Foxconn Invests $200 Million In GoPro

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Foxconn Invests $200 Million In GoPro

Posted by timothy on Saturday December 22, 2012 @08:43PM from the best-way-to-document-an-avalanche dept.

MojoKid writes "The initial wearable cameras [GoPro founder Nick] Woodman created to capture action shots as they happened used 35mm film, but his company's cameras have evolved into highly durable, HD vid-cams that are sought after by amateurs and extreme sports stars alike. It turns out Foxconn digs what GoPro has designed as well. The giant Taiwanese manufacturer just bought a significant stake in Woodman Labs, making Nick Woodman a billionaire in the processes. Taiwan-headquartered electronics manufacturer Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), purchased an 8.88% stake in Woodman Labs for $200 million, valuing the San Mateo, Calif. company at $2.25 billion."

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FoxPro by game+kid · 2012-12-22 20:48 · Score: 5, Funny

Foxconn will buy the rest of the company and accept a buyout offer from Microsoft.
Microsoft's Visual FoxPro cameras will become all the rage.

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1. Re:FoxPro by Lord+Maud'Dib · 2012-12-22 20:56 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  And randomly corrupt your videos when too many people access them at once?
2. Re:FoxPro by Gordonjcp · 2012-12-22 21:01 · Score: 2
  
  Oh ffs...
  I wish I had mod points. I'm not sure how I'd mod that, but I'd definitely mod it one way or the other ;-)
3. Re:FoxPro by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-22 21:34 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Why buy, they will just copy everything and pirate copy brand will take over the markets. Just like with everything Chinese touch.
  I'm serious. 200 millions to get all the secrets of the company was a steal. Wait for a few months and 1:1 similar cameras branded like "Lucky Wind" (pointing at the Predator clone from last month's gun expo - "hey it's not a pirate copy we even changed the name") will take over the Asian markets and a few months later some XunXun brand will invade EU and Americas with 90% cheaper GoPros.
4. Re:FoxPro by Runaway1956 · 2012-12-22 23:20 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Funny - we know this to be true, yet American continues to export jobs and technology to China. Idiots in CEO suits, idiots in Board of Director suits, idiots in Consultant suits - the whole lot of them have read time and time again about the Chinese stealing IP. But, they decide amongst themselves that it's best to take advantage of all that slave labor in China. All that IP given away, in the quest for free or almost free labor.
  Disclaimer: I'm not in favor of existing IP laws, and I don't see the Chinese as entirely bad, but it makes no sense at all for us to give away all our shit. Hell, my neighbor might be a good guy, but I'm not giving him all my shit. A helping hand now and then, but just GIVE HIM all my stuff? Do I look retarded?
  
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  "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
5. Re:FoxPro by retroworks · 2012-12-23 01:44 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Taiwan is not stealing American jobs any more than England is. "Idiots in CEO suits, idiot board of directors, idiot consultants, stealing?" What crybaby planet did you grow up on, an in what year? Taiwan designs and invents more than half the stuff they build, and if Nick Woodman had a choice between being trapped in an elevator with a Taipei engineer like Terry Gou or Simon Lin, or a whiner who thinks every global deal is a loss for America, I think he's wise to take the car going up.
  
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  Gently reply
6. Re:FoxPro by jcr · 2012-12-23 02:26 · Score: 2
  
  it makes no sense at all for us to give away all our shit.
  What gives you the idea that Go Pro belongs to you in any way?
  -jcr
  
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  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
7. Re:FoxPro by blind+biker · 2012-12-23 02:39 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Funny - we know this to be true, yet American continues to export jobs and technology to China. Idiots in CEO suits, idiots in Board of Director suits, idiots in Consultant suits - the whole lot of them have read time and time again about the Chinese stealing IP. But, they decide amongst themselves that it's best to take advantage of all that slave labor in China. All that IP given away, in the quest for free or almost free labor.
  They're not idiots, just psychopaths - they don't give a fuck about American intellectual property or jobs, or any countries interests, for that matter. In fact, they don't even give a shit about the publicly traded company they're heading. That company can crash and burn in the long term, but by that time they'll have their money and be heading another company into the abyss.
  Corporate psychopaths/sociopaths have no allegiance to country, company or institution. Hell, sometimes it seems they quite enjoy the trail of destruction they leave behind them.
  In any case, they're not idiots.
  
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  "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
8. Re:FoxPro by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-23 04:53 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  "American intellectual property" is something that only resides in the mind of someone who hasn't created anything. Any intellectual property rights holders will claim it as theirs not 'Americas'.
That's good to hear... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-22 21:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

GoPro cameras would probably make a good case study about not trying to put everything and the kitchen sink into a product. Instead, make it affordable and good for what it'll actually be used for.
1. Re:That's good to hear... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-12-23 00:33 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Apart from the fact that they're fairly overpriced for what they can do, they're really rather ugly and cumbersome (especially when mounted on a helmet, hardly sleek or unobtrusive), and not particularly intuitive to use (tiny buttons, not obvious whether it's recording or not).
  But what do I know, they seem popular. Possibly because they're robust and they've got a few different mount options, but I can't believe there isn't more good-looking and capable competition.
2. Re:That's good to hear... by NIK282000 · 2012-12-23 04:44 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  300-400$ for a camera that will film 1920*1080 at 120 fps and is extreme sports friendly? That's a steal, if you compare the video quality of their latest one to the top consumer camcorders on the market they are right on par and a hell of a lot cheaper. I do wonder what foxcon eventually wants out of this deal though.
  
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  Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
With a Windows 8 interface... by G3ckoG33k · 2012-12-22 21:52 · Score: 3, Funny

Metro ruined my face
Re:Not a billionaire yet by Sqr(twg) · 2012-12-22 22:25 · Score: 4, Insightful

Value is value. US dollars is simply one way of storing it.
The difference is: One billion US dollars can quite easily be converted into other goods. One billion dollars "worth" of stock in a small-cap company cannot. Especially if you're and insider and thus prohibited from selling your stock in secret.
I bought a GoPro for my son ... by Alain+Williams · 2012-12-22 23:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

who is spending some time in Madagascar. I ordered 3 components on 3rd November, all marked in stock. 3 days later I am told that the camera will be available but a spare battery and bacpak will take 2-4 weeks. The camera is delivered on time. On 18 Dec I am told ''We wanted to let you know that your order will be slightly delayed. We expect to receive the items for shipment to you on Feb/05/2013.". I think that I need a new dictionary with a revised definition of slightly.
WARNING: do not get one of these things if you need it quickly.
Part of the reason for the pacpak is to control the camera. You are supposed be able to do this with an Android app; but that does not work properly.
My son also complains that the camera crashes and it has lost video footage that he has shot. Be careful of these things.
Or in other words.... by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-12-22 23:57 · Score: 2

Foxconn buys $2.25b worth of IP for just 8.88c on the dollar.

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Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
1. Re:Or in other words.... by FatLittleMonkey · 2012-12-23 01:00 · Score: 2
  
  FTFA:
  
  "Taiwan-headquartered electronics manufacturer Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), purchased an 8.88% stake in Woodman Labs for $200 million, valuing the San Mateo, Calif. company at $2.25 billion."
  The summary pulled that straight from the article. The later $1.15b figure is the Nicholas Woodman's 51% share, which is why both article and summary call him billionaire. (A paper-billionaire at least.)
  
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  Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
No surprise by pianophile · 2012-12-23 01:24 · Score: 2

No surprise FoxConn would invest - discreet wearable cameras are very popular items on the factory floor there.

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'Your brain is God.' -- Dr. Timothy Leary
Good for them, but... by jcr · 2012-12-23 02:23 · Score: 2

That valuation is way out of whack. I wouldn't cost anything close to $200M to develop an equivalent product at bring it to market.
-jcr

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The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Not a Good Thing by MacGyver2210 · 2012-12-23 03:02 · Score: 2

Aww, and GoPro was such a nice, successful company, too. Now I have no doubt they're going to have to outsource all R&D and production to Asia and everyone knows that with the lower expense of production, the quality will suffer too.
I won't be surprised in a year or less to see GoPro HD cams starting to fail for reasons they had never failed before. Yay, Capitalism!

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If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
Foxconn gets out of its niche. by Animats · 2012-12-23 05:51 · Score: 2

Foxconn, the biggest consumer electronics manufacturer in the world and China's largest private employer, is a contract manufacturer. They have no product lines of their own. This puts them in the lowest margin part of the product food chain. Although Foxconn makes the iPhone, the iPad, the Wii, and the XBox, the companies who own the brand make much more per unit than Foxconn does. At the other end, the semiconductor manufacturers who make the more complex parts also make higher margins.
Foxconn doesn't intend to stay in that subservient position forever. The Economist had an article on them a few weeks ago pointing this out. Acquiring a product line to call their own is a first step. They've chosen one which doesn't compete with their major customers. For now.
Five years out, Foxconn may be a major consumer brand. Foxconn phones, Foxconn tablets, Foxconn stores...
To become a billionaire by spaceshooter · 2012-12-23 06:34 · Score: 2

So if I start a company with million shares and sell one of the shares to my mom for $1000, I will become a billionaire too? That was easy!

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I got lost in space.