gray market
Latest
ASUS PadFone, tablet Station get imported stateside courtesy of Negri Electronics, yours for $860
Having to fiddle with a separate Android tablet and smartphone and a laptop just won't cut it? You might be eager to get your mitts the ASUS PadFone if that's your sentiment, but folks in the US won't exactly find these at their local Best Buy. Still, despite having no official carrier support or definitive launch plans within the states, you'll now be able to snag the smartphone bundled with its tablet dock if you're willing to hit the gray market. As discovered by Phone Arena, our friends at Negri Electronics are now stocking the international edition of the über-hybrid; $860 gets you one to call your own, but tactile-typists should note that it doesn't include the keyboard dock. To refresh your memory, the fone itself is runs Ice Cream Sandwich atop a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, and features a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, 16GB of expandable storage, HSPA+ connectivity and a 1,520mAh battery. Additionally, the 10-inch PadFone Station (tablet dock) scores you more screen real estate (naturally) and a nine-fold increase in battery life. Feel free to refresh your knowledge of the device (and its accessories) with our previous hands-on posts, then check out the source link below if you decide to pick one up with your hard-earned dough.
Microsoft exec says Windows Phone outselling iPhone in China
Going by Microsoft's Greater China COO Michel van der Bel, the launch of Windows Phone in China is off to an auspicious start -- enough to give Apple the shakes. He claims that devices like the Nokia Lumia 800c have helped Windows Phone reach seven percent of the Chinese market, or just enough to get past the six points of the iPhone. We're waiting on hard data before we take van der Bel's word: the top smartphone makers worldwide aren't depending much or at all on Windows Phone, and the iPhone has a thriving gray market in China that masks some of its real numbers. Having said this, we've seen signs of Windows Phone enjoying a bit of a surge even in an iOS- and Android-loving Europe, so we'll be watching to see if there's an uptick in the number of buyers saying ni hao to Microsoft in the near future.
iPhone 4S selling for big bucks on Chinese gray market
The gray market in China is amazing. No sooner does a new Apple product appear on the scene in the US and Europe than buyers snap up a lot of the devices, and they magically appear on the gray market in China. Sure enough, the iPhone 4S is already selling in China -- unofficially. Computerworld is reporting that the iPhone 4S is now selling in Beijing at prices around US$2,000. One vendor, who was selling the devices in Beijing's Zhongguancun electronics markets, was selling the 32 GB model for 13,000 yuan (about $2,043 as of this writing) and the 16 GB edition for about $1,729. The vendor noted that the phones came from Australia and the US -- the former could explain why TUAW blogger Chris Rawson still doesn't have his iPhone 4S in hand. The phones are sold without a contract and are unlocked. Another vendor apparently had the 16 GB version available for "only" $1,391, and expected that the prices would fall by about $100 in the next week. Why the tendency to pay through the nose for gray market Apple products in China? Apple usually doesn't deliver the newest products in China for months, so consumers jump at any chance to get the latest and greatest. As we reported before, almost half of the iPad 2 sales in China have come from the gray market.
Daily Update for October 11, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Shenzhen mobile phone market: going deeper inside Huaqiangbei
It's safe to say that most of our readers are accustomed to phone shops that are well lit, fairly spacious, and not peppered with KIRF products. But if you're feeling adventurous and want to take a dip in the deep end of the pool, then Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district should satisfy your strange curiosity. As we've shown you in our previous trip, our gadget paradise covers an extensive range of products, including phones, computers, cameras, all the way down to circuitry components like LEDs, chips, and resistors. Our latest discovery, however, is an entire building dedicated to mostly mobile phone products. Read on to find out what this madness is all about -- a video tour awaits after the break. %Gallery-123728%
iPhone 4 supply stabilizes in Hong Kong, China greenlights iPad 2
Supplies of the iPhone 4 in Hong Kong have nearly caught up with demand, according to a report from MacNN. The popular handset is now regularly available on the Apple online store in Hong Kong, with wait times of 5–7 business days. Previously, Apple intermittently suspended sales of the iPhone 4 in the region, presumably in response to incredible demand. Since Hong Kong has no sales tax, visitors from mainland China and other neighboring countries would reportedly visit the region, buy as many bargain-priced iPhones as they could, bring them home and then sell them for up to twice as much on the gray market. As a result, the Apple online store in Hong Kong often listed all models of the iPhone 4 as "currently unavailable." Now, in response to increased supply or tapering sales, Hong Kong apparently has enough iPhone 4s to keep the device on sale full time. On a related note, China certified Apple's iPad 2 for sale on the Chinese mainland last Friday. The China Compulsory Certification (3C) is mandatory for many products sold in China. Apple has yet to announce a launch date for the iPad 2 in China, but the compulsory license, which lasts until April 8, 2016, allows the company to begin official sales of the device on the Chinese mainland at any time. The iPad 2, which is currently shipping in over two dozen countries, is scheduled to go on sale in South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong later this month.
