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iPhone 6

Mecca of Fake Smartphone Production Raided by Chinese Police

Posted: 12/18/2014 5:58 pm

Fake iPhone 6s seized at the illegal workshop in Huizhou, Guangdong

They look the part and cost only a fraction of the price: fake iPhone 6s.

Huizhou, in central Guangdong Province, is the mecca of fake smartphones produced to export to overseas markets. A workshop nestled in a village of Boluo County with roughly 40 employees was responsible for producing about 4,200 fake iPhone 6s and 10,000 fake Samsung Galaxy S4s since April of this year, according to police.

The counterfeit phones were only discovered after police acted on a tip by local residents. In a raid on December 3, 1,700 knockoffs were seized, including semi-finished and finished models.

Three of the main suspects admitted that these phones were sold through illegal channels to foreign markets. A fake iPhone 6 produced by the factory sells for a mere RMB 700 to RMB 800 ($130), much cheaper than Apple’s starting price of RMB 5,288 ($853).

The report, however, did not specify exactly where the phones were neaded, nor the scale of the illegal production facility in Huizhou. But according to Elizabeth Woyke, author of The Smartphone: Anatomy of an Industry, an estimated 195 million knockoff smartphones and diverted phones - devices intended for sale in one market but illegally imported into another – were shipped to overseas market in 2013, reported Australian newspaper The Age.

Most of those illegal production workshops are located in Guangdong, often near Apple’s supplier Foxconn factories in Shenzhen, the author said.

Photos: Nandu

 

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Even 99 iPhones Not Enough to Win One Woman’s Heart

Posted: 11/10/2014 9:30 am

Since the inception of Singles’ Day in China several years ago, millions of singles throughout the country celebrate the day by trying to woo that special someone. Yet one young Guangzhou resident chose a rather unique method to express his love in the lead up to November 11: iPhones, and lots of them.

There’s been no shortage of reports detailing extravagant Singles’ Day gifts such as a new car, or giant diamonds, but one Guangzhou programmer instead opted for 99 iPhone 6s. To his credit, he organized the phones in the shape of heart before proposing to his girlfriend in front of a sizeable crowd of friends and onlookers.

The phones reportedly cost the man over RMB 500,000 (about $82,000), or roughly the equivalent of two years’ salary, Tencent News reported. Sadly, the grand gesture was lost on the woman, who rejected his proposal.

Thankfully, demand for the new iPhone remains high in China, so he shouldn’t have too much trouble reselling them as one Weibo user suggested. Others simply dismissed the guy’s move as stupid. One user, 韵母和韵父, asked “How many kidneys did it take to buy those phones?” referring to earlier reports of a young man selling his own kidney to buy an iPhone. Another user wrote, ” 99 kidneys!”

For those who might be wondering how November 11th was chosen as Singles’ Day, the answer resides in the four lonely “1″s that form the date: 11/11.

 Photos: Weibo 

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Man Caught at Shenzhen Port with 33 iPhone 6s Strapped to His Body

Posted: 10/15/2014 11:00 am

Buyers paying cash to resellers for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus outside of an Apple Store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

There is just no end to the unique and creative ways of smuggling iPhones into China. Take Mr. Chan, a 50 year old Hong Kong man, for example. He was caught trying to enter the country at the Luohu border with 33 iPhone 6 Plus units strapped to his body, reports Shenzhen Business Daily.

According to customs officers, Chan was fidgeting with a plastic bag where, after a search, they discovered the phones. Chan said the phones were bought in Hong Kong to be resold in Shenzhen.

Resellers of iPhone 6 outside of Apple’s store in Causeway Bay.

Demand for the iPhone has been exceptionally high and people will do almost anything to get one, even though it will be for sale in Mainland China in two days. One woman in Guangxi was even seen roaming around the city completely naked in hopes of winning one. According to reports, the woman made a bet with her friends that if she walked around the city naked, they would give her an iPhone 6. In late September, a Chinese man was caught stuffing eight iPhone 6s into his underpants while trying to enter the Mainland from Hong Kong.

According to figures released by China’s Customs Department, between September 10 and 24, Shenzhen Customs confiscated more than 2,000 iPhone 6s. On September 25 alone, Shanghai seized 453 iPhone 6s, Xinhua reported.

Photos: Bloomberg/Getty Image; SCMP

 

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Global Times: “All iPhone 6 Owners Deserve to Be Despised”

Posted: 09/28/2014 11:53 am

iphone 6 retail saleChina’s firebrand mouthpiece has published an editorial advocating open hostility towards anyone who owns an iPhone 6, which still isn’t officially on sale in China.

