'Jail' for iPad

A line of barbed wire, armed officers, and examination of Guantanamo-style prison is a series of introductions in one corner of Longhua, China. A row of stately buildings stand proud behind him.

This is not a prison. Apple Inc. this factory. People may be surprised to see security for supermaksimum in and out of the building. Each worker will face a metal checkpoint before swiping his identification card. The guard will scan the fingerprint driver and out of the factory.

"If discovered there is a metal detectable or other components that employees carried out, officers will immediately call the police," said a uniformed guard.

The buildings were actually more than just a factory. There is a walled city called. In the Apple factory complex that all the needs of employees available. There is lodging, cafeteria, recreation center, even a bank, post office and bakery. But not any time they can come and go.

"Like in the novels of intelligence," Reuters reporter said. Why is Apple so paranoid? What images floating in my head Apple top brass? Fear?

In the "prison" Apple's flagship product is born. This plant is controlled by Foxconn International from Taiwan. But Foxcon alone can not trace exactly Apple products, from the iPhone until the iPad or a digital book. Nothing Foxconn officials who knew details of all components.

To maintain confidentiality so that no trace of China, Apple is superketat keep data secret factory. Apple makes a different system, while other vendors such as Nokia or Hewlett-Packard-general to leave A to Z production to a subcontractor.

Apple has a different imagination. They divide the work subcontractor to many vendors. Neither officials at the factory Foxconn knows where the components came from. Everything is confidential. Apple just a handful of officials who knew.

As the afternoon, the day the sun sends its rays and a box car coming. Not many know what component in the vans. The length of this subcontract path to prevent cribbing products. "So, who knows only official Apple products Apple itself," said an analyst.

An employee at the plant even admitted, "I never talked about Apple's products with his own wife. Culture here is 'shut up'. "

Once there was a journalist who investigates the origin of the components and write it down on paper. Journalist sued Apple directly. Apple's office in Taiwan to sue the journalist with the demands of Rp 44 billion. The reason, activities that damage the system work. Later the lawsuit was reduced to 1 yuan after the world's journalists association wrote to Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple.

On behalf of the same security, even Apple often ask their subcontractors to make components that are not standard size used by the rival.

That is the "inconvenience" that should be paid Apple to make iPhone iPad or not easy to trace the Chinese producers. Without all this trouble, you can imagine how easy the iPhone or iPad traced. In fact, Pad sold in 2010 targeted 2 to 5 million units. Wow! "Prison Longhua" had been presented coffers for Apple.

After all, Apple strictly kept secret, rivals finally peeked too. Manufacturers such as MSI, Acer, and Lenovo have prepared iPad market erode. They now have to present tablet computers are ready to match the iPad.

Chinese factories still a great spy.