Google Docs goes full-size on Apple iPad, Foxconn tops 1M employees

Google this week launched a full-size version of its cloud-based productivity suite, Google Docs, for iPad. Also, Apple's overseas manufacturing partner Foxconn revealed it now has more than a million employees.

Google Docs on iPad

Google Docs now has full desktop support on the iPad, allowing more options for style edits like changing a font, or center aligning a paragraph. Previously, iPad users were forced to use the mobile version of Google Docs, which has more limited functionality.

The full desktop version also allows users to insert formulas into a spreadsheet, which grants them access to the editable formula bar.

"Of course, mobile and even tablet browsers are still not as powerful as their desktop counterparts, which is why we recently launched the mobile-optimized version of the Google documents editor for the iPad," Google software engineer Peter Solderitsch wrote on the company's official blog.

"But we figured for one-off times when you need to make an advanced change, that Desktop link might be just what you're looking for."

Google this week also launched its "instant" search for iOS devices in 40 new countries worldwide. Instant is now available for iOS 4 devices in 28 different languages by visiting google.com and tapping the "Google Instant" link to activate it.

Foxconn tops 1 million employees

Foxconn, the overseas assembler of Apple's electronic devices, announced this week that its workforce now exceeds 1 million employees. And with growing consumer demand, the employer plans to add even more workers during the holiday season.

According to Bloomberg, Foxconn is the larget private employer in China. The company plans to expand its workforce to as many as 1.3 million by the end of 2011.

Apple's relationship with Foxconn has repeatedly come under fire, with allegations of low wages and poor working conditions tied to the manufacturer. This November, employees staged a protest over wages.

Earlier this year, Apple was compelled to make a public statement after a rash of suicides occurred at the company's main plant in in the southern city of Shenzhen. However, Chief Executive Steve Jobs later noted that the suicide rate at the company's massive plant of more than 300,000 workers was below the population average in China.

Foxconn said it has increased monthly wages for workers by about 30 percent to 1,200 yuan after the suicides gained publicity, and promised another raise to 2,000 yuan for 85 percent of the company's front-line assembly workers.


Information retrieved from: http://www.appleinsider.com


(C) 2010 Sam Oliver