“Jobs & Co. are in danger of blowing an opportunity to score big with millions of tech- and status-symbol-crazy Chinese,” Alex Salkever writes for BusinessWeek. “Apple, however, is hardly rushing into this potential promised land, although it has shown signs of interest. In May, 2004, it unveiled a deal to preload its popular iTunes music software on every PC made by Founder Technology, China’s second-largest PC manufacturer. Mac watchers immediately discounted the possibility of an iTunes Music Store launch in China where rampant piracy would likely spook the big labels.”
“However, many wondered whether the Founder deal presaged a more intensive iPod marketing campaign in the big urban centers of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. So far Apple hasn’t done anything further on this score, but it ought to hurry up. It has a wide-open opportunity to become a big player in what will likely become the world’s largest personal-tech market within the next decade,” Salkever writes.
“The math is compelling. Weingrod estimates that China now has 35 million to 40 million households with the equivalent purchasing power of a U.S. household earning $25,000 to $30,000 per year. That means now 100 million Chinese are living the middle-class life. That number could double or triple over the next 10 years, Weingrod figures, making the Chinese middle and upper classes nearly as large as the entire U.S. population,” Salkever writes.
Full article here.
How can a communist have spending money? Isn’t communism supposed to be all workers earning the same amount?
The old joke used to be: Yeah the Chinese market – a billion people…….all with one dollar each.
But I guess that is changing. This must be the New China after Hong Kong.
Economically, China’s only communist in name now. Just stop by any of the 30-40 Starbucks in Beijing on the way to the McDonalds while talking on your cell phone.
In big cities, literally everybody has a cell phone.
They should push all their products into China.
don’t worry, soon there will be a Chinese knock off of the iPod and it will sell there for one fifth the price
china is one of the fastest growing nations in the world. development is completly driven by capitalist forces. ipods in china would be great for apple.
Here’s a little irony- the 4G iPod I just ordered showed a ship confirmation from, of all places- Shanghai, China!
For once, I agree with Salkever. I prefer Haddad’s writing better to his and I thought BusinessWeek’s Mac articles were junk now. But, this time, he is right. Apple needs to market themselves better to developing countries. Wintels make unbelievable gains in those countries simply because they are way cheaper (white box PCs). Also, the myth about Apple is vastly exaggerated and softwares and services ARE hard to find.
I think it’s unfortunate that Mac is synonym to Apple, Mac hardwares and Mac OS, since I think Apple should have a second, cheaper brand of hardware (kinda like Sony and Aiwa) to penetrate these markets. The quality doesn’t have to be like Macs and it doesn’t need industrial designs, but compared to those white boxes, it’s more than good enough. However, since Mac also refers to the OS and Apple, any problems will have a negative effect on Apple and a second hardware brand fails to separate Apple brand from Mac brand. Or maybe Apple should license their hardware and OS in those local market on the condition that they stay local? Any thought?
China: Where they kill little girls, abduct women who are pregnant for the 2nd time – strap them down and rip the unborn children from their wombs. China… where “unauthorized” babys during normal birth are given a shot of poison in the brain.
China – where simple possession of a Bible results in being beaten to death in some dark hole… even if you are a 74 year old pastor.
China: Where they grease the treads of their tanks with the blood of 18 year old students who dared to build a copy of the Statue of Liberty in T-Square…. who dared to ask to live in a free and democratic society.
No, Steve…. Stay out of China until the Communists stop acting like the animals they are.
how would apple handle have the iPod in china they can hardly handle what they have now with the iPod not in china
Apple basher, you suck and soon all the world will know!!!
It could be too late for the apple and the Ipod in China. Creative technologies of Singapore announced Monday in Asia.com an “Ipod like” device. It sports a linear interface (as oppose to the wheel) 40Mb drive and compatible in operation to the Ipod for US $199.00. The CEO said in the aricle that the world knew of Creative as a sound card company but not for long. Lets see how that plays out,
Unfortunately, Glick7, just about every cheap item in your kitchen is probably made in China.
