The biggest news is that Apple CAN and WILL make a non-GSM unit if the numbers are right. And they will cave to Chinese paranoia and remove wi-fi. Can't have a big customer like China nervous about rebellion via social networking, now can we?
Sorry, not correct. WCDMA is part of the GSM standards, namely, it is the 3G technology. WCDMA and CDMA are not the same thing. The customization referred to in the article is the removal of WiFi, not changing the cellular technology.
The iPhone will only come to Verizon after Verizon gets its LTE infrastructure in place, if it comes at all.
The iPhone-maker will be forced to compete with China's black market. Smuggled iPhones are common in China, and fetch prices of 400 yuan ($59) to 1,000 yuan ($146), much lower than the asking price Apple will reportedly sell at.
How is it possible to smuggle a $600 phone and sell it in a black market for 10% of what it costs you? That does not make sense. Even if it was stolen, it still can't be true. iPhone fetch more than double their selling price in countries where it is not available. Even in Africa iPhones go for over $1,000.00, where they are not officially for sale like in China.
Anyway congratulations to Apple. Now the competition really begins.
"While Apple has yet to reach a deal with any of China’s telecoms to distribute its iPhone, the cellular black marketeers have sprung up to fill the void. It looks like the iPhone. It works like the iPhone. It even says “iPhone” on it. But it’s not an iPhone. It’s a Hi-Phone!
The New York Times recently did a great piece on black market cellphones, or “shanzhai” cell phones. According to the Times, it costs about $40 to make one of these knockoff cell phones. The best retail offer I could find for a Hi-Phone was around 600 kuai, or about 90 bucks.
While these lookalikes are decidedly not iPhones, they actually have some considerable functionalities that the JesusPhone lacks. They’ve got removable batteries. They can accommodate two SIM cards. They have expandable storage. The phones are not locked to any provider. They even come in “Mini” sizes!
And they really do work. While the interface isn’t as sleek as Apple’s polished product, the touchscreen does respond to taps, swipes and even pinches. I touched the camera app and was able to take pictures.
Still, the sales people got a little testy when I started snapping too many pictures and I had one clerk snatch the demo product away from my prying lens and hands. While the Chinese authorities have yet to respond to these illegal counterfeits, legitimate Chinese handset makers are complaining about their underground, and untaxed, competition. In the mean time thousands of vendors unabashedly hock these phones everyday in broad daylight. So if the iPhone is too expensive for you, just let me know."
looks like a dog, walks like a dog, but not a dog. The Chinese are notorious for doing this. that's why the movie/music industries and many other industries don't sell in China, because somebody there will just rip it off and steal all their rights and profits.
I wouldn't be surprised if the actual manufacturer of the iPhone for Apple actually does back-door deals to produces these knock-offs.
The population of China today is 1.3 Billion, of which 300,000,000 are by Western standards in the middle class. That's the equivalent of every single American making $75,000/year.
If they had 300,000,000 people making $75k each, their GDP would be at least $22.5 trillion, but according to the CIA World Factbook it's only $4.2 trillion.
I'm confused as to the black market paragraph. So, are the black market iPhones real iPhones that can be adapted to use for Chinese carriers? Or are they illegally manufactured? So if its a legit iPhone, hasn't Apple made some kind of profit at least? Someone had to buy the iPhone in order to "smuggle" it into China, right?
what they are likely talking about are phones bought under false pretenses then unlocked and brought into the country.
as for the 'news'. I will believe it when I see China listed on the apple website. until then it is just rumors.
The iPhone-maker will be forced to compete with China's black market. Smuggled iPhones are common in China, and fetch prices of 400 yuan ($59) to 1,000 yuan ($146), much lower than the asking price Apple will reportedly sell at.
This is completely incorrect information. I assume the author made a mistake and missed a zero on the end of the RMB pricing, please, look at this source:
Taobao is China's version of E-bay. You can see that iPhones will range from 4000-5000+, and these are the *lowest prices in China*. If you go to a shop in real life (I live in China) and find a 'black market' iPhone, it'll cost more.
Please fix the article, this kind of misinformation will F with my stock value.
Comments
You are correct - maybe for 1998.
