Vietnamese bargain away mobile phones, looking forward for iPhones 5

Vietnamese bargain away mobile phones, looking forward for iPhone 5

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of Vietnamese people have been trying to sell the smart phones they are using to buy iPhone 5, which would hit the market in September. Therefore, a lot of smart phone models have become surprisingly cheap.

It is highly possible that Apple would use the name “iPhone 5” for its sixth-generation iPhone model. iPhone 5 is really a beautiful name, which is believed to be more favorite than “The New iPhone.”

As for oriental countries, including Vietnam, “four” is not a lucky numeral, while “five” is really a very lucky number because it relates to the five basic elements in the oriental philosophy and symbolizes the upper class.

Analysts believe that Apple would install a lot of special features for iPhone 5 – the first smart phone model in the post-Steve Jobs period. Especially, a director of Foxonn has said iPhone 5 would overshadow Galaxy SIII.

Vietnam, like any other markets, especially favors iPhone series. It is really a big market for iPhone products also because of the habit of Vietnamese high income earners who regularly change their smart phones. They would throw away the phones they are using to buy the next-generation products, even though the products in use are also very good with many outstanding features.

At present, iPhone 4S, HTC One X, Galaxy SIII and Lumia 900 are considered the most expensive products thanks to their diversified features.

iPhone 4S distributed by FPT now has the quoted sale price at 17.4 million dong, which is believed to be “overly high,” if noting that it is going to be a “previous-generation product.”

Meanwhile, private run hi-tech shops are selling iPhone 4S at 14.5 million dong only. However, despite the price reductions, iPhone 4S have been selling slowly on the days before the launching of the next generation iPhone.

A salesman of a shop on Ba Trieu Street admitted that it is very difficult to sell iPhone 4S in August, because consumers are now looking forward for iPhone 5.

“We wish that iPhone 5 would hit the market soon to stop the “wait-period” of clients. They would flock to our shop when they can see iPhone 5 with their eyes,” he said.

Since people expect iPhone 5, other super products have become less “glitter” in the eyes of consumers. HTC One X and Galaxy SIII, which are believed to belong to the same upper class, for example, have seen the prices decreasing.

The Gioi Di Dong, the biggest distribution chain, is now selling Galaxy SIII at 15.8 million dong and HTC One X at 15.2 million dong. Meanwhile, Nhat Cuong, a private shop, has announced the price reductions to 14.3 and 13.5 million dong.

However, despite the price reductions, the demand for the smart phone models remains weak.

“We expect the new sale season which would come in September, when students enter the new academic year,” Pham Thai, the manager of a mobile phone shop said.

“The market is very quiet now. No one would buy brand new products at this moment, when people expect a new super product,” he added.

The second hand product market has become more bustling recently, where used products have been bargained away. The sellers are the high income earners, who would sell their phones at a loss to shift to use other products.

A lot of iOS users want Android, Window Phone products, and vice versa. Especially, many people plan to buy iPhone 5s right after they hit the Vietnamese market.

Source: VTC

Rights group says Apple suppliers in China breaking labor laws | Look At Vietnam

Apple Inc’s suppliers in China have violated local labor laws when they imposed excessive overtime and skimped on insurance, a New York-based labor rights group said.
Apple and its suppliers such as Taiwanese tycoon Terry Gou’s Foxconn Technology Group have been the target of labor rights groups, which say the world’s most valuable technology company are making iPhones and iPads in massive sweat shops.
"From our investigations we found that the labor rights violations at Foxconn also exist in virtually all other Apple supplier factories, and in many cases, are actually significantly more dire than at Foxconn," China Labor Watch said in a 133-page report released on Thursday.
A four-month investigation through April showed workers work up to 180 hours of overtime a month during peak periods, exceeding the legal limit of 36 hours per month, the group said, citing Riteng, a unit of Taiwan’s Pegatron Corp, as an example.
Some factories also omit medical insurance as required by the law while workers are exposed to hazardous conditions, according to the report.
China Labor Watch interviewed 620 workers at 10 factories run by Apple suppliers, including Toyo Precision Appliance and BYD Electronic (International) Co.
The group also spoke with workers at factories run by units of Quanta Computer Inc, Wintek Corp and US-listed Jabil Circuit Inc.
The companies couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
"As part of our ongoing supplier responsibility program, our team has conducted thorough audits at every facility in China Labor Watch’s report," Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman based in Cupertino, California, said in an e-mail.
"In some places, our auditors found issues similar to those described by China Labor Watch, including overtime violations," she said, when asked to comment on the report.
Dismal conditions
The report singled out Riteng for dismal work conditions, saying workers work almost 12 hours a day, longer than 10 hours a day at Foxconn, Apple’s main supplier.
Half of Riteng’s workers described safety conditions as "bad," more than Foxconn’s 2 percent, according to the report.
The average hourly wage at Riteng is 8.2 yuan ($1.29), well below the average rate 10.2 yuan at Foxconn.
The Pegatron unit was not immediately available for comment.
Labor groups say wages have generally been on the rise, though the growth has been slower than inflation.
"Wages are certainly going up, but they are still a very long way from what you consider a decent wage because inflation in the major cities in southern China is going up all the time," said Geoffrey Crothall of China Labor Bulletin.
"It’s generally better at the larger factories, but the problem with Foxconn and a lot of the other Taiwanese, Hong Kong-owned manufacturers, the management culture there is still very authoritarian, quite dictatorial. People say it’s quasi-military."
James Wu, a spokesman for Catcher Technology Co, which was also mentioned in the report, said the proportion of short-term labor it employs without having to provide severance compensation was actually lower than that described by China Labor Watch.
"Our dispatch rate is 20-30 percent, lower than the rate of around 80 percent mentioned in the report," Wu said.
Catcher also put their workers through a three-day training program to prepare them for their jobs.
"In summary, our company provides benefits for workers that exceed basic requirements," Wu said.
Making checks
Apple said it had been making checks at its supply chain partners and regularly publishes reports on workers’ situation on its website (http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/).
The company, which monitors worker hours of more than 700,000 workers in its supply chain, said it had been following up to make sure suppliers comply with its labor standards.
Workers typically have little legal representation in China, where labor laws are sometimes not strictly enforced. Unions are also often not effective in providing feedback to management, labor rights groups said.
Following a spate of critical reports detailing unsafe factory practices at Foxconn plants that triggered worker deaths and suicides, Apple this year allowed the U.S.-based Fair Labor Association (FLA) to conduct a high-profile probe of Foxconn’s factories in China.
"The process of change in our company continues, and competitive wages, improved living conditions and the abolition of the use of dispatched workers by our company are some examples of this," Foxconn said in an e-mailed statement.
"Our considerable investment in this process will change our industry through the positive example we are setting for other companies."

