Comments on: Apple and China: The American Media Ignorance Continues

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:00:42 +0000

I completely agree with you. I was actually going to write the same post, but you beat me to it. The bit about Chinese not being brand loyal was going to be the highlight (or lowlight) of my post as well.

My only complaint is with your title. This is just one person, not the “American media.”

Dans last blog post..China Business Visas. Just When You Think It Can’t Get Any Worse.

By: Rick Martin

Rick Martin — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:35:06 +0000

Yeah, I emailed him the other day and called him on that brand quote too.
No word back from him yet.

Excellent deconstruction Paul.
I just called him a twat.

By: Joe from Guam

Joe from Guam — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:44:25 +0000

Thank you for your insider perspective on China.

It is very true that the American perspective on China is a flawed one (that is slowly improving).

In regards to ‘brands’: from what I’ve seen, when Chinese tourists come to Guam, they try to save money on hotels, dining, & activities, but then splurge on authentic luxury goods.

It is indeed that case, that Chinese are very brand-sensitive about their products – when they can afford to be.

Joe from Guams last blog post..Guam Island

By: Richard Drysdall

Richard Drysdall — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:40:08 +0000

I think the IP violation point is irrelevant anyway – what makes the iPhone (and indeed all Apple products) unique is not the hardware but the software. Many other companies have scrambled to try to match the iPhone (often by talking about features, which just goes to show how they miss the point entirely), and I think it’s arguable that they have failed.

By: SinaSource

SinaSource — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:33:26 +0000

One person writes a lousy article–one that is flawed in a number of areas–and somehow he represents “the American media”?

But Chinese writers in papers and magazines talking about the racial superiority of Han and how the US is in decline (while filling out their visa applications during lunch)–they do not represent “the Chinese media”? No, because they are Chinese and the foreigners do not understand China because they are…well, foreign. Ah, your logic continues to impress.

That is the same sort of mentality that blames the high price of housing in China on “foreign hot money” but has no problem at all with Chinese property investments in London or Vancouver. For criticizing that would be “racism”, “against China”, and “hurting Chinese feelings”.

Enjoy your lifetime subscription to “China Daily”. And make sure that your green card is updated, so you get that win-win situation that so many Chinese enjoy practicing: “honestly, I love China, but gotta go….”

By: equally disappointed

equally disappointed — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:20:59 +0000

To Sun Bin,

There are 38 Apple shops in California. Perhaps there are enough shops in the US that they are not crowded. How many are in China?
Go ahead and dream that 70% of Chinese are wealthy beyond imagination and that ‘we’ are so jealous.

By: disappointed

disappointed — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:16:45 +0000

This post seems like an angry rant. I’d like to see more substative arguments accompanied by evidence, not just falling back on the old Chinese habit of saying Lao Wai can’t understand China.

By: sun bin

sun bin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:25:40 +0000

btw, i passed by the apple shop in sanlitun the other day. it is more crowded than those in california. and people are buying.

sun bins last blog post..ZT: Stephen Cheung – RMB and inflation

By: sun bin

sun bin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:19:58 +0000

:) that ‘brand’ quote is unbelievable.

the reality is that because of varying and unreliable quality of non-brands, china had become perhaps the MOST brand sensitive country in the world. (ask if anyone would buy no-brand milk powder)

but that is only the mass or the remote control journalists. ask anyone in LVMH, adidas, coca-cola. they know as much as anyone on the ground about this brand issue.
—

“Apple’s whole business model is based on creating value through exquisite design, superior branding and the sale of creative intellectual property (IP) — then defending its rights against the IP thieves, pirates and counterfeiters.”

that writer even got Apple wrong. true for the first half of the sentence. but i wonder how much resources of Apple is spend on ‘fighting IP thieves….”. of course Apple cares, but it wouldn’t bother too much on this. Imitation is the best flattery — we all know, and the smart businessmen as well.
there had indeed been many iPhone ‘clones’ in China. but most people use the ‘real one’. (and those who use the fake ones won;t buy real one anyway. — clear cut segmentation)

sun bins last blog post..ZT: Stephen Cheung – RMB and inflation

By: Thijs (Shenzhen)

Thijs (Shenzhen) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:49:31 +0000

Haha, I found the article yesterday and emailed the article. I got no reply. The guy next to me in my office has an iPhone, several people either have are are contemplating buying an Apple laptop. The author of that article is totally clueless; let’s call it a lack of IQ and common-sense.