this is odd that you can get away with just going from store to stoer and then commit what seems to be day light robbery, at first but at the end of the day they still sell apple products at the right price and buy them from apple (hopefully) so if thats the case its no differant from buying your ipad at pc world etc... except for the fact you get are being misled i dont have a problem with this.. infact when i go to china i would like to go to one of these fake store's
this is odd that you can get away with just going from store to stoer and then commit what seems to be day light robbery, at first but at the end of the day they still sell apple products at the right price and buy them from apple (hopefully) so if thats the case its no differant from buying your ipad at pc world etc... except for the fact you get are being misled i dont have a problem with this.. infact when i go to china i would like to go to one of these fake store's
Only thing is I wouldn't trust the products I buy from them. They could be stolen, improperly obtained, have warranty issues, not registered properly in the Apple serial and warranty database, etc.
IMO western retailers are going to have major problems selling their products in china. Especially companies like Apple that have to protect their IP. Am I the only one who sees big problems for the west in China overall? The potential for relationships to be strained and American companies leaving seems high at this point. Not unlike businesses that attempted to move into Russia. The system for buyouts, payoffs, bribery, corruption and threats was cited by a personal friend of mine (who's job it is to asses these problems) as the reason Western companies were leaving. Doesn't seem much different in China to me.
There are huge challenges with China but still:
1. Western companies are able to exploit the cheap labour and manufacturing costs
2. Western companies want to sell their products to the rising middle and upper class
3. The Chinese might be dodgy but they want to make money at the end of the day
Sadly, in our current global economy the risk of getting burnt is deemed well worth it by many companies from all corners of the world.
Is anyone surprised at all by these fake stores? Any company that does business in China deserves what it gets.
The biggest strategic mistake the US made with China was during the Clinton administration, when the US approved China's admission into the WTO. China gave lip service to human rights and respect for IP and environmental issues in order to get into the trade group, then promptly ignored it all.
Greed is the only reason any company does business with China. The planet would be better off if humans could overcome that motivation.
I'd be willing to bet that during negotiations to bring the iPhone to China, Apple was asked to make phones brickable to squelch dissidence. And the reply was probably along the lines of "You can do that at the carrier level," NOT "You're considering that? We won't sell to you."
Ironically, if you ask an average Chinese, he would say it was the biggest strategic mistake of China to join the freaking WTO. The special exemption from WTO rules that Western countries demanded from China on trade barriers is now been repeatedly used against China in trade dispute.
When you talk about China giving lip service to environmental issues, you may want to check out the facts first. When China attempted to control production of coke used in iron production, because it's dirty and emit large amount of Carbon monoxide, European countries made a WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export. When China attempted to control production of rare earth metals, where the extraction process is very polluting, US joined other countries in making WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export.
Fact of matter is, nobody in power care about environmental and human right issues. Those are nothing but convenient tools to use to limit China. The moment any Chinese attempts in these areas actually harms Western interest, as in the two examples above, some other rules will be invoked to stop it.
I was speaking to a mainland chinese guy, he thinks the stores should be allowed to remain open. He said if the store sells legit stuff it's good but if they are selling fake Apple stuff then people would know and they wouldn't be in business for too long.
First off carriers can't brick the phone, all they can do is terminate the SIM - easy enough to switch SIMs. Second, do you think that Chinese dissidents would be in a better position if companies weren't willing to sell mobile phones in China because the Chinese government might try to brick them? Really?
Presumably you'd like to see western sanctions against China, given how well that's worked against Cuba? Sorry but it seems very hard to believe you're motivated by concern for the Chinese people.
My point was less about the technology and more about the idea that Apple shouldn't be doing business in China at all. I know it's idealistic to think the US could avoid all trade with the world's largest country, or that anyone except the Chinese could change the political scene. That doesn't mean I have to like it; ergo my opinion that Apple, Google, and other companies deserve what they get for operating there.
You're quite right about sanctions--they don't work. But unless I'm missing something, WTO entry opened a lot of doors for Chinese exports. IMO China's economic rise has prolonged its repressive regime by keeping more people "fat" and happy. That repression may be inevitable, but that's really dispiriting to consider.
And you're also right that concern for the Chinese isn't my prime mover. I am equally if not more concerned by China's rising pollution and resource consumption. Clearly the US has a ton of its own problems on these fronts; if China and India get infected with similar lifestyle obsessions, the implications ain't great.
Ironically, if you ask an average Chinese, he would say it was the biggest strategic mistake of China to join the freaking WTO. The special exemption from WTO rules that Western countries demanded from China on trade barriers is now been repeatedly used against China in trade dispute.
When you talk about China giving lip service to environmental issues, you may want to check out the facts first. When China attempted to control production of coke used in iron production, because it's dirty and emit large amount of Carbon monoxide, European countries made a WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export. When China attempted to control production of rare earth metals, where the extraction process is very polluting, US joined other countries in making WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export.
That strikes me as a self-serving, after-the fact, slightly paranoid interpretation. I don't see how China could gripe about WTO rules when it worked so hard to get into the organization. As for environmental issues, steel production is hardly the whole story. The examples you cite don't ring true given the country's massive coal burn rate.
Comments
First off carriers can't brick the phone
IMEI Number - learn it and love it
I love that guy in the photo!!! How can he remain at that angle without falling?
