How is the New Apple Store in Southern China Curb the Grey Market Business

Steve Lo, Nov 4, 2012 11:44 AM, 7,499 views, 5 Comments »,

We have covered a lot on the unique grey market situation revolving around primarily Apple products. Since the iPhone 4 launch, Apple has been unable to curb this lucrative business in China and Hong Kong. Yesterday, Apple has opened their 7th Apple store in mainland China, and it is located at Shenzhen, which is an emerging megalopolises in southern region of China. Shenzhen is also a home to Foxconn, Apple’s primary contract manufacturer for iOS devices. It also happens to be the center of the grey market business in China, where the city is a turning point of supplying smuggle iPhone from Hong Kong. The new Shenzhen Holiday Plaza store is a significant one as it represent Apple trying to take a bite out of the grey market, which is always a thorn in Apple’s side …

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Preview: Inside Shenzhen’s First Apple Store (Photo Gallery)

Herman Lai, Nov 1, 2012 10:34 AM, 3,467 views, 2 Comments »,

Shenzhen, the city where most Apple products and Apple knockoffs originate is finally to get its own Apple store. The grand opening of the Shenzhen Apple Store will open its doors at 9 a.m. local time on the upcoming Saturday. And today, Apple presents us the first preview of their 7th Apple Store in China. It is located in the underground floor of the shopping plaza, and it won’t have Steve Jobs’ glass staircase. The store will have two entrances, one links to the “Yitian Holiday Plaza” and one connects to Holiday Square outside of the shopping mall. A total of 250 employees will work at this store, which includes some graduates and experts, and they all are able to speak six languages. More photos and info after the break.

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A Severely Brain-Damaged Factory Worker Brings Foxconn To Court

Herman Lai, Oct 30, 2012 1:47 PM, 1,178 views, 3 Comments »,

Apple’s major supplier Foxconn has been publicly criticized over concerns about its dismal labour practices. The latest scandal pointed out Foxconn has harshly notified an ex-worker, who had half of his brain surgically removed after a factory accident a year ago, to get out of the current hospital in Shenzhen city. This is the most recent case that throws a harsh new spotlight on labor rights in China. Full story after the break.

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New Shenzhen Apple Store To Open This Saturday!

Herman Lai, Oct 29, 2012 1:11 AM, 925 views, 2 Comments »,

Apple has confirmed its new Apple Store in Shenzhen will open this Saturday at 9 am. The new Shenzhen Apple store is the 7th Apple store in the country, and it will be located in Yitian Holiday Plaza at Nanshan district of Shenzhen. The upcoming Apple store in Shenzhen means very much to Apple and scalpers because it’s the city where counterfeits and iProducts were assembled, and it is also the main point of entry for grey market products into China. With an official Apple store in the city, grey market resellers would have a difficult time selling their products, since Apple now have both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen side of the border ‘covered’.

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iPad Mini Pre-Orders Sold Out in 2 Minutes in Hong Kong? (Update)

Herman Lai, Oct 26, 2012 5:42 AM, 2,199 views, 3 Comments »,

Pre-orders for the iPad mini went live at 3 in the afternoon and they seemingly went like hotcakes. Just within two minutes, all the iPad mini’s pre-orders were sold out on Apple Online Store in Hong Kong. How is this suppose to sell out within just a few minutes? It is unreasonable. Hong Kong seems to be a special case while Apple is still accepting pre-orders in other countries. What happen with Hong Kong Apple online store?

Update: Hong Kong is the latest region that Apple starts accepting pre-orders of iPad Mini. Pre-order an iPad mini here.

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Tim Cook: iPhone 5 Will Launch in China in December

Herman Lai, Oct 25, 2012 10:19 PM, 490 views, 1 Comment »,

In Apple’s Q4 results conference call, Tim Cook and other Apple executives are expected to discuss about numbers, iPhone 5 sales, iPad mini profit margins and retail stores. It’s surprising to hear Tim Cook disclosed the launch of iPhone 5 in China on the call, although he did not say which date exactly. But this would be warn scalpers in Hong Kong that the iPhone 5 grey market price will gradually drop in the next one and a half months, and it also gives an indication to Chinese scalpers to get ready for the iPhone 5 launch in China. Allegedly, China Unicom will be the first carrier to unveil this product, then China Telecom. More info after the break.

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Chinese Firm Offers Half-Price Lightning Cable and a Lightning 3-in-1 Starter Kit Set (video)

Chris Chang, Oct 24, 2012 4:02 PM, 1,239 views, Got something to say ?,

Looks like Apple’s Lightning accessories do not have any secret Apple security built in. Today, iPhone5mod, a Chinese company specializing in cracking the authorization chip inside Apple’s Lightning cable, has introduced their own version of Lightning to USB cable, and it’s available for purchase at a much cheaper price point of US$9.90 compared with Apple’s retail pricing of US$19. See the video demo after the break to see how the 3rd party Lightning cable do everything the official cable do. Oh, be sure to check out their one more thing: Lightning 3-in-1 Starter Kit Set.

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New Apple’s iMac Knockoff: Incredibly Thin, Windows 8 and Sandy Bridge

Herman Lai, Oct 24, 2012 10:05 AM, 3,879 views, 1 Comment »,

We have to admit Apple’s new iMac is the thinnest all-in-one PC in the world, not even the Chinese knockoff experts could duplicate. With this new iMac knockoff, it also has been slimmed down and its hardwares have been improved from the previous generation. Specs-wise, the AIO desktop PC packs a 21.5-inch 1920×1080 display, can be configured with Intel’s Sandy Bridge core processors on its Intel H61 Express Chipset, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, four USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, a LAN port, and an aluminum enclosure. Also, it can run Windows 7 or Windows 8! Cool huh?

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iPad Mini Not Launching in China Until December

Chris Chang, Oct 23, 2012 4:12 PM, 1,448 views, Got something to say ?,

So, Apple has finally announced the 7.9-inch iPad mini, starting at $329, it has a 1024 x 768 display, is 0.68 lbs, and 7.2mm thick. It will also come in 4G LTE models. Pre-orders start this Friday, the Wi-Fi models ship November 2nd in thirty-four countries. However, China — the world’s largest population — is not getting the iPad mini, no pre-order on October 26, no launch on November 2.

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Watch Steve Jobs Use Force Lightning to Destroy The iPad Mini (animation)

Chris Chang, Oct 23, 2012 12:26 PM, 1,013 views, Got something to say ?,

It’s Apple Keynote day, and here’s a trippy Taiwanese animation for you to watch while you’re waiting for Tim Cook or Phil Schiller to stand on stage to announce the iPad mini . The Taiwanese animation company NMA has made a hilarious video of an animated version of the iPad mini, depicting Steve Jobs as Palpatine and using force lightning to destroy the smaller iPad. Watch the animation after the break.

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