iPod manufacturer reportedly wins iPhone contract

Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision, which has long manufactured a number of Apple products including the iPod, has reportedly won a contract to manufacture 12 million mobile phone handsets for Apple, The Commercial Times reports.

Citing industry sources, the paper said the phones will launch in the first half of next year and will "also function as music players", in line with a September Think Secret report. Sources have said Apple is hoping to have the pieces in place to launch the iPhone at Macworld Expo San Francisco in January.

The Commercial Times also reports that Hon Hai has won a contract to manufacturer Apple's "new 15-inch 'MacBook' personal computers which it will deliver starting next month or in January." It's unclear if the story is referring to an entirely new MacBook model, all of which currently feature 13-inch displays, or Apple's recently upgraded MacBook Pro.