He's the coolest dude on the net right now. Let's start a meme on it.
Still, it looks busier than the MS Stores and probably doing better business.
Anyone out there know if Apple has wholesale tiers for larger buys?
Ingram Micro and TechData both stock Apple products if that's what you mean...
He's the coolest dude on the net right now. Let's start a meme on it.
"diagonal planking"
Not that I condone them but the level of effort put into them to fool the customer is pretty awesome.
I was going to say the same thing about Samsung
IMEI Number - learn it and love it
Still doesn't brick the phone, you can switch it to another network, or use it on wi-fi only.
I love that guy in the photo!!! How can he remain at that angle without falling?
Hours of gruelling training by "Apple".
this is odd that you can get away with just going from store to stoer and then commit what seems to be day light robbery, at first but at the end of the day they still sell apple products at the right price and buy them from apple (hopefully) so if thats the case its no differant from buying your ipad at pc world etc... except for the fact you get are being misled i dont have a problem with this.. infact when i go to china i would like to go to one of these fake store's
Only thing is I wouldn't trust the products I buy from them. They could be stolen, improperly obtained, have warranty issues, not registered properly in the Apple serial and warranty database, etc.
IMO western retailers are going to have major problems selling their products in china. Especially companies like Apple that have to protect their IP. Am I the only one who sees big problems for the west in China overall? The potential for relationships to be strained and American companies leaving seems high at this point. Not unlike businesses that attempted to move into Russia. The system for buyouts, payoffs, bribery, corruption and threats was cited by a personal friend of mine (who's job it is to asses these problems) as the reason Western companies were leaving. Doesn't seem much different in China to me.
There are huge challenges with China but still:
1. Western companies are able to exploit the cheap labour and manufacturing costs
2. Western companies want to sell their products to the rising middle and upper class
3. The Chinese might be dodgy but they want to make money at the end of the day
Sadly, in our current global economy the risk of getting burnt is deemed well worth it by many companies from all corners of the world.
Is anyone surprised at all by these fake stores? Any company that does business in China deserves what it gets.
The biggest strategic mistake the US made with China was during the Clinton administration, when the US approved China's admission into the WTO. China gave lip service to human rights and respect for IP and environmental issues in order to get into the trade group, then promptly ignored it all.
Greed is the only reason any company does business with China. The planet would be better off if humans could overcome that motivation.
I'd be willing to bet that during negotiations to bring the iPhone to China, Apple was asked to make phones brickable to squelch dissidence. And the reply was probably along the lines of "You can do that at the carrier level," NOT "You're considering that? We won't sell to you."
Ironically, if you ask an average Chinese, he would say it was the biggest strategic mistake of China to join the freaking WTO. The special exemption from WTO rules that Western countries demanded from China on trade barriers is now been repeatedly used against China in trade dispute.
When you talk about China giving lip service to environmental issues, you may want to check out the facts first. When China attempted to control production of coke used in iron production, because it's dirty and emit large amount of Carbon monoxide, European countries made a WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export. When China attempted to control production of rare earth metals, where the extraction process is very polluting, US joined other countries in making WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export.
Fact of matter is, nobody in power care about environmental and human right issues. Those are nothing but convenient tools to use to limit China. The moment any Chinese attempts in these areas actually harms Western interest, as in the two examples above, some other rules will be invoked to stop it.
First off carriers can't brick the phone, all they can do is terminate the SIM - easy enough to switch SIMs. Second, do you think that Chinese dissidents would be in a better position if companies weren't willing to sell mobile phones in China because the Chinese government might try to brick them? Really?
Presumably you'd like to see western sanctions against China, given how well that's worked against Cuba? Sorry but it seems very hard to believe you're motivated by concern for the Chinese people.
My point was less about the technology and more about the idea that Apple shouldn't be doing business in China at all. I know it's idealistic to think the US could avoid all trade with the world's largest country, or that anyone except the Chinese could change the political scene. That doesn't mean I have to like it; ergo my opinion that Apple, Google, and other companies deserve what they get for operating there.
You're quite right about sanctions--they don't work. But unless I'm missing something, WTO entry opened a lot of doors for Chinese exports. IMO China's economic rise has prolonged its repressive regime by keeping more people "fat" and happy. That repression may be inevitable, but that's really dispiriting to consider.
And you're also right that concern for the Chinese isn't my prime mover. I am equally if not more concerned by China's rising pollution and resource consumption. Clearly the US has a ton of its own problems on these fronts; if China and India get infected with similar lifestyle obsessions, the implications ain't great.
Ironically, if you ask an average Chinese, he would say it was the biggest strategic mistake of China to join the freaking WTO. The special exemption from WTO rules that Western countries demanded from China on trade barriers is now been repeatedly used against China in trade dispute.
When you talk about China giving lip service to environmental issues, you may want to check out the facts first. When China attempted to control production of coke used in iron production, because it's dirty and emit large amount of Carbon monoxide, European countries made a WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export. When China attempted to control production of rare earth metals, where the extraction process is very polluting, US joined other countries in making WTO complaint that China is controlling the production and export.
That strikes me as a self-serving, after-the fact, slightly paranoid interpretation. I don't see how China could gripe about WTO rules when it worked so hard to get into the organization. As for environmental issues, steel production is hardly the whole story. The examples you cite don't ring true given the country's massive coal burn rate.