Apple to release products in China more quickly
Apple has battled a thriving gray market in China over the last few years, and hopes that getting new products into customers' hands more quickly will help to address the problem. You'll remember that the iPhone didn't hit the Chinese market until 2009, a full two years after the U.S. launch. In that time, a hugely disruptive gray market emerged and continues to operate. Since then, the delay between U.S. and China product releases has shortened. The iPad and iPhone 4 became available in China just six months after their respective U.S. release, and Apple intends to sell the MacBook Air in November, just about a month after hit shelves in America. Apple products are becoming more popular in China, despite that fact that they still represent a niche market (Apple holds just 5.9 precent of the Chinese smartphone market share, for example). Of course, these delays aren't entirely on Apple's shoulders, as all electronic devices sold in China must first receive the approval of several governing bodies.
Apple now accepting cash for its cold hard iPads (video)
Nothing like a little bad press to change corporate policy. Diane Campbell made US national news this week (seriously) when her attempts to purchase an iPad with cash were rejected. Apple's no-cash policy (credit cards and debit cards only please) was put in place by Apple as a means of ensuring that customers were sticking to the two-device limit -- a policy that was originally put in place in October 2007 in order to deal with high demand for the iPhone and, some would say, to keep the devices off the grey market. Well, some members of the US media got so feverish with affect rage that they lashed out at Apple with chants of "anti-American" and "anti-disadvantaged" (Diane is described as disabled and on a fixed income). Apple has reversed the policy: it now accepts cash just as long as customers sign up for an Apple account while in the store at the time of purchase. As for Diane, she got a free iPad and "changed a little piece of the world." We feel safer already. Check the local news report video after the break if you must.
Zii Egg Android installer arrives next week, consumer devices nowhere in sight
Zii hopefuls will be pleased to hear that ZiiLABS is releasing the Android installer "next week." The tweeted update means that developers with the Zii EGG will have the chance to get friendly with Google's droid as Creative's project attempts to walk our for retail on something other than its homegrown Plaszma OS. While this would have made stellar headlines in early 2009, at this point, with Microsoft and Apple both offering a stunning pair of dedicated, full-screen media devices, and a shedload of media-capable Android-based phones now hitting the market, well, it all seems to be too little and much too late for Creative. But if its only intention is to serve as the foundation for China's KIRF market then why should we care anyway? [Thanks, Jonathan K.]
