Housewives On Trial In China For Smuggling In iPhones 150
Quillem writes "Last year, Hong Kong residents were finding it hard to get their hands on the latest Apple iGadget even though supply was plentiful. An investigation revealed that most of the iPhones and iPads that made it into HK were being smuggled sans import duties into mainland China—where the devices were yet to be released—by housewives who were paid around USD 6 per smuggled gadget. Earlier this week, 25 of the suspected smugglers went on trial in Shenzhen city."
I've learned this the hard way... (Score:1, Interesting)
Don't make your opinion solely upon statistics and facts. You must consider the opinions of others, as well.
Please try to believe me when I say this, but the iPhone is a must-have gadget in China. It is a sign of wealth that you are able to own one. Most are not able to afford the iPhone, hence the high percentage of Android users over there.
Re:Another Fluff Peice (Score:4, Interesting)
I think you can compare Apple to a car manufacturer like BMW.
Enough with the marketing crap. Android phones at the at an average price of 1293 yuan are about $236 you get an Android Phone that has measurably better hardware than an iPhone for that money and subjectively better software [I would say years ahead]. Maybe you should pick on of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_automobile_manufacturers_of_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]
Re:Another Fluff Peice (Score:5, Interesting)
Come on. Not to defend Apple as such, but how can you call being outsold 1:5 a failure when you have one single model competing with hundreds of other models? When you compare model to model I wouldn't be surprised iPhone is the nr 1 selling phone model at a distance. Samsung is the only one that may rival them, they have some really well selling models. And in the Android world there are new models available almost every single day, while Apple has a new model maybe once a year.
In China it's even more so. When it comes to mobile phones, the US market is highly controlled and restricted, the China market is open. Yes, you heard that correctly: communist China's market is much more open than capitalist US's market. In China, like most of the rest of the world outside the US, you buy a phone, and then you buy a subscription to a network. They don't come bundled. So it's much easier for newcomers to put a model on the market - they don't need to care about having a carrier's blessing. This results in immense competition, pushing down prices.
And because no-one other than Apple can use iOS on their phones, they all opt for the Android option. Many would likely want iOS if it were available. Many would possibly even use Microsoft's offering if it were as cheap and customisable as Android.