The Wall Street Journal reports Apple may have developed a modified version of its iPhone compatible with China Telecom’s “CDMA-2000” network. The device is set to make its debut in China this Friday, but as things currently stand, it’s to be exclusive to China Unicom.
If you’re reading us from Asia, great news: the Asian continent’s own answer to Black Friday starts tomorrow, January 6th, and as rumored. Apple’s now having a Lunar New Year Sale to celebrate, offering discounts on most of their popular products in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The discounts are basically similar to those U.S. Apple Store customers saw in November, with discounts of between 6-8% on iPads, 10% discounts on iPods, and between 5-10% off all MacBooks.
If you’re in one of the aforementioned countries and want to start the New Year right, get hopping: this sale will only continue for 24 hours.
Still waiting for the iPhone 4S in your territory? Well, you could be one of the lucky ones who are set to receive Apple’s latest smartphone on January 13. The company has announced in a press release issued this morning that next Friday will see the launch of the device in 21 additional countries.
Like its Black Friday shopping event held for those in the U.S. and other Western territories back in November, Apple is set to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a shopping event on January 6 for customers in China/Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The company promises the one-day sale will provide “amazing iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone.”
Apple will introduce the iPhone 4S in China before the the populous nation celebrates the Year of the Dragon on January 23. That’s the word from the country’s People’s Daily. According to the publication, the government Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Dec. 22 gave the tech giant the go-ahead to debut its latest device.
In the war between Apple and Android, there are no holiday breaks. That incessant back-and-forth could be seen in how many devices were activated during the Christmas weekend. According to a mobile analytics firm, Apple destroyed Android in places like the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, often spearheaded by the iPod touch and iPad.
Remember the recent story about the App Store being worth more than all of RIM? Here’s another astounding factoid: Just the top 200 most-grossing App Store entries generate four times the revenue than everything offered by the Android Marketplace. A new report also pegs China as a major App Store user, accounting for 30 percent of overall downloads and nearly half of iPad apps.
A Pegatron plant in Shanghai, China, where rear panels for Apple’s iPad will be manufactured, suffered an explosion over the weekend which hospitalized 23 workers and injured a further 38. Though the explosion did not cause a fire, according to a Reuters report, the Pegatron factory reports there is “some damage” to machinery.
The iPhone 4S has finally been approved by Chinese regulators. Apple’s newest device today received its network approval, paving the way for carrier China Unicom to begin offering the smartphone in time for Christmas.
It had to happen: Apple’s workhorse, the iMac, is expected to relinquish its title as best-selling all-in-one computer in 2012. What with its success in smartphones, tablets and notebooks, Apple appears ready to throw the PC industry a bone — a very limited one, however.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this Chinese imitation of the MacBook Air is the biggest compliment that Apple has received in a long time. Cleverly called the “AirBook,” this feat of design plagiarism looks exactly like Apple’s MacBook Air.
Costing only $499, the AirBook possesses many similarities to Apple’s notebook, but there some crucial differences. Did we mention that it runs Windows?
Look, we hate crappy iPad knock-offs as much as any red-blooded Apple fan, but we’re going to make an exception in this case. Why? Sure, the knock-off tablet looks gaudy, but the Chinese student who built it didn’t make it to cash in on Apple’s brand: he made it for his girlfriend out of love.
1,000 workers at a Jingmo Electronics factory in Shenzhen, China, staged a strike earlier this week over long hours and poor working conditions. The factory supplies keyboards to companies like IBM, LG, and Apple, and China Labor Watch is now calling for these companies to improve the working conditions for the employees at the factory, focusing specifically on Apple.
We were fortunate enough to get an exclusive look at Foxconn’s new factory in Brazil earlier this week, where the company will join the Foxconn factory in China in co-producing Apple’s iPhone, and soon its iPad. Although the factory is already up and running, we’re yet to see any Brazilian built iPhones on the market.
That was until today, when Brazilian blog MacMagazine published an image of one of the first iPhone 4 units that was assembled outside of China.
There’s a huge demand for the iPhone in China, a demand so big that Apple is continually struggling to meet it. That means there’s plenty of business for scalpers who obtain the device any way they can, just to sell it off for a huge profit in the grey and black markets.
And these scalpers are smart and tech-minded. To make the whole process of buying iPhones a lot easier, scalpers have built a special application that purchases the smartphones in bulk from the Apple online store. Even worse, it runs on Windows. Oh, the irony.
Yes, the iPhone design is sleek and sexy – and the Apple device is full of jaw-dropping features. But while that may convince some, what really puts the cash in Cupertino’s pockets are those boring, unexciting carrier agreements. Indeed, 50 percent of cell phone growth comes from adding new carriers. Although Apple has inked deals with 230 carriers, that is just 30 percent of the nearly 800 global service providers.
Apple and several Chinese environmentalists met Tuesday to clear the air on disputes over pollution they claim comes from factories supplying the tech giant with much sought-after iPhones and iPads. Following the Beijing meeting, one environmentalist questioned Apple’s sincerity.
A new Apple patent that details battery and solid state drive configurations for the company’s MacBook Air suggests that future models will boast battery life that significantly exceeds the 7 hours offered by today’s ultraportable.
Apple is in the cat bird seat when it comes to dominating personal computer sales in China. A new survey by Morgan Stanley finds more than 20 percent of Chinese consumers looking to buy a computer want a Mac. There’s just one hitch: few of China’s citizens are willing to pay more than $1,000.
Apple would love to sell the iPhone to China Mobile’s 628 million subscribers, but there is a hitch to any agreement: the carrier wants a piece of the App Store pie. But a pact isn’t needed, argues one Wall Street watcher, especially since there are already 10 million Apple smartphones on the China network.
Someone fell down the rabbit hole, returning with a whopper of a rumor. The iPhone 4S – you know, the Apple handset that’s been flying off shelves and setting record pre-sales – is actually a dog. Seems Apple is having a hard time getting rid of these things and has told suppliers to back the truck up – like into next year.
The only problem with this rumor? It’s total bunk, says a prominent Apple analyst.
Cue up the Norma Rae theme music. Apple is about to go up against the unions. Well, not quite. The tech giant is starting mandatory training for retail store managers that includes the “legal do’s and don’t of dealing with unions.” The training comes as Apple marks the 10th anniversary of its retail stores, now numbering 357 worldwide.
The iPhone 4S continues to break sales records left and right. Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S started in Hong Kong last Friday, and it’s been reported that pre-orders sold out after the first 10 minutes of availability.
Apple will launch the 4S in 14 more countries this Friday, and the smartphone is expected to reach mainland China by December.
You want to buy an iPad for Christmas. The problem: scammers know it too and are waiting in prey for you this holiday season. Here are some tips on how to safely shop for tablets online without falling victim to hoax high-tech Santas.
What’s this? Looks like a unibody MacBook Air, right? Don’t bet a kidney on it: Shenzhen’s Evil Confederacy of Mad Scientist Cloners have managed to almost perfectly rip off the feel of Apple’s bestselling MacBook Air, including unibody enclosure, for under half the price of Apple’s ultraportable.
And you know what? For a piece-of-$%@! netbook dumped into a MacBook Air-like shell, it’s not a bad machine for the sub-$500 price.