Hey, guess what, while you're all talking about Argentina as if you even knew where it is located, our lives keep moving on with or without iPhones
The thing is, people here prefers Android phones and BlackBerrys and it's been like that since before the iPhone was first released.[/IMG]
That's not true at all. The truth is that the carriers prefer Android and BBs, so it has been difficult to get an iPhone for years. The carriers saw how much control Apple exerted in other markets and didn't like that. So they kept low stock and salespeople trained to sell anything but Apple. This is also why the carriers put no pressure on the government. They are happier without iPhones.
In Argentina, Apple should simply have released all the iPhone models unlocked with no carrier, since carrier subsidies were low to nonexistent to begin with, so the phones were also expensive.
Even then, there are plenty of people with iPhones. There are three groups of buyers, IT people, marketers and designers (who already have Apple products), and those wealthy enough to travel regularly abroad. In fact, now that US phones can be bough unlocked, more people can buy them abroad without dealing with jailbreak issues.
The whole thing is Bullsh*t. There is a ban on every electronic product that do not put money under the table for the current government. They request a Plant, but it could be ANY plant.
Imagine that Apple ships iPhones to argentina (no local manufacturing whatsoever), and they build in Argentina a local plant to manufacture the box they use to ship the iPhone.... Then it is ok to sell the iPhone in Argentina.
The problem with Apple, is that Apple has pretty boxes, and the others manufacturers (nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola) ship in a plain brown box.
I know this sounds extremely silly... it is.
I don't care that much about the iPhone, the real problem is the ban on Laptops and desktop. You can only buy on retail stores shitty re-branded Acer / Asus laptops (which spot a local brand) but are only assembled in here (they import the laptops pieces (main board, LCD, case) and they put them together).
If you plan to visit Argentina, bring an iPhone 4S with you, you can sell it for more than twice you paid for it.
Dude, that sounds messed up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by res08hao
Why are countries that speak Spanish so effed up?
By "Spanish" do you mean Central American, Latin American, Castillan (Spain) or Catalan (Spain)?
I know what you mean though... I think it has to do with... Wait for it... Catholicism as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flexo
God... yeah, the boxes... that's it... you're a genius. What a wasted talent...
He's serious, though it sounds so ludicrous that you think he's making it up. But this is how the "3rd world" rolls. Arbitrary, ridiculous rules that need to be fulfilled to do business, on top of the corruption and bribery, not to mention lack of common sense. In Kuala Lumpur, they made a monorail, and they built one end all the way to the main train/light rail/ airport train/ major hotel interconnection, except they stopped about 500m from the building and you have to walk that 500m. I'm not talking a nice park at the end or encouraging people to walk, it's like they said, f**k it, close enough. Remember this is a country where 24 hours a day it's around 30degC/90degF, extremely humid, and quite hot when it isn't raining (the kind of rain where in 1 minute your entire shirt and pants are soaked). They actually built the end of the track over the final road you need to cross to then walk to the main transport hub. But the STATION is on the other side of the road, ie. you still have to CROSS the road even though the track ends ON THE OTHER SIDE of the road. Again, it's not a health thing, it's a stupidity thing. In Kuala Lumpur there are going to be five separate train systems (monorail, light rail, regular electric trains, longer-distance diesel trains, and now mass transit rail) just for the metro area of 3-5 million people or so. Aside from buses, of which is all jacked up anyway. Not to mention the monorail is proudly made in Malaysia, which when first tested a wheel fell off and hit a journalist on the head. Not joking here. And this was before the company went bankrupt anyways.
In the "1st world", this all sounds like stuff people make up, urban myths or bad memes. Unfortunately, it's par for the course in developing nations. Yes, in developed nations this still happens and it's the subject of news specials... "Tonight, A Special Investigation On..." But let's just say "60 Minutes" in developing countries would be more like "300 Minutes" if they covered all the stuff that's going awry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameronj
First Brazil. Now Argentina says make them here or don't sell them here. If Apple caves to this, what's to stop every country from demanding the same thing? It'll happen.
