Something i cannot live without

Cellular devices have become a normal part of daily human life. They have gradually evolved in the past decade to become important assistants to man. Currently termed as “smartphones,” the technology applied in the functioning of these devices lives up to its name in being “smart. ” I can be used to plan for future events and set reminders. It is equipped with GPS navigation systems to easily find location, browser to surf the internet and endless communication applications that encompass the “social media” (Pegrum, 2014). For instance, the accelerometer is manufactured by Bosch Sensortech in Germany, the camera by Qualcomm in the USA. With this, it would openly emerge that most of the components are outsourced with the assembly of the designed product brands being restricted to two company locations in Taiwan.

The companies are Fox conn and Pegatron (Cosindas, 1978). In the making of the iPhone, the five important components are the processor, the storage, the display, the battery, and the cellular connection chips. Each of these is made from a different combination of materials. A labour group in Taiwan has filed complaints about the company’s abuse of its employees in the form of excessive working hours that are not fairly compensated. The conditions in these companies have been under scrutiny for a long time, and published reports offer that Taiwan’s Foxconn was found in violation of anti-discriminatory laws against minority ethnic groups and the women. Further, there are excessive working hours and poor working and living conditions for their employees.

The employees work for 66 to 69 hours in a week which is above the legal 49 hours required by law in the country (Ramburuth, Stringer, & Serapio, 2013). There are also health and safety concerns that arose from the pollution created by these factories. I paid an extra $10 for the shipment of the product to my place. While the expense associated with the product was high, I was rewarded with a seamless functionality that was to meet my communication, entertainment and social functionalities for the next five years or so. Despite some of these phones being manufactured locally, the choice to order an iPhone 8 plus was based on the ideals of quality of the product, durability and overall customer support that has been demonstrated by Apple Inc.

(Ramburuth, Stringer, & Serapio, 2013). Currently, the iPhone 8 plus production was slowed in favour of the more current models. Thus, the frequency of purchase would vary depending on the financial state, and the upgrades that the new models hold. At the same time, it would occur that purchase of new cellular devices may also be tagged to personal inclinations. Reviewing the way a phone is made, and what goes into its assembly to a final product, I have realized that there are people who may have undergone unfair treatment to provide a superior quality product. There are unsettled cases of employees being underpaid, discriminated and forced to work for long hours without compensation. This goes on behind the veiled eyes of the product consumers.