Golf and I-Phones in China
January 23rd, 2008
I considered buying an I-phone shortly after its launch, but then learned that if/when you buy one you are stuck with AT&T as the mobile service provider, in which case if you are a person that travels outside the US for pleasure or business you will in turn get stuck paying very high extra fees to use said I-phone abroad. I.e., why switch from Blackberry and T-Mobile? So that fact, coupled with the fact that AT&T’s service can be nearly as bad as Charter Cable, means that I have yet to buy an I-phone and will hold off until an affordable solution appears.
This situation is somewhat frustrating because I do not understand why Apple did not cut a deal with China Mobile, who holds the cell phone service monopoly in China, as part of it’s product launch.
Now I know more about why said deal has not been done. Click HERE and listen to this China Business Network podcast with Sean Rein of the China Market Research Group, which sheds light on why Apple has not/could not yet cut a deal with China mobile.
By the way, to the best of my knowledge, Steve Jobs has never been to China. Huh? If that is, in fact, the case, I am scratching my head on that one.
Now onto things that matter … golf.
Golf in China is getting big as discretionary income there continues to rise. Really big. Big enough so that some business undergraduate programs are starting to require their students to take a golf class so they can be more effective in the “business schmooze game” that is such a big part of hitting the links in the West. See this recent CBN podcast on the topic, Golf in China.
The last time I was in China, a buddy took me golfing at a course located along the Great Wall. On almost every hole, we could look over and see the Great Wall and if we looked up at the even higher elevations, we could see the light snow that had fallen the night before on the mountain-tops along that part of the Great Wall. It was quite a site and perhaps the most amazing round of golf I have ever played and at a price I could afford. Yes, it was also client development work, but somebody’s gotta do it.
My score was in no way inspired by the beauty that surrounded us, and remained as pathetic as ever. Notwithstanding Chevy Chase’s exhortation in Caddyshack, I will never be the ball.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, Beijing, China
14 Comments Add your own
1. Ryan Moore | January 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I was just commenting to a couple of my classmates this weekend that Cal Poly should offer a golf class as a requirement for its business graduate programs. Although I was joking, maybe I was not that far off base. I have had several college professors and business associates throughout my life comment on the importance of the game of golf for networking and closing business deals. Additionally, it is an activity that transcends many cultural barriers, as your podcast point out. It is also a sport that one does not have to be particularly young, athletic, or even good at to partake in. In fact, if you are trying to close a deal with somebody, allowing them to win can be a strategic advantage. It would be fascinating to know the percentage of business deals that were negotiated over a round of golf. If anybody is thinking about taking lessons, it is probably one of the most valuable (and enjoyable) investments you can make.
2. Gary Chou | January 24th, 2008 at 12:10 am
On iPhone:
1. It’s spelled iPhone, not “I-Phone.”
2. Just like LEGO is never legos.
3. American wireless communication providers generally unlock your GSM phone upon request, except iPhone. I personally love the BlackBerry as it works like a charm in China/Taiwan/Korea (no japan though, have to rent one there). BlackBerry’s GPS combined with built in Google Map works too, I can see map of Taiwanese street with Chinese street name and maps on my ATT BlackBerry. With the largest national network, I highly recommend ATT over any of its competitors.
On Great Wall:
Very off topic, but when you talked about playing golf next to Great Wall it reminded me of a Chinese book on recent history I read a few years ago… Chinese people had spent 5000 (ok, fine, 3400) years fighting against the “barbaric tribes” (as they described their enemies of the North/South) and went as far as building the Great Wall at cost of thousands of lives to defend its land. Then when the Imperial armies of eight powers came (de, austria, fr, us, jp, ru, italy and uk), they realized they had built a wall and waged a war against itself for all this time when the real enemy were abroad, across the pacific and the siberia, waiting to eat her apart. sad sad sad.
Then the last 100 years or so were all about racial assimilation as all races (ethnic groups) were considered Chinese.
List of them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalities_of_China
(For 3400 years they fought against each other)
3. Simeon Trieu | January 24th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Prof. Carr: As far as I know, unlocking your phone is not illegal in the US (maybe you know more about the legality of it), and an many unlocking solutions exist for unlocking the iPhone through software. They do it on the street in HK by chopping your SIM card in half and frankensteining it with another hacked SIM. Software unlocks exist for other US carriers such as T-Mobile.
My father is an international businessman and took me to the driving range quite a bit as a young man. I’ve loved it everytime I’d gone. Back then, I didn’t realize the importance of it. (Interesting social phenomenon though, hmm?) You can tell a lot about a person’s character by playing golf with them. Are they detail oriented (form, drive, putting)? Are they honest (keep accurate records of their stroke count, not cheating on hazards)? Are they likable (chatting it up on the green)? Many other sports are more active, but golf is more suitable for chatting about life, business, or anything else.
