease that plagues modern humanity...

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Very true and is the main reason all out manufacturing jobs here in the USA have been shipped overseas for cheap labor and higher corporate profits.

That sad truth is the cheaper cost savings where never passed down to the consumer, but instead to the corporate folks and their million dollar salaries and stock options.

[Cashgap]

Workers line up to work at Foxconn because landing a job their IMPROVES their lives so dramatically.

If they aren't hired at Foxconn, the alternative is not a job at Allstate as a customer service rep. China doesn't have a lower leisure class like the US that watches Netflix until the EBT cards arrive.

They get a factory job at Foxconn or work extremely dangerous and low compensated backbreaking subsistence labor.

Our insistence that these factories offer levels of wages and conditions found in the civilized world only reduces the number of workers who are pulled up into an industrialized life.

[Cashgap]

That sad truth is the cheaper cost savings where never passed down to the consumer, but instead to the corporate folks and their million dollar salaries and stock options.

Yep, now if basic cell phones had dropped from unavailable at any price to $2,500 to $250 to $25 in 35 years, that would be one thing. But they kept the prices high and took all the money for themselves.

Oh wait...

As we know, the price of consumer goods has plummeted for a given quality*. But the same media that thinks the one in a 1,000 people that can dunk a ball or hold a high note "deserves" to make $50 million tells us that the one person in a million able to run a 500,000 person world wide enterprise in a competitive market and get stockholders a rate of return above the market rate "deserves" only some multiple of what the guy pulling the handle on a machine earns.




*Any examples to the contrary reflect either a good that is driven by an underlying material price rather than the value added, or a good that is so many times superior to the good it replaced, it defies comparison.

[TGR1]

Apathy... A disease that plagues modern humanity...

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For some. Others know but don't judge it as more valuable than their own wants and needs. We all do that.

[TGR1]

BTW, Apple uses the same factories as most of the other major CE companies. They are smart enough to keep quiet and let Apple take it, which they do because 1) makes great copy and site hits, 2) they are often held to a higher standard by outsiders because of their corporate culture and 3) a lot of people just plain don't like them.

Apple also publishes annual supplier audit reports, which can serve as fodder. To the best of my knowledge those other companies don't. Hard to criticize what can't be seen.

[lactose]

It is somewhat amazing we are even considering the perspective of the slaves that fuel our modern western economies. That actually is a sign of progress. You really don't see the capacity for perspective taking like this until the post modern meme takes hold, and it took a long time for post modernism to emerge. Not that it is perfect, but it is at least capable of considering factors outside of naked self interest.

[skibnik]

BTW, Apple uses the same factories as most of the other major CE companies. They are smart enough to keep quiet and let Apple take it, which they do because 1) makes great copy and site hits, 2) they are often held to a higher standard by outsiders because of their corporate culture and 3) a lot of people just plain don't like them.

Apple also publishes annual supplier audit reports, which can serve as fodder. To the best of my knowledge those other companies don't. Hard to criticize what can't be seen.

Apple is the largest and most profitable phone manufacturer in the world. There is an unspoken moral imperative that most North American people live by and Apple is naturally held to a higher standard as it should be. With all their wealth they should lead by example there are corporations out there such as Costco that treat their workers well and make a profit. Apple on the other hand is hoarding all their money off shore to who's benefit? That's the problem with neo liberal capitalism.

Loving my Passport!

[whatsever]

factory conditions in Indonesia are better in Indoneisa (dutch law influence) if something wrong they will strike and in Mexico (i have no clue)

[co4nd]

Apple is the largest and most profitable phone manufacturer in the world. There is an unspoken moral imperative that most North American people live by and Apple is naturally held to a higher standard as it should be. With all their wealth they should lead by example there are corporations out there such as Costco that treat their workers well and make a profit. Apple on the other hand is hoarding all their money off shore to who's benefit? That's the problem with neo liberal capitalism.

Loving my Passport!

So you think Apple should be held to a higher standard because the make more money? I disagree everyone should be held to the same standard. If a company can not succeed under the same standard as everyone else they should be allowed to fail. Apple should not be expected to do more than anyone else because of their success, it's fine if they do, but it's not their obligation.

[skibnik]

So you think Apple should be held to a higher standard because the make more money? I disagree everyone should be held to the same standard. If a company can not succeed under the same standard as everyone else they should be allowed to fail. Apple should not be expected to do more than anyone else because of their success, it's fine if they do, but it's not their obligation.

Forgive me for wearing rose coloured glasses but I believe that any person and/or corporation that is in a place of power or influence should be held to a higher standard and lead by example. Ever since the Reagan era there has been a race to the bottom. I hold Apple as an example of just how twisted capitalism has become, don't get me wrong I'm not a Marxist I lean more towards Keynesianism than anything. Its this shift towards Laissez-faire economics that is destroying the middle class and causing cities like Detroit to empty and crumble that needs to stop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics

[joe56984]

Forgive me for wearing rose coloured glasses but I believe that any person and/or corporation that is in a place of power or influence should be held to a higher standard and lead by example. Ever since the Reagan era there has been a race to the bottom. I hold Apple as an example of just how twisted capitalism has become, don't get me wrong I'm not a Marxist I lean more towards Keynesianism than anything. Its this shift towards Laissez-faire economics that is destroying the middle class and causing cities like Detroit to empty and crumble that needs to stop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics

We haven't had true Laissez-faire economics in the United States in a very long time. From the tax system to over regulation, there isn't much "Laissez-faire" economics, that's the problem.

[serbanescu]

We haven't had true Laissez-faire economics in the United States in a very long time. From the tax system to over regulation, there isn't much "Laissez-faire" economics, that's the problem.

I could not agree more! It's a shame that the current system is presented as "Laissez-faire" economics, when in reality is full of state interventions on behalf of various interest groups.

[Craigash]

My Z10 & Q10 made in Mexico, Z30 made in Canada, Passport made in Canada.

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[tryfe]

We can take solace in the fact that they're probably just hanging around taking it easy most of the time, making about one device per day to meet demand.

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Lmfao!!

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[Prem WatsApp]

Very true and is the main reason all out manufacturing jobs here in the USA have been shipped overseas for cheap labor and higher corporate profits.

That sad truth is the cheaper cost savings where never passed down to the consumer, but instead to the corporate folks and their million dollar salaries and stock options.

Along with a huge trade imbalance...

Chinese are sitting on over $1t in their vaults... and the US has to import money via debt every day to keep afloat!
:-)

�   Pastaporto aglio e olio... Mmmhhh!   �

[Dave79]

We can take solace in the fact that they're probably just hanging around taking it easy most of the time, making about one device per day to meet demand.

That's a good one! :P

[JstAntherAnimal]

But under the new agreement with FoxConn the child laborers can opt out of the beatings by enrolling in a subscription for $0.99/mo., so.....

[JstAntherAnimal]

So you think Apple should be held to a higher standard because the make more money? I disagree everyone should be held to the same standard. If a company can not succeed under the same standard as everyone else they should be allowed to fail. Apple should not be expected to do more than anyone else because of their success, it's fine if they do, but it's not their obligation.

So, you'd agree that big auto and the banks that were bailed out on the backs of the American public should have been allowed to fail, yes?