Apple iPhone Supplier to Build $10 Billion Plant in Wisconsin

Plant to Produce LCD Screens for Electronic Devices, But It's Unclear If Apple Components Will Be Produced There

By Randyl Drummer

July 27, 2017

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Making good on plans to invest billions of dollars in U.S. facilities, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, the world's largest contract electronic components supplier and global manufacturer of Apple's iPhone, among other brands of devices, on Wednesday said it will build its first U.S. facility. And as President Donald Trump might put it, Foxconn's first planned U.S. investment is huge: a $10 billion liquid crystal display (LCD) panel plant to be built in southeast Wisconsin. 

In a joint appearance at the White House with President Donald Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said the 20,000-square-foot plant at an as-yet undisclosed located in the state will employ at least 3,000 workers to start. 

The Trump Administration said the job total could eventually reach 13,000 workers at the project, producing a major economic benefit for the Wisconsin and political win for House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose district will reportedly host the factory. 

"This is a great day for American workers and manufacturers and everyone who believes in the concept and the label 'Made in the USA,' " Trump said during the meeting. 

The president said Foxconn will invest in southeast Wisconsin while a larger facility, which is being negotiated, is constructed over the coming years. 

"It will be about the biggest there is anywhere," Trump said. "The construction of this facility represents the return of LCD electronics and electronics manufacturing to the United States, the country that we love. That's where we want our jobs. 

"When this investment is complete, Foxconn has the potential to create more manufacturing jobs than we've seen in many, many decades," the president added. 

Businesses have created more than 800,000 new jobs since the president took office, Vice President Mike Pence said in introducing Trump. 

"Company after company are announcing record investments -- billions of dollars and thousands of jobs," Pence said. 

Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, said that Apple CEO Tim Cook has committed to build three "big plants, beautiful plants," in the U.S. Apple has declined to comment and the administration provided no details to back up the statements. 

Neither the president nor Gou mentioned Apple during the Wednesday appearance. The new Foxconn factory, which would produce flat-panel display screens for televisions and other consumer electronics. Foxconn currently builds most Apple iPhones in China. In past statements, Apple has said moving that operation to the U.S. would be very difficult. 

In a previous statement in January, Gou said the company was considering investing more than $7 billion in U.S. facilities, potentially generating up to 50,000 jobs.

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7 Gadgets From ‘The Jetsons’ That Have Become a Reality

By Krystal Rogers-Nelson

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Editor’s Note: This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. See what else is cookin’ now at blog.rismedia.com:

If you were around during either run of “The Jetsons”—first in 1962 and again in 1985—you may have watched the show and wondered if the technology the futuristic family used would ever become a reality. In fact, quite a few of the gadgets used on the show have become commonplace in real life. From robotic maids to video chatting, here’s a look at how the future predicted by “The Jetsons” has become the present, and how you can get in on it today.

1. Robot VacuumsThe Jetsons had robotic helpers that took care of all sorts of daily tasks around the house. Rosie, the family’s robot maid, was always working to keep their home in tip-top shape. While we may not be quite at the Rosie level with our robots, little helpers like the Roomba from iRobot can get you pretty close.

Roomba will take care of the vacuuming for you. It may still need some maintenance—like emptying dust bins or making sure the floor is clear so it can do its job—but if you hate vacuuming, this little guy is going to be your best friend. These types of home automation devices promise to free up tons of time for more important activities in your day-to-day lives.

2. Even if you can’t catch up on your Netflix queue, today’s smartwatches have a lot of futuristic capabilities. You can take calls, set reminders, check sports scores, see weather forecasts, and do other tasks right on your wrist.SmartwatchesWay back when Steve Jobs was just a boy, the Jetsons had little square watches they would watch TV on. While the Apple Watch doesn’t have the ability to stream television—yet—it does bear a striking resemblance to the gadget the Jetsons used almost 50 years before the Apple Watch was unveiled.

3. Video CallsAnother technological capability that probably seemed far-fetched at the time “The Jetsons” aired was video chatting. The characters would call each other up and communicate as if they were face-to-face. These days, apps like FaceTime and Skype make it as easy as tapping a contact name.

Of all the advances in technology that have accompanied the smartphone craze, video chatting might be the most life changing. Grandparents can see their grandkids from thousands of miles away at any time. Soldiers can chat with their spouses and children from across the ocean. The impact this tech has had on families can’t be overstated.

4. Talking TechIn “The Jetsons,” George was woken up each day by a talking alarm clock built into his bed. After being rudely startled awake, he could silence the alarm with his own voice—usually an angry grunt or groan.

If you want the talking alarm clock experience, plenty of options are available. Smartphone apps like the Rock Clock allow you to rise every morning to Dwayne Johnson’s soothing vocals, while dedicated alarm clocks that talk to you are available for the old-school consumer.

Flat-Screen TVsIt isn’t just alarms that talk, though. It’s possible to have anything on your screen read to you using accessibility tech like screen readers, and digital assistants like Siri and Alexa will not only speak info to you, but also have actual conversations with you.

5. At a time when many TVs were still black and white and all of them were thick and bulky with tiny screens, “The Jetsons” featured flat-screen TVs with huge screens that lowered from the ceiling. In the ’60s, this would have been unthinkable.

Today’s televisions are ultra-thin and often very light with huge screens and ridiculously high resolutions. LG unveiled a model at CES this year that is less than 2.6 millimeters thick and weighs only 17 pounds—and it’s a 65-inch display!