The nationalist newspaper Global Times said lust after the product and the opportunists that are trying cater to it have both made China lose face on an international scale; “face”, of course, being the ancient concept that the respect of a person or entity is entirely dependent upon what others think of you/it.

READ: iPhone 6 Selfie Spreads on Chinese Social Networks

The Global Times points to three individuals arrested for fighting outside an Apple store as an example, noting all three are “Chinese nationals”. In fact, the paper even printed this passage:

A US police officer insulted (the Chinese people waiting in line), saying, ‘Haven’t you people ever heard of soap?‘ After this incident comes to be known in China, it will be an embarrassment for many people here.

READ: Unreleased Hong Kong and US Versions of iPhone 6
Already on Sale in Beijing for US$4,500

So what does the Global Times think of iPhone 6 owners?

Most people do it for vanity so that they can show it off. It’s as though having an iPhone 6 right now is so awesome, as if it were trendy, cool, and impressive. But in fact, the people that now have the iPhone 6 aren’t what they think they are.

READ: Chinese Line Up Globally To Buy – And Then Sell – the iPhone 6

The reckless drive for profit is not just something that Chinese have done, but Marx described how profit can warp human nature. At the time he said it, he was referring to Westerners.
…
To borrow a phrase, “If there is no buying or selling, then there is no loss of face.”

READ: Shenzhen: The Cradle of the iPhone, and Also its Huge Resale Market

The op-ed concludes by saying why Chinese people should be ashamed:

Many people say the iPhone 6 exploits the Chinese people by performing mental experiments in the form of number of marketing tricks, thus proving that there are fools with too much money in the Chinese market. This is the place where there is a real loss of face. That’s why whomever has an iPhone 6 deserves to be looked down upon with despise.

With the blame fully doled out, no mention was made in the op-ed of the reason behind the delayed launch of the iPhone 6 in China. As reported by AsiaOne, Beijing’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not list the iPhone 6 as having been approved for the Chinese market before its worldwide launch.

READ: No Mooncakes, No work! Workers at Apple’s Supplier
in Dongguan on Strike

Though the iPhone 5s launched in China simultaneously with the rest of the world, this iPhone hit a snag when CCTV accused Apple of threatening national security by being able to track a user’s location. However, rumors are the iPhone 6 is set to go on sale in China on October 10.

Related:

Photo: Reuters

Haohao
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iPhone 6 Selfie Spreads on Chinese Social Networks

Posted: 09/25/2014 11:36 am

smuggled iphone 6The delayed release of the iPhone 6 in China has led to opportunists in the US willing to fight each other in order to sell to Chinese buyers willing to pay exorbitant prices.

READ: Chinese Line Up Globally To Buy – And Then Sell – the iPhone 6

smuggled iphone 6Since its release seven days ago, over 2,000 iPhones 6 have been seized at Luohu border customs in Shenzhen. Nearby in Huaqiang North, a mecca for iPhone resales, the iPhone 6 is currently selling for RMB 6,800.

Meanwhile in Shanghai, 335 iPhones 6 have been seized at Pudong International Airport during the same period.

smuggled iphone 6

READ: Unreleased Hong Kong and US Versions of iPhone 6
Already on Sale in Beijing for US$4,500

Some people just don’t see what the fuss is about. China Daily reports that despite costing around $1,000, the iPhone 6 is only worth between $200 and $247 in spare parts. Furthermore, the cost of labor is between $4 and $4.50 per phone.

But that’s some people. Others will do anything to get their hands on Apple’s latest gadget, with the iPhone “selfie” spreading on Chinese social networks.

iphone 6 selfieiphone 6 selfie

With this much hype and anticipation, it isn’t hard to see why people won’t try to exploit the situation. Unfortunately an unlucky Wuhan employee was cheated by his very own boss.

The man, Xiaoliu, was promised that if he and his coworkers completed a project on time, they would all each be rewarded with “Apple 6″. As it turned out, this meant a reward of six apples.

apple six iphone 6

We assume, after giving Xiaoliu his prize, the boss said:  ”How do you like dem apples?”

Related:

Photos: Shenzhen Evening Report (2), Hong Kong Culture Exchange Net, China Daily, Weibo (2)

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Chinese iPhone Buyers Brawl in the US as Local Launch Nears

Posted: 09/24/2014 8:58 am

new haven apple fight iphone 6A fight broke out in a line-up of people waiting to purchase the new iPhone 6 among two “rival groups”, leading to suspicions the buyers plan to resell the product to a Chinese market at inflated prices, reports Sina.

