Apple of Discord in China

[frahse]

More Apple troubles in China

“incomparable arrogance."

The chief executive of Apple, Timothy D. Cook, on Monday issued a letter of apology – in Chinese – over the company’s warranty policies.

[redcat]

The ghost of Steve Jobs must be prowling and howling "I never apologized to anyone!"

[forsooth]

Originally Posted by frahse

“incomparable arrogance."

The chief executive of Apple, Timothy D. Cook, on Monday issued a letter of apology – in Chinese – over the company’s warranty policies.

Apple has sold honor for almight dollar
has lost reputation and lost dignity and this in China!

Chinese see and think "no honesty" that Apple is braggart swindler

“Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

[VaultBoy]

Originally Posted by redcat

The ghost of Steve Jobs must be prowling and howling "I never apologized to anyone!"

*I* assume he was cremated. And with that, I imagine the ashes starting to re-form as the i1000 to come back and start wreaking havoc on things.

Originally Posted by VaultBoy

*I* assume he was cremated. And with that, I imagine the ashes starting to re-form as the i1000 to come back and start wreaking havoc on things.

[Tom Swift]

The Chinese press is loving this. They will go after any foreign company that does anything they perceive as wrong in order to deflect the constant criticism they face over everything.

That said, I took my Apple iPhone 4 into the Apple shop in Shanghai three months ago to get it fixed, since a weird brown spot appeared under the screen. They replaced the entire phone, except for the back plate. I assumed that this was the same for every country but reading about this, it seemed that in other countries, they simply replace the entire phone. Now, it is no big deal (other than the back of my phone is in rougher shape than the front) but the Chinese are extremely sensitive to this kind of stuff. Any hint that they are being treated differently because it is China is not taken lightly. Of course, the reverse is fair game. Sometimes you can see the dollar signs flashing under their eyes when they realize that a foreigner might buy something.

[crich70]

Isn't China also the capital of the pirated software and DVD market?

[david_e]

Originally Posted by crich70

Isn't China also the capital of the pirated software and DVD market?

That's not all they pirate...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14503724

[forsooth]

Originally Posted by crich70

Isn't China also the capital of the pirated software and DVD market?

only leftist South American countries act worse to for foreign business operation

I do not go to those places.

[Tom Swift]

I am not even sure where to buy legal DVDs or software.

[crich70]

It just seems like the pot calling the kettle black for China to complain about warranties not being long enough when there is so much pirate goods running round over there from what I've heard.

Originally Posted by crich70

It just seems like the pot calling the kettle black for China to complain about warranties not being long enough when there is so much pirate goods running round over there from what I've heard.

A few things to keep in mind:

The people complaining about Apple's treatment of them may not be the pirates. (Keep in mind, we have words to describe people who make assumptions about all people from a culture.)

Values vary from place to place, and they take a long time to change. It sounds like piracy is declining in China as they become more dependent upon international trade. But shifts like that take a long time because you are trying to move entire societies rather than individual people. (Also keep in mind that copyrights, patents, and trademarks probably didn't mean as much until the doors to trade opened wide.)

Finally, I wouldn't put much weight on the U.S. government's piracy watch lists. They have been known to use those watch lists to place political pressure on countries with laws that they disagree with, even though there is no reason to believe that those foreign nations have piracy rates that are higher than those in the U.S..

[crich70]

Some good points BWinmill. I'm not trying to say everyone over in China is into pirate products or something, just that it has been in the news here and elsewhere in the past. I've never bought from Apple either so I don't know much about their policies (aside from what I read in forums like MR). Things are rarely black and white anywhere.

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by VaultBoy

*I* assume he was cremated. And with that, I imagine the ashes starting to re-form as the i1000 to come back and start wreaking havoc on things.

Jobszilla rising from the sea?

I am somewhat torn on this.

On the one hand it doesn't hurt to see Apple being pulled from its high horse and their warranty isn't the best anyway.
On the other hand there seems to be a tendency in China to attack foreign companies that seem to be too successful or just for political reasons. Volkswagen as the market leading car manufacturer was attacked in the state media and Japanese companies became the victims of nationalist agitation in China just for being Japanese.
I believe it is high time to get tougher with China. No more open access to Western markets unless access to China is equally open.

[kyteflyer]

It isn't just China. There are quite a few countries who have similar laws regarding warranty, Australia is one. Apple has quietly increased warranty to two years here, but theres no way they are making it public. However, if you know your consumer law, and go to Apple with an issue within that two year period, they will do the repairs (or replacement). This only changed a few weeks back. I'd say China has been watching.