Now, I admit that I’ve bought some $25 German dish-washing brushes because they last much longer and have good bristle feel, but most people can’t resist the 79-cent China made brush. Whilst I can’t find them anymore, I’m seeing cheaper knockoffs of the German brush for $4.95 (Made in China) whilst the German brush has all but disappeared.
There is no easy answer with China. The items Glick7 brought up are unfortunately true. China has a communist government, which is still quite obsessed with control and that won’t change – at least in the forseeable future. Anyone using the internet in China knows that they better be squeaky-clean about which websites they visit and what they post, least they receive an unfortunate visit. The government monitors those in China who use the internet to assure that the youth are not “corrupted” by Western ideas. This is documented by Amnesty International. The communists loosened their grip on the people of their country ever so slightly and allowed limited capitalistic endevors. That move is probably the main item which saved them from the same fate of the Soviet Union.
On the other side of the coin, China represents the potential of a vast growing market that will be eager to purchase products. To ignore that is foolish. The problem here is that the cost of living is disproportionately low, so the cost of a product must be low enough for the average Chinese citizen to buy it. Unfortunately due to that fact, a significant amount of industry has been outsourced to this corner of the world to make use of the low cost region, costing U.S. manufacturing many jobs.
Opening China to business will at best be a delicate balancing act and that won’t be easy.
Mac Daddy…
“No easy answer with China?”
The answer is easy enough if your second son was murdered by the government – for being born.
The answer is easy enough if your wife was kidnapped and beaten because she became pregnant without a license from the government.
Where do you live Mac Daddy? …. How about Tennessee? Suppose the Tennessee State Police kidnapped your wife and killed your son?
When we compromise with evil – evil gets stronger.
Now…. all you Americans on this site, explain something to me please…
With Cuba – you cut them off totally, even though the vast majority of Cubans are just prisoners of the Communists….
But the US continues to court China – and the Chinese Communist government that has murdered millions upon millions more people than the Cuban government, has distributed weapons, invaded neighbouring countries and stolen US defense secrets.
On a scale of evil in the world, Castro is nothing when compared with the ChiComs.
So… my American friends, please explain why you isolate Cuba, but continue to woo the greatest mass murderers in the world?
The real question is . . .is NewsWeek going to become the next LOOK magazine?
Glick has a point.
rons a loser and known apple basher. your stupid ron your family hates you and you will proboly have a heart attack from the secret anger you hold for wintel machines!!!
Glick7 uttered: “So… my American friends, please explain why you isolate Cuba, but continue to woo the greatest mass murderers in the world?
Could be because they hold $177 billion in US debt. Could be because they are buying up US Treasury Bonds to prop up the dollar. Could be because US capitalists are drooling at the prospect of hundreds of millions of eager consumers hungry for banal American consumer culture. So… my foreign friend, it appears that as long as the mass murder has money, it’s all okay. As the Bible says, “Business is business.”
as long as the mass *murder*er* has money
I have to echo “aye, moochie-boochie” on that my Ipod Mini shipping information from Apple showing routing from Shanghai China as well. At first, I thought this had to do with I’m tracking shipping from Shanghai where I’m happen to be at the moment. But obiviously there’s something more to it. Exactly what I dunno. It’s hard to believe Apple would produce iPods in China, but what else that could be?
Mac Daddy: You sound like a grand old China hand aka Henry Kissiger. I mean f*** the “balancing” act, just look at the likes of Motorola and Starbucks and GM, who laugh their butts off on their way to the bank. This is the era of playgrounds for multi-nationals in China, a game for big boys. If you don’t make money in China, you have nobody else to blame but yourself. So stop bitching and moaning.
Glick7: Fact is, like it or not, China will get stronger and drive the world economy for the next 25 years. Your buddy George Busg Jr finally gets it, and you should too. Now the thought of China will have its way may drive you crazy, but it’s just the fact of life, so deal with it.
Who cares about the stupid Chinese.
Zhong-guo de ren-kou hen da, zheng zheng rishang.
La population de la Chine est tr�s grande, devenant plus prosp�re chaque jour.