Other countries are either less silly or have other things to do. In any case it was Foxconn that "caved", from the look of things.
Quote:
Originally Posted by edgardito
Yup, Boxes. I work for an Electronic Company who assembles Phone Chargers. They manufacture the Chargers so Motorola can sell phones in here. It is a great factory... 10 employee take a PCB with all the components soldered to it imported from China, two pieces of plastic (also imported from China), glue them together and put it in the box with the phone and the manual (the manual is local printed thanks to god).
Thanks CFK, you created a total of 10 highly qualified electronic jobs.
On the other side, I teach at a local university, and have 20 students (all old enough to vote) taking a basic computers course, which they keep failing because they receive a scholarship as long as they take the course.
We have a bigger problem in here than iPhones....
Again, dude, that's messed up. In Malaysia there's about USD$300mil in student loans that the government just doesn't seem to get around to collecting... http://www.akpk.org.my/happenings/ne...-owed-to-ptptn ...As in not really debt where the government is earning interest but outstanding money that's supposed to be paid up by now. The government is actively "negotiating" to try and get it back. Not to mention most of these loans and other scholarships are only available to ethnic Malay-Muslims.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cincytee
I, too, wonder at referring to Argentina as part of the third world. My understanding of the "worlds" is the Old World (Europe), the New World (the Americas), and the Third World (the rest, mostly former European colonies which remain economic backwaters). Argentina certainly has its share of old world-level institutions, but, by economic standards, it has slid since the currency collapse several years back.
I think it's easier to just use "developing" and "developed" countries. Though the connotations of "3rd world" are still pertinent in many cases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by edgardito
Sadly, the iPhone is looked as a luxury item in here.
No one gives a tiny rat ass about the ban in here... most people who can afford an iPhone 4S can also afford a roundtrip ticket to Miami or Europe to get one. It is more important for me that Apple sells no-contract iPhone for $650, than to be able to get it locally.
While RIM is struggling to stay high on the smartphone market with their crappy products and their subsidize message service, in here (Argentina) people buys Blackberrys like crazy because they can send free SMS to each other.
Apple way of doing business won't work in Argentina. Who will pay 5 bucks video rental when they can watch the movie streamed for free at Cuevana.tv (and do not mind about quality).
If you are planning to visit some place for vacationing, come to Argentina... we have lovely places (Falls, Montains, Glaciars,), all climates, a nice meat-based cuisine, but don't even think about buying something retail (like a cellphone, a TV, a Fridge...)
Thanks for the insight. I was thinking when I first read your post, ironically, probably all the politicians and businessmen (it's hard to separate the two in developing nations) including those involved in the ban probably all have Macs, iPhones and iPads, either purchased from overseas or more likely given to them by "friends", cronies, as bribes, etc. Again, jut how the 3rd world rolls.
Quote:
Originally Posted by minicapt
Nope. Back in the late 50's, Nehru of India and Tito of Yugoslavia decided they could get better deals at the UN if they organised a "Non-Aligned Movement". The UN was then split into two virtual blocs, Western vs Soviet. The NAM became the 3rd Bloc, which set up a system of selling their votes as a group to either of the other two. To ensure more amusement, most of the countries in the NAM were also members of "Socialism International", which was financed by the Soviets. To make things easier for the news media to understand, the unofficial designators for the three groups became: 'Western', 'Soviet' and 'Third World'.
Again, "developing" and "developed" nations are the simplest terms to use. Though conditions are very varied. I was speaking to someone from Colombia and she was telling me how there people consider themselves lucky if they and their family members arrive home without getting mugged or killed. Not to mention the Middle East.
At the dawn of 2012, I think it is not trivial to consider that most visitors to this page are the 1% (0.1%? 0.01%?) of the world population that enjoy a certain quality and security of life compared to the rest. We should be thankful, but of course still take action locally and globally where possible.
Comments
Hey, guess what, while you're all talking about Argentina as if you even knew where it is located, our lives keep moving on with or without iPhones
The thing is, people here prefers Android phones and BlackBerrys and it's been like that since before the iPhone was first released.[/IMG]
That's not true at all. The truth is that the carriers prefer Android and BBs, so it has been difficult to get an iPhone for years. The carriers saw how much control Apple exerted in other markets and didn't like that. So they kept low stock and salespeople trained to sell anything but Apple. This is also why the carriers put no pressure on the government. They are happier without iPhones.
In Argentina, Apple should simply have released all the iPhone models unlocked with no carrier, since carrier subsidies were low to nonexistent to begin with, so the phones were also expensive.
Even then, there are plenty of people with iPhones. There are three groups of buyers, IT people, marketers and designers (who already have Apple products), and those wealthy enough to travel regularly abroad. In fact, now that US phones can be bough unlocked, more people can buy them abroad without dealing with jailbreak issues.
I live in Argentina, and I'm a Mac user.
The whole thing is Bullsh*t. There is a ban on every electronic product that do not put money under the table for the current government. They request a Plant, but it could be ANY plant.
Imagine that Apple ships iPhones to argentina (no local manufacturing whatsoever), and they build in Argentina a local plant to manufacture the box they use to ship the iPhone.... Then it is ok to sell the iPhone in Argentina.
The problem with Apple, is that Apple has pretty boxes, and the others manufacturers (nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola) ship in a plain brown box.
I know this sounds extremely silly... it is.
I don't care that much about the iPhone, the real problem is the ban on Laptops and desktop. You can only buy on retail stores shitty re-branded Acer / Asus laptops (which spot a local brand) but are only assembled in here (they import the laptops pieces (main board, LCD, case) and they put them together).
If you plan to visit Argentina, bring an iPhone 4S with you, you can sell it for more than twice you paid for it.
Dude, that sounds messed up.
Why are countries that speak Spanish so effed up?
By "Spanish" do you mean Central American, Latin American, Castillan (Spain) or Catalan (Spain)?
I know what you mean though... I think it has to do with... Wait for it... Catholicism as well.
God... yeah, the boxes... that's it... you're a genius. What a wasted talent...
He's serious, though it sounds so ludicrous that you think he's making it up. But this is how the "3rd world" rolls. Arbitrary, ridiculous rules that need to be fulfilled to do business, on top of the corruption and bribery, not to mention lack of common sense. In Kuala Lumpur, they made a monorail, and they built one end all the way to the main train/light rail/ airport train/ major hotel interconnection, except they stopped about 500m from the building and you have to walk that 500m. I'm not talking a nice park at the end or encouraging people to walk, it's like they said, f**k it, close enough. Remember this is a country where 24 hours a day it's around 30degC/90degF, extremely humid, and quite hot when it isn't raining (the kind of rain where in 1 minute your entire shirt and pants are soaked). They actually built the end of the track over the final road you need to cross to then walk to the main transport hub. But the STATION is on the other side of the road, ie. you still have to CROSS the road even though the track ends ON THE OTHER SIDE of the road. Again, it's not a health thing, it's a stupidity thing. In Kuala Lumpur there are going to be five separate train systems (monorail, light rail, regular electric trains, longer-distance diesel trains, and now mass transit rail) just for the metro area of 3-5 million people or so. Aside from buses, of which is all jacked up anyway. Not to mention the monorail is proudly made in Malaysia, which when first tested a wheel fell off and hit a journalist on the head. Not joking here. And this was before the company went bankrupt anyways.
In the "1st world", this all sounds like stuff people make up, urban myths or bad memes. Unfortunately, it's par for the course in developing nations. Yes, in developed nations this still happens and it's the subject of news specials... "Tonight, A Special Investigation On..." But let's just say "60 Minutes" in developing countries would be more like "300 Minutes" if they covered all the stuff that's going awry.
First Brazil. Now Argentina says make them here or don't sell them here. If Apple caves to this, what's to stop every country from demanding the same thing? It'll happen.
Other countries are either less silly or have other things to do. In any case it was Foxconn that "caved", from the look of things.
Yup, Boxes. I work for an Electronic Company who assembles Phone Chargers. They manufacture the Chargers so Motorola can sell phones in here. It is a great factory... 10 employee take a PCB with all the components soldered to it imported from China, two pieces of plastic (also imported from China), glue them together and put it in the box with the phone and the manual (the manual is local printed thanks to god).
Thanks CFK, you created a total of 10 highly qualified electronic jobs.
On the other side, I teach at a local university, and have 20 students (all old enough to vote) taking a basic computers course, which they keep failing because they receive a scholarship as long as they take the course.
We have a bigger problem in here than iPhones....
Again, dude, that's messed up. In Malaysia there's about USD$300mil in student loans that the government just doesn't seem to get around to collecting... http://www.akpk.org.my/happenings/ne...-owed-to-ptptn ...As in not really debt where the government is earning interest but outstanding money that's supposed to be paid up by now. The government is actively "negotiating" to try and get it back. Not to mention most of these loans and other scholarships are only available to ethnic Malay-Muslims.
I, too, wonder at referring to Argentina as part of the third world. My understanding of the "worlds" is the Old World (Europe), the New World (the Americas), and the Third World (the rest, mostly former European colonies which remain economic backwaters). Argentina certainly has its share of old world-level institutions, but, by economic standards, it has slid since the currency collapse several years back.
I think it's easier to just use "developing" and "developed" countries. Though the connotations of "3rd world" are still pertinent in many cases.
Sadly, the iPhone is looked as a luxury item in here.
No one gives a tiny rat ass about the ban in here... most people who can afford an iPhone 4S can also afford a roundtrip ticket to Miami or Europe to get one. It is more important for me that Apple sells no-contract iPhone for $650, than to be able to get it locally.
While RIM is struggling to stay high on the smartphone market with their crappy products and their subsidize message service, in here (Argentina) people buys Blackberrys like crazy because they can send free SMS to each other.
Apple way of doing business won't work in Argentina. Who will pay 5 bucks video rental when they can watch the movie streamed for free at Cuevana.tv (and do not mind about quality).
If you are planning to visit some place for vacationing, come to Argentina... we have lovely places (Falls, Montains, Glaciars,), all climates, a nice meat-based cuisine, but don't even think about buying something retail (like a cellphone, a TV, a Fridge...)
Thanks for the insight. I was thinking when I first read your post, ironically, probably all the politicians and businessmen (it's hard to separate the two in developing nations) including those involved in the ban probably all have Macs, iPhones and iPads, either purchased from overseas or more likely given to them by "friends", cronies, as bribes, etc. Again, jut how the 3rd world rolls.
Nope. Back in the late 50's, Nehru of India and Tito of Yugoslavia decided they could get better deals at the UN if they organised a "Non-Aligned Movement". The UN was then split into two virtual blocs, Western vs Soviet. The NAM became the 3rd Bloc, which set up a system of selling their votes as a group to either of the other two. To ensure more amusement, most of the countries in the NAM were also members of "Socialism International", which was financed by the Soviets. To make things easier for the news media to understand, the unofficial designators for the three groups became: 'Western', 'Soviet' and 'Third World'.
Again, "developing" and "developed" nations are the simplest terms to use. Though conditions are very varied. I was speaking to someone from Colombia and she was telling me how there people consider themselves lucky if they and their family members arrive home without getting mugged or killed. Not to mention the Middle East.
At the dawn of 2012, I think it is not trivial to consider that most visitors to this page are the 1% (0.1%? 0.01%?) of the world population that enjoy a certain quality and security of life compared to the rest. We should be thankful, but of course still take action locally and globally where possible.