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News tagged ‘China’
iPad Issues in China
Yesterday the iPad had been pulled from sale at online retailers Amazon China and Suning.com. The Wall Street Journal now reports that the iPad had been removed at Apple's request rather than as a result of actions associated with the trademark dispute, but Apple's reasons for the request were unknown. However, Apple may request that Amazon China remove the iPad from sale, simply due to Amazon China not being an officially authorized retailer.
The Cupertino, Calif., consumer electronics giant asked Amazon in China to stop selling iPads because it is not an authorized reseller, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon has since removed iPads offered by other resellers on its Chinese website as well.
Foxconn’s Working Conditions Are Far Better Than The Norm
Reuters on Fair Labor Association’s initial impressions as it conducts its independent audit of working conditions at Foxconn's manufacturing facilities at Apple’s request.
According to the Auret van Heerden, the president of Fair Labor Association, Foxconn’s manufacturing facilities seems to be "first-class" compared to the garment factories which are typically monitored by the association. He also suggests that boredom and monotony connected with repetitive assembly tasks might be among the main threats to employees’ health at the facilities.
Apple Ordered 65 million Retina Displays From Samsung And LG For iPad 3
According to ChinaTimes , Apple has ordered 65 million 2048×1536 Retina displays for iPad 3 from Samsung and LG. Reportedly both companies have already begun production. However it is unclear if this number covers orders to Sharp, which is also rumored to be manufacturing displays for coming iPad 3.
Chinese Authorities and Retailers Removing iPads from Sale Over Trademark Issues
Last week, Apple was said to be facing a potential fine of approximately $38 million as a result of a trademark dispute in China between Apple and Proview Technology, which claims to have held ownership of the "iPad" trademark there since 2000. Noteworthy, Proview is seeking as much as $1.6 billion in damages. Apple believed that it had acquired the rights to the iPad trademark in China in an earlier $55,000 deal with Proview's parent company that also included European rights. But the Chinese arm of the company now claims that the Chinese rights could not have been part of the deal because those rights were not controlled by the parent company.
Now DigiCha and China.com. report that China authorities have begun taken steps related to the trademark issue, confiscating iPads from retailers' shops. DigiCha reports:
In China Apple May Face $38 Million Fine Over 'iPad' Trademark Infringement
iSmashPhone that in China Apple may face a $38 million fine from government bodies over alleged infringement of the trademark related to the "iPad" name. However, the fine pales by comparison to the $1.6 billion claim from Proview Technology. The company asserts that it owns the rights for the name and seeks to win a series of suits filed against Apple. Also Proview reportedly expects an apology from Apple and seeks an injunction restraining Apple from using this name in China.
CNN Interviewed Current iPad Assembler About Working Conditions At Foxconn
After The New York Times reported on the working condition of major Apple’s contract manufacturer Foxconn in China, other publications have been conducting their own investigations to find out more information. Today, CNN a video from a journalist Stan Grant who recently held an interview with the current employee of Foxconn and assembler of iPad display:
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Apple’s Profit Share Among Top Mobile Phone Manufacturers Reached 75%
Asymco's analyst Horace Dediu has published his of profit and revenue distribution in the global mobile phone market. According to his analysis, Apple has increased its share of the top phone manufacturers’ profits to 75 percent. Samsung followed in second position with 16 percent of profit share, and no other manufacturer received more than 4 percent of profits.
Foxconn Ramps Up iPhone Production And Hires Thousands Of New Employees In China
In late December, reports indicated that Foxconn was planning a significant expansion of its iPhone production capacity in Zhengzhou, China. Reportedly, the company invested $1.1 billion and was working with the Chinese government to hire 100,000 employees to the facility.
Apple predicted to sell up to 40M iPhones on China Mobile, China Telecom in 2013
Analyst Katy Huberty from Investment bank Morgan Stanley believes Apple will partner up with both China Telecom and China Mobile "over the next year" to make its iPhone available on all three Chinese carriers. Such partnership could bring incremental sales of as many as 40 million units next calendar year that is only 10 percent of the 150 million "high-end Chinese subscribers".
China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier, holds the bulk of the country's high-end subscribers with an estimated 120 million customers who pay more than 100RMB ($16) a month. The final 10 percent of high-end subscribers are on China Telecom, the third-largest carrier in China. Huberty sees a base case of 26 million incremental iPhone sales in China during the 2013 calendar year with the addition of China Mobile and China Telecom. Her bull case suggests 40 million units for an increase of $10 in earnings per share.
