iPad 2 Launches in China to Long Lines and Sellouts

Right if you say so. Please do stroke those specs as much as you want. I will stay with my sweet smooth and sexy ipad 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm

I don't think that photo qualifies as a long line in China. Folks are probably arriving excited to be "only" number 1375.

好的！

Almost as many negatives as positives.

Apple haters disproving of another successful launch?

Or

Disgruntled Americans, thinking it shouldn't be launched in another country when USA is having shortages?

:D

I like how China has progressed into a developed nation. Sure they have problems, but I can certainly see them as being the world's greatest superpower by 2025.

Great that Apple's iPad is successful in China too! Isn't it all over the world anyway? :P

But to put a little perspective on the line. China has a population of about 1300 million people, and 4 Apple retail stores. A considerable amount of these people are 'middle-class' or higher. That's a lot of people per store.

http://www.apple.com.cn/retail/storelist/

I would expect long lines :)

i wonder if anyone in that queue is just there to pick up a laptop case or something...

15% markup

i've been living in shanghai for the past 3.5 years, that 15% is tax, similar to VAT in the UK, this is placed on all luxury type items, cars see an even higher markup, you could see BMW's sell for $25K USD in the US and easily sell for $50K USD in China, 200% markup.

the reasons are several fold, the government can do anything they want, they want a part of the cut, and sometimes this tactic is used to limit competitiveness of foreign brands, an example is the car space, the chinese brand cars like cherry sell for under $5K USD (worth that price, too).

regarding the flagship apple store in shanghai, i was there the night before the ipad 2 launch just passing by and i noticed that they had a long line already building up. personally the wifi models are not that useful, i want 3G.

and i'm a little insulted about reading some comments about an agrarian culture moving into industrial, china already passed that stage during the eighties. the upper class has grown since the nineties. and there is no middle class in china, you're either rich, or poor. people lining up to buy ipad2 are rich.

i have lived in a number of big cities like atlanta, boston, tokyo (japan), and shanghai. it wasn't until i came here to shanghai that i felt poor, granted that tokyo is one of the most expensive places in the world. and i'm making easily over 6 digit USDs. i've never seen so many ferraris, lamborghinis, bentleys' in my life. people buy stuff in cash here and often times in sets. now it's certainly not a majority of people that can roll like that here, but there are many, you see these things daily. hence my feeling of being poor.

house prices in china are also through the roof, easily over half a million USD for a 100 square meter flat in downtown. people also buy these with cash.

Although it's not technically "slave labour", you should be aware that it is almost as bad. These people have little or no job opportunities, so when they get a job, they don't want to loose it and are trapped in their employment, where they receive little pay, and have to work hour and hours overtime. The workers at Foxxcon (or what ever the company is called that makes Apple products) have had so sign an 'anti-suicide' pledge, promising not to kill themselves. These workers live in horrible conditions, and are forcedly 'humiliated' by their peers and bosses if their production falls behind quota.

Before you ask, I live in China, and I know for a fact that you have been fundamentally misguided.

Not exactly so.
Remember, we can not judge their situation using USA standard.

A big percentage of the population in China are from the rural area, their usual option is to farm the land for a living, that's why many of them go find work in a big city, like those workers at FoxConn.
Before the 13 or so consecutive suicide at FoxConn, the workers were paid 1400 RMB per month, which equals $215 USD, and their room and board are taken care of. For comparison, a college graduate working a white collar job in Shanghai (the most expensive city in China) earns 3000 RMB, so the FoxConn salary is not bad at all. Of course, not that you or I will ever work there, but for China standard it's quite fair.
I do agree those workers are working a dead-end job without much hope for advancement, but that's the same in every other country including USA, a percentage of the population are bounded to work dead-end jobs.

No one knows exactly why the dozen or so people suicided, it's suspected that it's the management method, FoxConn is a Taiwan company, they like to enforce Japanese style corp management, perhaps that was too harsh for those workers to handle. Some think the continuous suicide is a chain reaction because FoxConn paid out big settlement to victim's family.
FoxConn since has raised salary by 30%, things seem to be fine right.

Therefore, I won't say the FoxConn workers are almost as bad as slave workers.
Oh yeah, before you ask, I live in China too, most of time, Shanghai to be specific.

Missing the Point Much?

But don't you think that gas is even more important to the world than Apple?

I can hear the loud "whoosh!" and see the ruffle of your hair as you let the whole point fly over your head :rolleyes:

What is or is not important isn't the point. I'll try to explain it slowly and simply so you can understand. You see, we don't cheer the billions made by Exxon because we don't have a choice in buying gas. Electric cars are scarce as are cars that run on alternative fuels. Most of us have no choice but to pay for gas--even if we take the bus we're paying for it. So the money Exxon makes is because we need the gas, not because we thought their gas was a wonderful product and we picked it over ethanol or electricity.

Apple puts out a product and there are many others out there like it. Computers, phones, tablets. If people pick them and they make money, we assume it's because people like Apple's particular products as they could pick others. Even more to the point, people don't need those products like they need food or gas. They didn't have to spend their money on that iPad, but they did. That makes the money made by Apple a symbol of it's success in creating interesting, likable and appealing products, not a symbol of people's need for something hard to do without--like the billions made by Exxon.

So the money Apple makes indicates their success in making products people like, not products people need and have to buy because there is no other alternative.

Do you get it now, or do we need to bring the point even lower to the ground for you to see it?