Black Wii now available from importers for $333
Yeah, we were pretty bummed that Nintendo's super-hot black Wii wasn't coming to the US, but fear not, fanboys -- it looks like the stealth console has hit the gray-market import scene. Sure, you'll have to pay a bit of a premium at $333, but surely that's a reasonable price for exclusivity, no?[Via DCEmu UK; thanks Craig]
Wii resale price plummets to sane level
Desperate parents pushed the Wii's average resale value to $469 during December 2007, but this year is a different, cheaper story. According to Video Game Price Charts, the system is now reselling on sites such as eBay and Amazon for an average of $250 -- otherwise known as the Wii's list price. Witness the effect of an increased Wii supply to North America, and also of people having no money! Fortunately for heartless Wii scalper jerks, the site calculates that the average "gray market" price of Wii Fit is still comfortably above what you would pay at a store. %Gallery-24459%[Via Gamasutra]
China's virtual goods taxation sparks price increases and controversy
China's State Administration of Taxation recently imposed a 20 percent income tax rate on profits made from virtual currency and virtual items, sparking price increases for virtual goods. While this tax rate (if actually enforced) clearly impacts the virtual space, it also affects transactions happening outside of MMO servers and virtual world grids. The taxation policy could ultimately extend to the virtual currencies linked to the largest IM providers in China such as Tencent, drastically increasing the percentage of the population affected by the new laws. Despite this, the positive benefits of eliminating gray and black markets for virtual items and currency may outweigh the drawbacks for gamers and users of the various digital services in China. Questions remain about what will and will not be taxed in the virtual space, but it's clear that individuals who gain virtual income are expected to declare their profits and pay taxes on this, and do so within seven days of having earned the profit, according to Shanghai Daily.Taxpayers who can provide proof of the value of this property or the value of the transaction are taxed at 20 percent on their profits, while those who cannot provide sufficient verification are taxed at three percent of the total transaction value. But how many people are affected by this new system?
Live Gamer interviewed about regulated RMT
We've mentioned a company called Live Gamer in the past here at Massively. Essentially, Live Gamer is attempting to legitimize real money trading (RMT) in virtual spaces, by partnering with game publishers to create a regulated secondary market for item sales and trades. The goal is to integrate RMT with MMOs and virtual worlds and usurp the myriad gold spammers and scammers currently plaguing most virtual spaces that feature economies. Suzie Ford at WarCry recently interviewed Live Gamer Founder and President Andrew Schneider about how the company plans to change a $2 billion industry presently dominated by the black and grey market. The interview touches on the company's background, how the Live Gamer service works, and overall how they handle some of the polarizing issues of RMT in MMOs. Check out the full interview with Andrew Schneider over at WarCry for a brief overview of what Live Gamer is about. Does the prospect of having a legitimate, regulated secondary market for avatars, virtual items, and currency in your MMOs seem like a step in the right direction?
NYT on gray market iPhones
The Gray Lady has published a piece examining the so-called "gray market" for iPhones in China -- legitimate products transferred through not-so-legitimate channels. Though we of course have no idea how prevalent this was before the rise of the 'Net, I have to think that the shrinking global neighborhood contributes to this a lot -- it's much easier to ask someone in another country to buy something for you when you talk to them every day on Twitter.The NYT puts the number of non-AT&T iPhones at a whopping 1.4 million, but of course that includes unlocked phones all over the world, and people who are using iPhones without actually activating them. So we're not exactly sure of the number of iPhones floating around China (where Apple hasn't made a deal to provide official service yet). Analyst Charles Wolf says that Apple definitely enjoys listing the gray market iPhones in their sales numbers, but that the lack of an AT&T agreement with the phone sales undermines their contract plan.However, he admits also that making the decision to sell the phones unlocked would have earned Apple more demand in the first place, so it's six in one, half-dozen in the other. There's no word on how the impending release of the SDK might affect the sale of phones for unlocking, either. But for now, it's clear that the gray market is a substantial and yet very much unknown quantity of Apple's iPhone business.
Play-Asia, other importers cease taking EU orders for PS3
With Lik-Sang having gone the way of the dodo bird, some overseas customers were confident that other companies like Play-Asia would still be able to fill their gaming jones -- except now we've learned that this gray market importer and several others have also decided to put the brakes on shipping the PS3 to European customers. Our sister blog, Joystiq, reported earlier today that the Play-Asia just emailed a succinct message to its customers: "We regret to inform you that due to licensing and distribution limitations, Play-Asia.com will not be able to send PlayStation3 branded products to your territory." The company also updated its terms and conditions, saying: "PS3 will not be shipped to any countries in the European Union (EU)." Damn, it looks like our friends in Europe will just have to wait this one out after all.[Via Joystiq]