Apple's sixth-generation iPhone is "likely to be compatible" with China Mobile's upcoming 4G TD-LTE network. Morgan Stanley expects the next-generation iPhone to arrive in the third quarter of 2012 and a China Mobile iPhone launch to occur in late 2012 or early 2013.
Apple Fights Scalpers With New System For iPhone Reservations In Hong Kong
Apple has set up an interesting system to combat scalpers who marred a recent launch of iPhone 4S in Mainland China. A newly created page on Apple online store in Hong Kong has a kind of a lottery system for iPhone reservations that seems to target scalpers using bots for snapping up all the iPhones. Instead of reserving their devices on a first-come-first-served basis, buyers are currently required to supply full details, including government-issued photo ID card matching the ID number and the name.
NYTimes: Why Apple builds its products in China
The NY published an absolutely fascinating article, explaining why Apple builds almost all of its stuff in China. The short of it is that companies like Apple simply cannot manufacture products in the United States. The cost is not the reason, however. Years ago, the Chinese government subsidized building cities of factories that can hire 3,000 workers to live in a dorm in a day —or 8,700 Industrial Engineers in two weeks (it would take 9 months in the U.S.).
The most interesting tale might have been the last minute decision to make the iPhones display glass:
In 2007, a little over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to appear in stores, Mr. Jobs beckoned a handful of lieutenants into an office. For weeks, he had been carrying a prototype of the device in his pocket.
Mr. Jobs angrily held up his iPhone, angling it so everyone could see the dozens of tiny scratches marring its plastic screen, according to someone who attended the meeting. He then pulled his keys from his jeans.
Mac sales growing faster for Apple in China than US
Analyst Ben A. Reitzes with Barclays Capital said in a note to investors on Wednesday that Apple's growth in China now extends beyond the iPhone and iPad, with Mac sales there also continuing to outpace the U.S. Reitzes believes that Apple's total global sales will be up 22 percent year over year, thanks largely to rapid expansion in China.
"We believe Mac sales remain relatively strong even as the economy weakens, benefitting from new stores in China and strong sales of the MacBook Air," he said. "Even though the economy and HDD shortages are concerns that could limit upside, we remain comfortable with our estimate for 22% (year over year) Mac unit growth for (the fourth quarter of calendar 2011) given overseas momentum -- especially in China where growth is much higher."
Case Makers Begin Producing Cases For iPad 3 To Fit Slightly Thicker Design
Although last year most case manufacturers missed the mark by producing cases for a wider, thinner, “teardrop”, and taller iPhone 5, historically they have given accurate insight into Apple’s future plans for hardware products. Case leaks have emerged yearly and this year is no exception. Case producers have begun to make and ship cases for the expected third-generation iPad.
Apple to launch iPhone 4S in China and 21 more countries January 13
Apple finally announced the forthcoming debut of the iPhone 4S in China in a press release on Wednesday. The iPhone 4S is set to launch in China and 21 additional countries across the world on Friday, Jan. 13.
"Customer response to our products in China has been off the charts," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement. "With the launch in China next week, iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries making this our fastest iPhone roll-out ever."
In addition to China, Jan. 13 will also mark the launch of the iPhone 4S in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.
Rumors have suggested that Siri, Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant service on the iPhone 4S, will gain support for Mandarin, the most popular form of the Chinese language, by March of 2012. Noteworthy, some regional branches of China Unicom in mainland China had already gained profit from iPhone 4S launch having offered bookings for the handset in anticipation of the device's launch.
Apple to launch iPhone 4S in mainland China before Jan. 23
China's People's Daily reported this week that Apple had met all of the requirements for the iPhone 4S to launch in mainland China, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology granted China Compulsory Certification for the iPhone 4S on December 22. The report claims that the handset will be launched in mainland China before the Chinese New Year that takes place on Monday, January 23, 2012.
Filings with the Chinese government show a WCDMA phone manufactured by Apple was granted approval. Though it does not specifically reveal that the device is the iPhone 4S, it is listed as model number A1431, which is the same number Apple used to obtain a network entry permit for the iPhone 4S. The approval process and anticipated release of the iPhone 4S has dragged out in China as Apple has quickly launched its latest smartphone in other major markets around the world. It's been the fastest rollout ever for a new iPhone model.
Some regional branches of China Unicom have already started taking preorders for the iPhone 4S in anticipation of the device’s launch. Moreover, Siri, Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant application, is rumored to gain support for Mandarin by March of 2012 that will obviously drive sales of the iPhone 4S in China.