4. Jesse Bilsten | January 24th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Both Gary and Simeon are correct for the iPhone and unlocking. There is nothing wrong with buying an asian phone or other world phone that is unlocked. There are many sites dedicated to this service. E.g.
http://www.1800mobiles.com/incelsolclic.html
The only stipulation is that it has to be a GSM phone. So if you use Verizon or have an old CDMA phone, you cannot use the world phones.
The iPhone is also fairly easily unlockable with Jailbreak on TMobile. I have a few friends with TMobile service and iPhones.
5. Jesse Bilsten | January 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Should also mention you can buy them on eBay as well:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=unlocked+iphone&category0=
6. Brandi Eng-Rohrbach | January 24th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I find it shocking that Steve Jobs has never been to China considering thats where the majority of his products are produced. I guess he really doesn’t understand the want for his products there. If you go into the markets in China there is tons of fake apple products being sold. I think this is testament to the demand there. Apple is foolish because if you don’t offer a legal alternative then you are just missing out on a market.
I think Apple is always as a company is about negotiating things on their own terms. If you can’t do it their way then you can’t work with them. They have such a brand loyalty that they can demand the terms of the carriers here who carry their product. I guess Apple fundamentally doesn’t understand that to do business in China you have to play by their terms. There is only one company that controls the keys to the kingdom of Chinese mobile users. Chinese mobile users outnumber United States users as referenced in the factoids section of this site. I think Apple’s inability to adjust their company’s culture to another culture is causing them to miss out on a huge business opportunity.
7. Brandi Eng-Rohrbach | January 24th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Just as an add on. I’d like to say that despite AT&T offering a better selection of phones and an ability to use their phones overseas, in this particular area their reception is much poorer and since switching I have experienced a huge increase in dropped calls.
8. Brandi Eng-Rohrbach | January 25th, 2008 at 12:57 am
They already have the iPhone in China. See it Here.
9. Chris White | January 25th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
One of the great things about golf is that it allows you to meet so many interesting people that you would ordinarily never have a chance to speak with. You can meet people from all over the world with varying skill levels, personalities, backgrounds, and occupations. I don’t think there is another sport that draws individuals from so many different walks of life. It is truly a global game and a language that is shared by people from all over the world. There is no doubt that it plays an important role in the way many business deals are brought to life. Since Cal Poly doesn’t offer a golf class, maybe the GSBA should try to get a club organized. We could invite people from industry, professors and business students to play once a month at a local course. Just an idea. If anyone would like to play sometime let me know.
10. Pierre Michael | January 26th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I really doubt that Steve Jobs has never been to China. There are several sources that suggest he’s been talking with China Mobile, although he claims that no “hot and heavy” negotiations have taken place.
http://idannyb.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/steve-jobs-negotiations-with-china-mobile-what-negotiations/
And here is yet another way to unlock your iPhone:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10834
By the way, thanks for sharing that video Brandi. It’s amusing and quite impressive what the Chinese can do. They can make very similar knock-offs of very high tech products…and even add improvements. I like that you can add micro SD cards to the Chinese version, and replace your battery too! The stylus though definitely sucks, not having to use one is what makes an iPhone. I also noticed two slots for GSM cards, anyone know what the second one is for? Different networks would be my guess.
11. Jesse Bilsten | January 26th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I’d love to get a golf club going. We’ve talked about trying to set up a constant course time to play at Laguna (since we’re poor and not very good). It seems like we’re all motivated to do it, the only problem is the work load is so much that most of our weekends (or all of mine in my case) are spent doing homework.
Every once in a while we’ll get a chance to head out, but not sure if we have enough interest to form an actual club…
12. Marc van der Chijs | February 9th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Steve Jobs has never been to China. In a recent meeting with him, I actually urged him to come over if he is serious about the Chinese market. Bill Gates has been here several times, and he managed to build up a good reputation for Microsoft within the government and among the ‘common people’. Apple does not have that, and will not have that until Steve will visit China personally. His comment was something along the line of “I am in charge of products, so I don’t have much time”. A pity, because I am a big Apple fan.
13. Erik | February 15th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
An interesting blurb about Apple’s problems in China.
1 in 10 iPhones are on China Mobile
14. Witold Sadowski | February 18th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
“While you’re in the U.S., would you mind picking up an iPhone for me?” - Looks like people are paying up to $600 (a 50% retail markup) in china for a real one (credit to Rob for showing me this article). I like personally like the Chinese iClone…
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed