Much of the Technology Industry's manufacturing standards have been under increased scrutiny of late. An episode of the 'This American Life' podcast where self-confessed Apple evangelist Mike Daisey visited a Foxconn plant in China's Shenzhen province catalogued a myriad of unsavory labor practices. The Foxconn plant is responsible for building much of Apple's product range, as well as others' such as HP and Dell. Daisey told of huge nets erected around the facility that employes over 400,000 people to catch a spate of employees attempting to commit suicide from the facility's skyscrapers. He also claimed the company actively recruits children as young as 12 to assemble goods at the factory. Daisey's story prompted a New York Times follow-up which revealed similar conditions, and prompted Apple to release an audit which corroborated much of the claims. A third of suppliers issued mandatory pregnancy tests, 70 percent withheld pay as a production or disciplinary measure, and most worked weeks in excess of 60 hours. 

Questions about the types of labour and environmental conditions those of us in the first world are willing to support in order to get our gadgets at the most competitive pricing is a topical issue for Smartphone maker ADzero. The company has released designs for a Smartphone manufactured from 4 year old organic Bamboo, locally grown in China. The phone's specs are slim at the moment however the company has said it will sport Google's Android 4.0 ICS Operating System. The Bamboo design is the brain child of London based Middlesex student Kieron Scott-Woodhouse, who was approached by ADzero after they saw an early prototype design of a machined aluminium smartphone Scott-Woodhouse had worked on. The ADzero phone was originally slated for distribution in China, however intense interest has prompted the company to table an additional release to independent retailers in the U.K.

Nokia has announced its 'Lumia' Windows Phone Range will be coming to New Zealand's Telecom and Vodafone in March. The Lumia range marks Nokia's transition from its former Symbian and MeeGo based Smartphones, to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.

The entry-level 710 will launch exclusively to Telecom, whilst the 800 will be available through both Telecom and Vodafone.

Each device will be running Microsoft's latest version of Windows Phone '7.5'.

Tech Specs Comparison

• The 710 features a 3.7" (480x800) capacitive touchscreen, 5 Megapixel Camera, 1.4 Ghz single-core Adreno processor, 8 GB Storage, and 512 MB RAM.
• The 800 sports an upgraded 3.7" AMOLED display, the same 1.4 Ghz processor and 512 MB Ram, 16 GB Storage, and an 8 Megapixel Carl Zeiss Camera.

Both devices will be available in Black - however Telecom will also sell the Lumia 800 in Cyan (Blue). Telecom says users who preregister their interest could receive $100 off the phone in March, with the first 130 customers to receive bonus gifts ranging from XBOXs, to Huffer Hoodies, and Monster branded headsets.

The 800 borrows (aesthetically) from its MeeGo cousin the N9, with the Networks touting the usability and enterprise integration of Windows Phone, coupled with the industrial design synonymous with Nokia. The Nokia Devices will also feature turn-by-turn GPS Navigation powered by Nokia's 'Drive' Service.

It helped support the Arab uprising, aided in the defeat of PIPA and SOPA but a new policy from Twitter will allow oppressive regimes to censor the service in their governing jurisdiction. The new feature has spurred outrage across the web, including Twitter itself - with many users promoting the hashtag #TwitterBlackout and an associated boycott planned for tomorrow. 

If the hopes of RIM's management shake-up were rested on some stability coming to the Canadian based smartphone manufacturer's stock price - those have today been dashed. RIMM's share price on the NASDAQ fell precipitously throughout the day finishing off at $15.56, down 8.47 percent from Friday's trade. All in, that takes the company's stock price down more than 88 percent, since a peak in June of 2008.