Ten people identified as “Chinese nationals” by Sina were involved in a brawl outside an Apple store in New Haven, USA on September 22. Three people were arrested, one of whom was sent to hospital but is okay.

Since the iPhone was released on Friday, police have been repeatedly called in by store managers complaining of unruly behavior, reports NBCDFW. New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman described the situation:

There seem to be two groups, rival groups, mainly of Chinese people who are coming in from New York on a daily basis and are trying to buy as many phones as the store will allow to sell any one person. These rival groups have been challenging each other over their places in line. At times, these challenges have resulted in violence.

A grandson and nephew to two of the people taken away protested against the arrests, saying, ”We do nothing!”

The iPhone’s price varies based on model, but reports indicate it is worth three to four times its original value when resold on the Chinese market. Reuters reports of many opportunists exploiting the delayed launch of the new Apple product in China.

The demand for the iPhone 6 has led to many smuggling attempts at China’s borders. In the three days since the phone’s launch, 600 iPhone 6′s have been seized at the Huanggang and Futian crossing in Shenzhen.

Mass numbers of Chinese are also said to have been the source of conflict in line-ups for the iPhone 6 in Japan, also leading to police involvement.

However, it looks like the wait in China may finally be over. Tencent is reported as saying the iPhone 6 is in the final stages of approval, and should be available “very soon”.

Photo: Sina Video

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Chinese Line Up Globally To Buy – And Then Sell – the iPhone 6

Posted: 09/22/2014 11:00 am
iPhone 6 lineup

Chinese customers waiting outside an Apple store in New York.

When it comes to Apple’s iPhone 6, there is nothing Chinese won’t do to get their hands on one including, but not limited to, queuing day and night, sleeping on the sidewalk, or renting out a girlfriend to raise money for the phone.

Instead of waiting in line with fully-charged Apple devices like other Apple fans in Melbourne, Australia, many Chinese were seen getting by with a uniquely Chinese pastime: mahjong, Tencent News reported. Squatting on small chairs, nothing seemed to disturb those eagerly waiting from shuffling their mahjong tiles.

Interestingly, the report acknowledged a lot of Chinese faces waiting in the queues worldwide. Almost everywhere the iPhone 6 is available, including the U.S., Hong Kong and Australia, a sizeable number of Chinese – young, old, men, and women – made up large portions of the lines. This of course fuels speculation that Chinese buyers are scalping the phones to clients in China, where the phone is unavailable, at a significantly higher price.

In a six-minute video by Casey Neistat, Chinese were documented selling their newly acquired phones to other interested buyers. He claimed the Chinese lining up for the phones in the city were organized and managed by Chinese mafia groups.

We don’t know if there is any truth to Casey’s claim; but, if there is, judging by the dedication Chinese buyers have shown so far for the phone, the mafia were doing a good job keeping them in line.

See the photos below for more evidence of the Chinese love of the iPhone 6:

iPhone 6 lineup

Chinese playing mahjong outside an Apple store in Melbourne, Australia.

iPhone 6 lineup

Chinese customers waiting in line in California.

iPhone 6 lineup

Several Chinese customers waiting outside an Apple store in New York broke out in a fight.

Scalpers selling iPhone 6 to other buyers in Hong Kong.

Photos: Tencent, Reuters and AFP

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Unreleased Hong Kong and US Versions of iPhone 6 Already on Sale in Beijing for US$4,500

Posted: 09/6/2014 1:58 pm

iPhone 6Can’t wait until Apple’s official announcement on September 9 to buy the new iPhone 6? There may be a way to get it now, but it will cost you.

Impatient consumers are apparently able to purchase the unreleased Apple product at select electronic stores in the Zhongguancun area of Beijing, reports Caixin.

Enterprising stores are reportedly selling “US versions” and “Hong Kong versions” of the newest iteration of the popular smart phone for a price of RMB 28,000 (around US $4,500).

zhongguancun

A popular electronic retail center in Zhongguancun, Beijing.

However, it’s tough to get a look at one of these devices, if the stores even have them. The shops are asking for money up front, and then say they will “set up an appointment” for you.

Industry experts are warning consumers to be wary of fraud, of course. The iPhone 6, once released, will cost a fraction of what these shops are charging.

Photo: zol, kemaiyixian

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