TVs that retract into the ceiling are also a thing. Companies like Nexus 21 can install a TV concealment system that makes it impossible to tell anything is there until you’re ready to watch, keeping your walls and living space open until show time.

6. Consumer-oriented drones are basically futuristic RC cars, and military drones fly combat missions while keeping our troops out of harm’s way. Even Amazon’s delivery drones can have an order to your doorstep in less than 30 minutes. Self-driving cars are also coming along nicely, so it might not be long before these technologies converge to bring us our very own Jetsons-style transport pods.DronesThe Jetson kids were dropped off at school each day by robotic drones—a far cry from the school buses most of us grew up with. While we are still a long way off from personal drones to chauffeur us around, the technology is advancing rapidly, and drones are being used for a variety of purposes.

7. Pill CamerasA piece of technology that’s easy to miss both on “The Jetsons” and in everyday life is the PillCam. On the show, George swallows a little robot that travels around his body and performs a checkup. If you’ve had any sort of digestive issues in the last several years, the chances are good you may have swallowed a very similar device.

The PillCam is exactly what it sounds like—a camera in a pill-shaped case that you swallow. It can be a little hard to choke down due to the size, but once swallowed, the camera goes to work, imaging your digestive tract and transmitting the info to a receiver. This helps diagnose a variety of illnesses, like Crohn’s disease, and helps the patient avoid a much more elaborate and invasive endoscopy procedure.

“The Jetsons” first aired in 1962, and, 50 years later, the show’s futuristic vision of life has very nearly become a reality. What do you think our homes and lives will be like in another 50 years?

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How to Use Snapchat for Real Estate 101

• ByPAIGE
• Posted in Marketing & Branding, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media Marketing
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The trick to real estate in today’s digital world is to be tech-savvy. As a real estate agent, your business and services, and the way in which you market them need to stay current with the world you live in. It’s crucial to be familiar with the internet, smartphones and tablets, but you also need to be aware of the applications available on these platforms, as they can help you succeed within the industry. One of the biggest cultural and technical trends of today is Snapchat. With 100 million daily active users as reported by Expanded Ramblings, Snapchat can be more than just a source of entertainment, but a powerful marketing tool for your firm.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat can be summed up as being all of the most popular social media apps combined into one. It’s a messaging app that allows users to communicate via text, photos and short videos that only for a short amount of time. For example, you can take a photo of the interior of a new home you’ve listed on the market, and share it directly with your clients (they must also have a Snapchat account). They’ll be able to see the photo for up to 10-seconds. You can also share it on your story to connect with everyone that follows you, in which it’ll appear for 24-hours.

Use your Snapchat to Provide your Clients with What They Want

There’s no denying that most people do use Snapchat as a source of entertainment. However, people also subconsciously (and consciously) use Snapchat to find valuable information that pertains to them, such as fancy interiors, do-it-yourself projects, home gadgets and even home listings.  Whether your clients are using it for entertainment, information or a combination of both, you can leverage it to provide valuable content.

Share photos and videos of homes for sale, unique interiors and even home gadgets that everyone will enjoy. Even if your clients aren’t buying or selling a house right now, they will start to associate your Snapchat as being an entertaining, valuable and informative place for enjoyable content.

Brand Yourself as an Area Expert with On-Demand Geo Filters

Arguably, one of the best Snapchat features for real estate agents is the geo filters. These are filters (similar to a virtual sticker) that Snapchat users can apply to their content if they’re in a specific area. For Snapchat users, placing a geo filter allows you to brand your content without having to say much. When you’re in a specific area, unique filters become available that are associated with your location.

For real estate agents, this provides an excellent marketing advantage. You can instantly brand yourself as an area expert by creating a geo filter specific to an area. For example, when users are in a city and/or area, they can use your fun, unique and innovative filter. In turn, everyone that they share their content with will also see your filter, which helps build brand awareness and generate interest. You can have your geo filter available for anyone within a minimum of 5,000 square feet to a maximum of 5,000,000 square feet.

Use On-Demand Geo Filters to Promote an Event

Since on-demand geo filters are associated with a specific location, real estate agents can use them to promote special events. If you’re hosting a community event or participating in a local charity, brand your real estate services with an on-demand geo filter. This allows you to raise brand awareness, while also bringing awareness to the event and/or charities in which you’re involved.

In addition, the on-demand geo filter would be available for everyone at the event. As such, all attendees would also be enticed to apply the filter to their content because it pertains to them and helps create a story within their content without having to type a message, apply stickers, emoticons, etc.\

The Snapchat Secret is Creativity

The secret to Snapchat success is creativity. The on-demand geo filters can be used to promote everything from an open house, community event or local charity – and that’s only to name a few. However, it’s up to you to find new and innovative ways and designs in which you can use geo filters to bring awareness to your brand and services. The filter needs to be informative, yet visually appealing. After all, you are designing an on-demand geo filter with the hopes that other people within the area will also use it to increase word-of-mouth and interest.

So, it’s imperative to keep your clients in mind when choosing an on-demand filter to implement into your Snapchat marketing strategy. While it may be tempting to design one with your name and phone number, you have to remember that it needs to be something your users will want to apply to their content. It takes a bit of creativity, but the rewards can be exponential.

Snapchat’s on-demand geo filters definitely have the potential to change the way businesses advertise on their platform. The options are endless and constantly evolving, and consumers love it just as much as businesses do. So, this is one social media application you’ll want to add into your social media marketing strategy.