Apple To Sell Wi-Fi-less iPhone In China 114
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the also-adding-special-tinfoil-bezel dept.
from the also-adding-special-tinfoil-bezel dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Business Week reports that the Chinese government has received an application from Apple seeking a Network Access License to sell the iPhone for officially-sanctioned use in the country. However, the application is for an iPhone that does not include Wi-Fi connectivity, a sticking point in negotiations with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which wants the phone to only run on the cellular networks. 'Apple was hellbent on having the iPhone be Wi-Fi-enabled,' says analyst Matt Mathison. 'The Chinese government has been just as adamant that it not be.' For many years now, China ministry officials told wireless consumers that Wi-Fi would not be allowed on mobile phones for fear that consumers might be tempted to illegally load VoIP apps and make calls over the Net, undermining carriers' interests. However Glenn Fleishman says that China uses WAPI, a homegrown proprietary extension to Wi-Fi that only a handful of Chinese manufacturers have access to, and that equipment sold in China must have WAPI support and chips made in China. Fleishman speculates that China's WAPI standard contains backdoor technology to allow China to monitor any communications sent over 'secure' links."
And what does our FCC think about this? (Score:5, Insightful)
The FCC is the American version of China's MIIT.
If you think the MIIT has that much power over the Chinese people, how much more power does the FCC have over the entire world?
It's funny, there are so many similarities between China and the U.S. Both are huge world powers that use their military and economic power to intimidate neighbors. Both are led by an oligarchy of unremovable political parties. And both have populaces that are brainwashed and fiercely patriotic.
China is a good mirror of ourselves, so when this type of thing comes up, it's a good idea to take note and think about how we ourselves are being manipulated right here at home.
Re:And what does our FCC think about this? (Score:2, Insightful)
The FCC is the American version of China's MIIT.
If you think the MIIT has that much power over the Chinese people, how much more power does the FCC have over the entire world?
It's funny, there are so many similarities between China and the U.S. Both are huge world powers that use their military and economic power to intimidate neighbors. Both are led by an oligarchy of unremovable political parties. And both have populaces that are brainwashed and fiercely patriotic.
China is a good mirror of ourselves, so when this type of thing comes up, it's a good idea to take note and think about how we ourselves are being manipulated right here at home.
If only I had mod points...Your entirely correct. The population here in the US looks down on China, as if we have no similarities and they're inferior when in fact we're so much alike.
Re:And what does our FCC think about this? (Score:4, Insightful)
Can you stand up to the gov' in any western country either?
You go to a protest, get filmed, facial matched, and get a note in a record. You go for something that requires security clearance and you get denied without reason.
NASA employees and other linked agencies only recently had to reveal all protests they had been in for review. If they failed to list something that might be grounds for termination (and they might be terminated for taking part).
I wouldn't go to a protest. Luckily you can still show civil disobedience online, via letter, and in-person but they're already starting to crack down on the Internet.
PS - This post isn't aimed at the US. The UK, Australia, and France immediately come to mind.
Re:WAPI not for the proles (Score:3, Insightful)
More government interference means more enforcement and a more sophisticated and much more expensive black market. This means far fewer sales of the banned product.
Black markets are large for items that are banned but have weak enforcement and small penalties.
Additionally, Apple highly controls the sale of iPhones, so a black marketer cannot just buy a bunch in one locale and sell them in another.
An iPhone is expensive to begin with. A large premium will skyrocket the price of black market iPhone. The vast majority of the Chinese iPhone purchasers will not pay this premium for a single feature.
A large part of having an iPhone is that it is a status symbol. Except for a few rich geeks, that does not change much by having wifi enabled.
The market will be miniscule.
Re:It's all about the benjamins...er....yuan (Score:4, Insightful)
No, much more suspect than that -- Illegally load VoIP apps and make calls over the net = circumvent china's state surveillance.
Re:It's all about the benjamins...er....yuan (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:And what does our FCC think about this? (Score:2, Insightful)
The FCC is the American version of China's MIIT.
If you think the MIIT has that much power over the Chinese people, how much more power does the FCC have over the entire world?
It's funny, there are so many similarities between China and the U.S. Both are huge world powers that use their military and economic power to intimidate neighbors. Both are led by an oligarchy of unremovable political parties. And both have populaces that are brainwashed and fiercely patriotic.
China is a good mirror of ourselves, so when this type of thing comes up, it's a good idea to take note and think about how we ourselves are being manipulated right here at home.
Your nickname is a bit ironic here.
Try to not paint everyone with the same brush who displays a certain characteristic.
Case in point: Tank Man [wikipedia.org] versus 1999 WTO Protests in Seattle [wikipedia.org].
Neither was peaceful, but the fact I'm able to read about and discuss these past events instead of being state-censored is a pretty significant difference between the USA and China.
I realize nothing I say will change your mind, so enjoy your stereotypical view of America. [tinypic.com]
Re:Double hobble (Score:5, Insightful)
How many Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones supported WiFi in Europe at the release of the iPhone?
How many US phones supported WiFi at the release of the iPhone? Not very many. Verizon Wireless had been staunchly opposed to functional WiFi (and Bluetooth) on its phones, and Apple essentially forced AT&T into being cool with WiFi because in 1997 AT&T could barely support the EDGE traffic generated by iPhone users.
Note that the China-export versions of Nokia's flagship N95 do not support WiFi, for the same reason.
And what are these anti-features of the iPhone? You mean a battery that doesn't fall out when you drop the phone? A camera with less than 8MP in its tiny sensor so that you can't record noise? A software platform that keeps requiring you to buy apps that don't exist for Symbian or other struggling platforms? A browser that not only works, but looks so good it has the rest of the industry in an embarrassed panic to clone it? Or are you just dropping turd bombs because you're bitter that Apple released a good product that a lot of people like?
Apple launches HTTP Live Streaming standard in iPhone 3.0 [roughlydrafted.com]