Apple's MacBook Air draws long lines, stock-outs in Hong Kong debut
Apple's newly updated MacBook Air lineup debuted this week in Hong Kong, attracting crowds and selling out quickly, ahead of making an anticipated splash in mainland China.
The newly updated MacBook Air is "ready to take flight in China," analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Friday. Over the last week, the new thin-and-light notebook went on sale at Hong Kong-based resellers, and was met with long lines and stock-outs.
Interest surrounding the debut of new MacBook Air models may also have generated increased interest in other products like the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. This past week, stores in Hong Kong were said to be sold out of the iPhone 4, while certain iPad 2 models were also unavailable.
The Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Airs are set to go on sale in mainland China in the next week, White said, where he believes they will be met with a similarly strong response.
"Based on our field checks, we believe the new MacBook Air is poised to be a big hit in the Greater china region as more consumers can increasingly afford to own a PC, he said. "Apple fever is gaining momentum in the region and there is no laptop product in the market with the characteristics of the new MacBook Air."
White noted that last quarter Apple saw its revenue in China grow six times to reach $3.8 billion. Apple executives have said they believe they are barely "scratching the surface" of the market in China.
That room for growth in China could continue to push Mac sales even higher in the coming quarters. White believes that investors should increasingly think about the opportunities for expansion of the Mac platform in the Far East.
Authorized Apple resellers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are said to be sold out of the previous-generation MacBook Air, which White believes is in preparation for the launch of the latest model.
"Our checks indicate the new MacBook Air will launch in China as early as next week at some stores (i.e., Apple or authorized resellers) and in September at others," he said. "Apple currently has four stores in mainland China but has plans for expansion in Huangzhou and Sichuan later this year."
This week, AppleInsider was first to report on price gouging that has occurred since Apple has been unable to meet broader demand for its new 13-inch MacBook Air. Prices on Amazon have been some $250 above retail as stock at official resellers has been limited. Availability of the MacBook Air can be found in the Mac Pricing Guide, included below:
Apple's 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs were updated in July, gaining Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors as well as the new high-speed Thunderbolt port. Apple also added a backlit keyboard to the thin-and-light notebooks, which feature instant-on capability and solid-state hard drives.
The newly updated MacBook Air is "ready to take flight in China," analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Friday. Over the last week, the new thin-and-light notebook went on sale at Hong Kong-based resellers, and was met with long lines and stock-outs.
Interest surrounding the debut of new MacBook Air models may also have generated increased interest in other products like the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. This past week, stores in Hong Kong were said to be sold out of the iPhone 4, while certain iPad 2 models were also unavailable.
The Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Airs are set to go on sale in mainland China in the next week, White said, where he believes they will be met with a similarly strong response.
"Based on our field checks, we believe the new MacBook Air is poised to be a big hit in the Greater china region as more consumers can increasingly afford to own a PC, he said. "Apple fever is gaining momentum in the region and there is no laptop product in the market with the characteristics of the new MacBook Air."
White noted that last quarter Apple saw its revenue in China grow six times to reach $3.8 billion. Apple executives have said they believe they are barely "scratching the surface" of the market in China.
That room for growth in China could continue to push Mac sales even higher in the coming quarters. White believes that investors should increasingly think about the opportunities for expansion of the Mac platform in the Far East.
Authorized Apple resellers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are said to be sold out of the previous-generation MacBook Air, which White believes is in preparation for the launch of the latest model.
"Our checks indicate the new MacBook Air will launch in China as early as next week at some stores (i.e., Apple or authorized resellers) and in September at others," he said. "Apple currently has four stores in mainland China but has plans for expansion in Huangzhou and Sichuan later this year."
This week, AppleInsider was first to report on price gouging that has occurred since Apple has been unable to meet broader demand for its new 13-inch MacBook Air. Prices on Amazon have been some $250 above retail as stock at official resellers has been limited. Availability of the MacBook Air can be found in the Mac Pricing Guide, included below:
Apple's 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs were updated in July, gaining Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors as well as the new high-speed Thunderbolt port. Apple also added a backlit keyboard to the thin-and-light notebooks, which feature instant-on capability and solid-state hard drives.
Comments
/s
It looks like the only place where the price is higher is at Amazon. So people can simply go anywhere else, even straight to Apple if they want, and it ships in 24 hours.
So how is there price-gouging and who is it really affecting?
What do the Wintards...blah blah blah
Just going to repeat something I said before.
If a Windows fan = Wintard, then an Apple fan = A-hole. You seem to be a fine case and point on that.
MBA can easily be purchased from any electronic chain store, such as Fortress, Broadway, Citicall, Chung-Yuen & etc, with abundant stock.
I'm also 100% sure MBA is not released last week here. Total fabrication.
Apple Updates MacBook Air With Next Generation Processors, Thunderbolt I/O & Backlit Keyboard
CUPERTINO, California—July 20, 2011
Pricing & Availability
The 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are available for order on the Apple Store® (www.apple.com/hk/en) today and in Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers starting July 21. The 1.6 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air is available in two models, one with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage for a suggested retail price of HK$7,688, and one with 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage for HK$9,288. The 1.7 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air comes in two configurations, one with 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage for a suggested retail price of HK$9,998, and one with 4GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage for HK$12,488. Configure-to-order options and accessories include a 1.8 GHz Core i7 processor, additional flash storage, MacBook Air SuperDrive® and a USB Ethernet Adapter.
http://www.apple.com/hk/en/pr/librar...-Keyboard.html
What do the Wintards usually say about Apple product sell-outs?
Obviously they say that Apple is incompetent at producing their products.
No matter what Apple does, they messed up.
I live in Hong Kong and bought my macbookair through official retail channels a week after it was released so this is going back around 6 weeks.
Please do not confuse Hong Kong with China and other major Chinese cities like Shanghai
Hong Kong is a country administered separately from China. Get your facts write Mr Editor