The biggest news is that Apple CAN and WILL make a non-GSM unit if the numbers are right. And they will cave to Chinese paranoia and remove wi-fi. Can't have a big customer like China nervous about rebellion via social networking, now can we?
Sorry, not correct. WCDMA is part of the GSM standards, namely, it is the 3G technology. WCDMA and CDMA are not the same thing. The customization referred to in the article is the removal of WiFi, not changing the cellular technology.
The iPhone will only come to Verizon after Verizon gets its LTE infrastructure in place, if it comes at all.
How is it possible to smuggle a $600 phone and sell it in a black market for 10% of what it costs you? That does not make sense. Even if it was stolen, it still can't be true. iPhone fetch more than double their selling price in countries where it is not available. Even in Africa iPhones go for over $1,000.00, where they are not officially for sale like in China.
Anyway congratulations to Apple. Now the competition really begins.
Would be nice to be the guy that picks up the commission on *that* deal!
Yeah ..that would be nothing to Yuan about.
"While Apple has yet to reach a deal with any of China’s telecoms to distribute its iPhone, the cellular black marketeers have sprung up to fill the void. It looks like the iPhone. It works like the iPhone. It even says “iPhone” on it. But it’s not an iPhone. It’s a Hi-Phone!
The New York Times recently did a great piece on black market cellphones, or “shanzhai” cell phones. According to the Times, it costs about $40 to make one of these knockoff cell phones. The best retail offer I could find for a Hi-Phone was around 600 kuai, or about 90 bucks.
While these lookalikes are decidedly not iPhones, they actually have some considerable functionalities that the JesusPhone lacks. They’ve got removable batteries. They can accommodate two SIM cards. They have expandable storage. The phones are not locked to any provider. They even come in “Mini” sizes!
And they really do work. While the interface isn’t as sleek as Apple’s polished product, the touchscreen does respond to taps, swipes and even pinches. I touched the camera app and was able to take pictures.
Still, the sales people got a little testy when I started snapping too many pictures and I had one clerk snatch the demo product away from my prying lens and hands. While the Chinese authorities have yet to respond to these illegal counterfeits, legitimate Chinese handset makers are complaining about their underground, and untaxed, competition. In the mean time thousands of vendors unabashedly hock these phones everyday in broad daylight. So if the iPhone is too expensive for you, just let me know."
looks like a dog, walks like a dog, but not a dog. The Chinese are notorious for doing this. that's why the movie/music industries and many other industries don't sell in China, because somebody there will just rip it off and steal all their rights and profits.
I wouldn't be surprised if the actual manufacturer of the iPhone for Apple actually does back-door deals to produces these knock-offs.
Yeah ..that would be nothing to Yuan about.
That would be funnier if yuan wasn't pronounced like "YOO-win".
The population of China today is 1.3 Billion, of which 300,000,000 are by Western standards in the middle class. That's the equivalent of every single American making $75,000/year.
If they had 300,000,000 people making $75k each, their GDP would be at least $22.5 trillion, but according to the CIA World Factbook it's only $4.2 trillion.
I'm confused as to the black market paragraph. So, are the black market iPhones real iPhones that can be adapted to use for Chinese carriers? Or are they illegally manufactured? So if its a legit iPhone, hasn't Apple made some kind of profit at least? Someone had to buy the iPhone in order to "smuggle" it into China, right?
what they are likely talking about are phones bought under false pretenses then unlocked and brought into the country.
as for the 'news'. I will believe it when I see China listed on the apple website. until then it is just rumors.
The iPhone-maker will be forced to compete with China's black market. Smuggled iPhones are common in China, and fetch prices of 400 yuan ($59) to 1,000 yuan ($146), much lower than the asking price Apple will reportedly sell at.
This is completely incorrect information. I assume the author made a mistake and missed a zero on the end of the RMB pricing, please, look at this source:
http://search1.taobao.com/browse/0/n...at_topsearch=1
Taobao is China's version of E-bay. You can see that iPhones will range from 4000-5000+, and these are the *lowest prices in China*. If you go to a shop in real life (I live in China) and find a 'black market' iPhone, it'll cost more.
Please fix the article, this kind of misinformation will F with my stock value.