Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Apple News: Three things the press gets amiss with reference to Apple in the field of cups
Much has been in black and white lately in the field of the U.S. Press with reference to Apple (AAPL) and cups, but from my perspective on the ground -- in the role of a long-time Apple investor who speaks reasonable official Chinese and has been in the field of and shown of cups in favor of responsibility and delicate reasons in favor of the onwards 18 years -- I beg your pardon? I read is almost constantly incorrect. On occasion egregiously so. Not necessarily in the field of the evidence, but in the field of the context.
At this point are three unpretentious things the American press mostly gets amiss with reference to cups and Apple:
1. Nearby is not scarcely single cups.
Don't think "China united," instead think the European Union time two, with all its rambling diversity of language, climate, cuisine, wealth, poverty, and all that.
I suspect on the whole Americans who haven't been to cups allow a little top-notch images in the field of mind (the countless fortification, the Forbidden City, grimy factories). I know I did. But like a super-EU this is a vast place, gorged of colossal regional and district differences concluded which the central government has much take away control than those think. A trivial but influential instance: Even accounts in the field of public banks are based in the field of locales. It is quite expensive and far from routine to move money from a chief Chinese have an account division in the field of Beijing to single in the field of Shanghai before Sichuan. So, too, phones, which are entirely regionally based, so so as to running the details of one's subscription requires complicated procedures, often superlative ready in the field of person, in the field of one's home-based region.
This diversity normally complicates and enriches social interaction, in the role of it does in the field of Europe. Whilst two strangers convene at this point, nearby is a byzantine backdrop of questions so as to quickly search out answered, often mechanically. "North before South"? If South, afterward maybe Fujian? Guangdong? Guangxi? If South-central, afterward Zhejiang/Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan? If North, afterward the northeast provinces, before Shandong, before Hebei, before the far northwest? Depending on the social parsing, entirely dissimilar sets of conversations ensue, with gorged awareness of the many fine complications involved in the field of crossing tubby cultural and linguistic gulfs, often round concluded with helpful food and wine.
Additionally like the EU, nearby are at present vast waves of migration occurring all concluded cups -- much of it quasi-legal -- which add up to a fascinating melange of cultures and varieties of the "Chinese language" (in actuality, by the side of smallest amount in the role of variant in the role of Polish and Icelandic). Foxconn workers are part of so as to migration of the hopeful and the ambitious, like southerners who came to Detroit in the field of the 30s, 40s, and 50s to run in the field of the sports car industry. In the field of return in favor of getting, say, 150% to 200% new compensate than district clerical jobs (moving, say, from 1200 RMB/month in the field of Hainan to 2400 RMB/month by the side of Foxconn) before 200% to 300% new than district grow labor, migrant factory workers aspect isolation and mind-numbing, regimented run, but can save real money in favor of a better hope.
From the perspective of the place I'm staying proper straight away (one of my favorite bad skin on earth, a cheerful but somewhat shabby town of 50,000 on Hainan Island so as to stage mostly forgot) new those in the field of the Chinese countryside allow many district choices, and individuals who wish to come about migrant laborers by the side of Foxconn seem instead akin to a Michael J. Fool in the field of kind Ties -- a get-ahead congregate, willing to forego a pleasant life with kind and contacts in the field of order recuperate their hope odds. In the role of Leslie Chang leave it so well in the field of her TED utter, they are self-driven, much new to come about seen in the role of heroes than victims. Hope winners in the field of their own minds, they seek to die afar the horizon to spread out possibilities in the field of life.
2. Apple is not scarcely an exclusive aspirational brand in favor of the wealthy.
Instead it has straight away a widely-known part of wide-ranging Chinese business culture, likely familiar to each urban adult and new person in the field of cups (say 500+ million people). Speaking from the utter hinterlands, "my" minute town of 50,000 duty allow by the side of smallest amount 20 cell phone outlets, all of them flaunting the Apple/iPhone logo, a little of which are four-feet area of high pressure. In the field of casual conversions across the social spectrum I allow found nix single who didn't know of Apple products.
IPhones at this point are not predominant, but are readily seen, certainly in the field of the hands of wealthy and powerful, (e.G., a district real estate tycoon), but too surprisingly owned by the likes of lodge clerks and a remarkable noodle store girl. Ownership seems to come about a state of mind. To come about reasonable, Samsung advertising is too much in the field of evidence and single techie-type kid I met quickly dismissed Apple and championed Samsung, based on "specs" (using the English word). However, I was pleased in the field of a different casual conversation to hear Samsung (known in the field of cups by its Chinese/Korean character last name Sanxing = "Three Stars") referred to in the role of a "Chinese phone" in the role of disparate to the iPhone, which was termed a "foreign phone" .I suspect this mix-up may possibly come about not come about uncommon and from now highly aggravating to Samsung, prompting them to make use of their roman communication logo in the field of all advertising, but apparently with negligible achievement. The iPhone, by contrast, is straight away called "iPhone" (using roman letters) in the field of each press article I've seen recently, and a Chinese character equivalent (Aifeng" = "Love Crazed") is increasingly used barely in the role of slang in the field of advertising, on Weibo, in the field of blogs and all that. The brand maintains its pristine foreign identity.
Overall, the actuality so as to an awareness of Apple and the iPhone has so quickly and widely penetrated Chinese society is a remarkable achievement, single likely due to the perceived excellence of Apple know-how and too to helpful timing, in the role of cell phone culture comes of age at this point. In the role of extensive in the role of Apple continues to products cool products, it long for surely return adherents in the field of cups in the role of new and new those can afford them.
3. Apple settlement from the vital pro-American bearing of many personal Chinese.
I may possibly come about single of the little those conversation with reference to this, but next from South Korea, anywhere anti-Americanism with a tubby alternative has extensive been fashionable, and conversation to hundreds of ordinary those at this point in the field of the hinterlands of cups, the difference is like night and sunlight hours. Dutiful, nearby are numerous venues of competition and prospective conflict relating cups and the U.S., and nearby is a drumbeat of disapproval of U.S. Guidelines in the field of the media, but such concerns establish comfortable to ignore in the field of delicate life. I beg your pardon? Counts new seems to come about the examples of stellar sports stars such in the role of Yao Ming, the attraction of real estate purchases in the field of California, the increasing risk of an fasten baby born in the field of the U.S., and on the whole of all a daydream of the "beyond" in the field of America. It's remarkable, even daunting, how welcoming those allow been to me previously they become skilled at my people. The growing pollution concluded much of urban cups and the heated competition to search out to come seem to rapid many Chinese to deliberate on risk of course shown to the U.S.. To America's countless honor, the perception at this point is so as to talented and economically unbeaten immigrants are welcomed nearby, unlike in the field of Europe normally. Apple know-how and the heritage of Steve Jobs involve yourself in of this luster imputed to the U.S. And its know-how, and nix other tech company can come up to on the verge of to matching it.
In the field of sum, in favor of the long-term I count cups squarely in the field of the Apple camp. Nearby long for come about many twists and turns, but this stumble has established my area of high pressure optimism with reference to the hope of Apple at this point.
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