<IT WORLD> Apple deepens roots in
China By Martin J Young
HUA HIN - Apple boss Tim Cook and Chinese
Vice Premier Li Keqiang met this week to resolve
some issues the company's supplier has been linked
to in China. Of greatest concern to leaders in
Beijing is the treatment of the local labor force
by contractors of the world's most valuable
technology company.
Taiwanese company
Foxconn, a supplier to Apple and other technology
firms, has a poor record in China when it comes to
rights and conditions in the workplace, and
employee suicides are at an all-time high. Li
called on multinationals operating in China to pay
more attention to caring for workers.
Cook, who visited a Foxconn factories on
Wednesday, said that Apple would strengthen
comprehensive cooperation with the Chinese side
and conduct business in a law-abiding and honest
manner. Later in the
week, Li guaranteed the company intellectual
property rights protection.
Foxconn
produces the components for Apple's iPhone and
iPad, which costs almost double an average month's
salary in the factories and rakes in massive
global profits for the company, recently
propelling it above ExxonMobil to become the most
valuable firm in the world by market
capitalization.
Apple agreed to
independent inspections of its Chinese
manufacturing facilities last year and has just
received results of a Fair Labor Association
assessment at its factories. The FLA called for
shorter working weeks, overtime cuts and pay
increases at Apple manufacturing plants where it
discovered "significant issues" with working
conditions.
According to a survey by the
group, more than 43% of 35,500 randomly selected
employees said they had experienced or witnessed
an accident, ranging from hand injuries to factory
vehicle accidents. The month-long investigation
also discovered over 60-hour working weeks and
substandard salaries. A cost of living survey is
to follow as 64% of employees surveyed said their
incomes did not meet their basic needs.
Tim Cook visits iPhone production line
at Foxconn factory this week. Photo: AFP
The company also faces a heated legal
battle with a local firm over the iPad trademark
which could result in a ban on sales of the
popular tablet device within the country. A
representative from Proview Technologies stated
this week that it would continue to pursue
lawsuits against Apple regardless of the recent
schmoozing by the chief executive officer and
Chinese politicians.
Apple's troubles do not
end in China, with complaints about the new iPad
piling up from other countries where disgruntled
users discovered that the device does not work on
certain 4G networks as advertised.
The
problems have arisen due to different frequencies
used in different countries for data networks,
Apple's definition of "4G" is limited to those
used in the US, specifically on its partnered
carriers of AT&T and Verizon. Consumer
protection groups in Australia and Sweden have
issued complaints against Apple for misleading
customers who purchased the new iPad under the
impression it would work on their local 4G
network.
This week, Apple agreed to offer
a refund to consumers in Australia who were
mislead by the iPad's labelling and advertising.
In Sweden, which has widespread 4G coverage, the
device does not work as it only uses the 700MHz
and 2100MHz frequencies common in the US.
Consumers in Germany are also disgruntled
with the new iPad as it is incompatible with its
new 4G networks. Other countries have also been
affected, but France, Spain and the United Kingdom
are still waiting for Fourth Generation data
networks to be rolled out. In Japan, consumers who
purchase the new iPad are being told that it only
works on 3G networks.
There have also been
unrelated complaints about the much-hyped device
driving up charges on wireless data plans and
overheating.
Telecoms China
Telecom and Nokia launched the first CDMA Windows
phone in the country this week. The Nokia 800C
handset from the company's Lumia range hit the
world's largest smart-phone market with hopes of
battling rival devices from Apple and Google's
Android. It will offer high-speed Internet
connectivity on the country's leading 3G network
and will be followed by a number of other models
in Nokia's smart-phone lineup.
The company
is wooing local technology businesses and
entrepreneurs to develop apps for a market which
it claims is up for grabs and Microsoft said this
week that they will offer grants for Windows Phone
app startups.
Nokia faces some stiff
competition, Samsung Electronics - which is
partnered with Google, runs on three major
carriers in China and accounted for a dominating
24.3% market share in the fourth quarter. Nokia
was second with 19.6% and Apple, despite all the
hype, had a 7.5% market share, according to
research firm Gartner Inc.
As many as 140
million smart-phones will be sold in China this
year, an increase year-on-year of over 80%, which
will accelerate the country past the US as the
world’s largest smart-phone market.
If
Microsoft and Nokia want digital dreams of success
to become a reality they will need to heavily
integrate the Windows operating system with
Chinese social networking platforms for a uniquely
local experience since many of the global sites -
such as Twitter and Facebook - are regularly
blocked by the country's "Great Firewall".
Martin J Young is an Asia Times
Online correspondent based in Thailand.
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Apple's troubles do not
end in China, with complaints about the new iPad
piling up from other countries where disgruntled
users discovered that the device does not work on
certain 4G networks as advertised. 
