CNET reports that Microsoft has signed a patent deal with Chinese manufacturer ZTE that includes all Android and Chrome devices manufactured by the firm. This latest deal has just come a week after Microsoft struck a similar deal with Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai. Read More

Bloomberg reports that Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest custom manufacturer of electronics, has started hiring at a Chinese factory as it gets ready to make a new Apple Inc. iPhone, said a person familiar with the plans. Individuals have been hired at Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, eastern China, for the past month, bringing to end a hiring freeze enforced in February. Read More

VentureBeat reports that Google Glass, the advanced wearable computing gadget launching later this year, will be assembled in the U.S., based on a new report from the Financial Times. Read More

In this article titled "It's Make or Break Time for Apple," Guest Columnist Robert Tercek addresses the recent hysteria over the drop in Apple's share price and tackles the timely question: What will Apple accomplish in 2013? . Read More

Cisco formally announced it will be laying off over 4,000 employees, for a total worldwide workforce reduction of 6,500 jobs following the voluntary early retirement of about 2,100 employees. This action was expected and is part of the company’s previously stated goal of reducing its annual operating expenses by $1 billion.

Additionally, Cisco agreed a sale of its set-top box manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico, to Foxconn Technology Group. This will result in 5,000 other Cisco employees becoming Foxconn employees, [...].

San Francisco – An explosion that killed 3 employees and injured 15 more at a Foxconn plant in China is not expected to delay production of Apple’s (NASD: AAPL) iPad 2 or other new Apple products set for production in the third quarter, CNET reported, citing an article in China Times that quoted Foxconn executives.

Since the explosion on Friday, production has been suspended while authorities investigate the incident.

The Wall Street Journal noted that Foxconn officials think the explosion could have been [...].

Shanghai - An explosion of unknown cause rocked a Foxconn consumer electronics manufacturing plant in China, killing at least two people and leading to a suspension of production at the facility, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The plant is thought to be a location that manufactures Apple’s iPad.

The government appears to have ruled out foul play as a cause of the explosion, and local police are still investigating.

“We are working with medical officials to provide treatment to the injured employees and [...].