While Apple is still yet to announce its highly-anticipated iPhone 5, that hasn’t stopped a number of carriers from advertising the device and taking pre-orders. China Telecom is the latest to begin preparations for Apple’s fifth-generation device, reportedly taking orders from the end of this month.
Apple has finally been granted certification to sell its 3G iPad 2 in mainland China, according to The Wall Street Journal. Up until now, the Cupertino company has only been able to offer its Wi-Fi only tablet, but it now has the ‘network access license’ needed to sell the 3G-capable device.
Chinese environmental activists are threatening to tarnish Apple’s image unless the tech giant reduces the amount of pollution coming from suppliers in this populous country. Five non-governmental organizations Wednesday released a report charging Apple uses suppliers which take “advantage of the loopholes in developing countries’ environmental management systems.”
What have Apple and erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra got in common? They are both wildly-popular and hot items on the Chinese counterfeiting circuit. Little wonder then, that the iPhone maker hired the head of drug-maker Pfizer security to root out fake smartphones and tablets in China.
Remember those fake Apple stores in China that were uncovered last month? It turns out that faux Apple stores abound in other continents, like Europe, and unauthorized resellers have even been popping up in the US.
After an investigation by the Chinese authorities, 22 fake Apple stores were shut down. One of the main stores in Kunming, China has been rebranded with a clever new name: the “Smart Store.”
At least the store owner didn’t have the nerve to call it the “Genius Store.”
Following the discovery of some pretty convincing fake Apple stores in China a few weeks ago, the Chinese authorities have been on the hunt for more. Their last find uncovered a whole 22 stores in the city of Kunming along.
First, Apple kicked Nokia out of New York, then European operations were curtailed, now comes word Apple will likely attack the cell phone pioneer in China, the hottest market for smartphone makers. A “drastic realignment” in that Asian giant’s mobile marketplace is expected later this year.
Of all the things we expect to see from Apple’s iPhone 5 in the coming months, it isn’t super-speedy LTE capabilities. However, China Mobile says that it has struck a deal with Apple to bring the next-genearation iPhone to its 4G TD-LTE network.
This morning’s report that claims the iPhone 5 will now launch a month later than its expected September release will be a huge blow to some, but as long as you’re not too concerned about having your device made by Apple, you can get an iPhone 5 today in China.
To those of you who scoffed at Steve Wozniak when he said that machines will one day take over as superior beings, leaving us humans as the “dogs of the house,” take note: It seems Woz’ vision is very much becoming a reality for some Foxconn workers, who are set to be replaced by robots over the next three years.
Having watched Mark Malkoff’s hilarious video earlier this week, we now know it’s possible to have a pizza delivered to your local Apple store, take your pet goat to check out the latest Mac minis, and get your iPhone repaired while you’re dressed as Darth Vadar. But will a real Apple store help you troubleshoot your knockoff MacBook Air?
This is one in China did!
We’re all aware of how popular Apple’s tablet is. It spawns endless lines outside of Apple stores for days after its launch, and it no other tablet is anywhere close to being as successful. Apple’s iPad is so popular in fact, that one in six Hong Kong citizens own the device.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
The Today Show took a peek in one of China’s faux Apple stores and it looks just as convincing as the photo gallery we published.
Those impressively fake Apple stores in Kunming, China, were undoubtedly destined for doom after they enjoyed global fame last week. Two of the five stores have already been shut down, but surprisingly, Apple has had nothing to do with it.
To underline how important China has become in Apple’s overall sales, the tech giant’s new iPhone 5 will be sold by that nation’s three top mobile carriers by year’s end, according to a Friday report.
We’ve all seen those copycat iPhones that come out of China, the majority of which can usually be identified as counterfeit within a few seconds. However, when it comes to faking Apple stores, China does a pretty damn good job.
Many China smartphone vendors use Android, a situation forcing some to consider moving to Windows Phone 7 to escape potential royalty payments to Apple. The switch comes after Apple won an initial court battle against Android-powered handset maker HTC opening up handsets using the Google software to pay fees to the iPhone maker.
A photograph of an iPhone prototype running on China Mobile’s 3G TD-SCDMA network strengthen rumors that Apple is set to launch the device on the world’s largest carrier — possibly as early as September.
For some time, we’ve known that Apple lusts for the China market. Now comes word Tim Cook, Chief Operating Officer (and CEO stand-in) was seen at China Mobile’s home office. Signing China Mobile means $70 billion for the tech giant, potentially doubling the tech giant’s cash-on-hand.
Remember that Chinese teen who sold his kidney for an iPad 2? That was bad enough, but now another Chinese teen is following his lead and offering something even more irreplaceable in exchange for an iPhone 4. She’s selling her virginity.
Remember the three Foxconn employees arrested back in December for leaking the design of the iPad 2 to third-party case makers? They’ve been found guilty, and they’re going to prison.
Those Chinese censors are at it again… and this time the popular Flipboard app is the victim.
A Chinese gadget maker of dubious distinction, vowing to directly clone a popular, in-demand Apple product? Is this even real life????
It has been a long 10 months, but the long-awaited white-colored iPhone 4 is shipping and for sale today in the US and 28 other countries. Therefore, you would expect that people would be excited to get their hands on one of these babies, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Apple Stores in the US.
The stores I checked in the Houston, Texas area didn’t have lines forming — like you would normally expect for a product launch. China on the other hand was a completely different story as long lines were reported there.
During yesterday’s Verizon iPhone event, one journalist asked Apple COO Tim Cook whether or not Verizon had an “exclusive” on the CDMA iPhone.
Although the Verizon iPhone seems like a huge deal over in the States, in the grand scheme of things, one carrier’s not particularly important… but there are an additional hundreds of millions of CDMA-subscribers in other countries like China and India who Apple would also like to sell an iPhone.
Needless to say, then, Tim Cook said that Verizon’s deal was a multi-year contract, but not exclusive, meaning that the so-called Verizon iPhone is really the CDMA iPhone, and will creep out to other CDMA networks in the coming months.
Sure enough, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty told investors on Thursday that Apple was likely to strike deals for the CDMA iPhone with China Telecom and Reliance in India in the next few months. Those are the two fastest growing mobile markets on Earth: CDMA subscribers in India account for 20% of the country’s 670 million subscribers as it is.
The CDMA iPhone may be a big deal for Verizon subscribers, and people who want more competition and choice in the American mobile landscape, but let’s not forget the international importance here, which is arguably much, much bigger.