Reuters 

The new iPads see prices falling dramatically | Look At Vietnam

The new iPads see prices falling dramatically

April 6, 2012

LookAtVietnam – The price of The new iPad has been decreasing dramatically,
by 4 million dong just two weeks after they hit the Vietnamese market.

The new iPad prices on the decline
The price of the new product has plunged so sharply that it is now just 2.8
million dong more expensive than iPad 2.
High-technology product players in late March once got so surprised when
distributors slashed the sale prices by 3 million dong per product in late
March. However, this was not the last price decrease wave.
On April 3, 2012, private shops slashed the sale prices further. Nhat Cuong
distribution chain in Hanoi, for example, has reduced the sale price by another
100,000 dong for 16GB and 32GB to 15.79 and 18.69 million dong, respectively.
Meanwhile, a sharper price decrease of 400,000 dong has been quoted for the 64GB
product, which is now selling at 20.59 million dong.
Other private shops such as DigiWord, iShop, are quoting similar prices.
According to Buu Dien newspaper, TechLand is now quoting the lowest price at
15.5 million dong for 16GB. Meanwhile, 32GB and 64GB versions are selling at
18.20 and 20.39 million dong, respectively.
A lot of shops are running sales promotion programs to attract more buyers.
DigiWorld Hanoi and Nhat Cuong are giving free SIM 3G to clients, while offering
price discounts to the clients who buy additional accessories.
Most of the shops in Hanoi and HCM City said they are not interested in the
product version with Wi-Fi connection only. Nguyen Toan, Manager of
muabaniphone.vn, the distributor that stated that it brought the first new iPad
to Vietnam, said that the Wi-Fi 16GB version is priced at 12.37 million dong.
Meanwhile, two weeks ago, it was sold at 13.7 million dong.
The salesmen of Nhat Cuong and TechLand said that the Wi-Fi version of The new
iPad has the same price with the iPad 2 3G. Therefore, consumers would think
twice before deciding to buy The new iPad Wi-Fi version.
Prices would decrease further
The continued price decreases of The new iPad in Vietnam are foreseeable.
Experts, after analyzing the new features of The new iPad, said before the
products hit the Vietnamese market that the products would not be favored.
The comments on some high technology product players’ forums such as Tinh Te,
VOZ or Handheld showed that The new iPad has stronger configuration than iPad 2,
with camera 5.0MP, high resolution screen 2.048 x 1.536, more than 3 million
pixels, allowing to well watch Full HD standard high resolution video clips, and
more powerful graphics processing capability with two duo core Cortex A9 chips,
but these are not the interesting features in the eyes of consumers.
The new iPad has a big advantage that it is equipped with 4G connection.
However, the advantage has no use in Vietnam, where no mobile network has
provided 4G services.
As such, spending several million dong more to buy The new iPad instead of iPad
2 is considered an “unreasonable decision” for the majority of consumers.
The information about the disadvantages of The new iPad appeared more and more
on information technology forums has also made the sales of the products slow
down.
With the “negative marks” for The new iPad and the low demand on the high
technology production market, traders think that the products would see the
prices drop further by April 2012. Especially, the products would be several
millions of dong cheaper than now.
Source: Buu DienThe new iPads see prices falling dramatically | Look At Vietnam

The New iPads cheaper than expected in Hanoi | Look At Vietnam

The New iPads cheaper than expected in Hanoi

March 20, 2012

LookAtVietnam – The sale prices of the third generation iPad products in
Hanoi are 2.3-2.5 million dong lower than the initial estimates.

Just seven hours after iPads hit the market in Singapore, the first new iPads
appeared in Vietnam which were imported through unofficial channels (the
products were either carried to Vietnam by travelers, or imported from different
sources, not from the genuine manufacturers).
The first shop which had the new iPads for sale was CellphoneS at No. 117 Thai
Ha Street in Hanoi, now selling at 19.3 million dong for 16GB product with 3G,
21.3 million dong for 32GB and 23.5 million dong for 64GB.
The sale prices of iPads quoted by the private shops in Hanoi do not show big
differences. Techland Shop on Hang Khay Street, for example, quotes the price of
18.9 million dong for 16GB, 21 million dong for 32GB and 23.1 million dong for
64GB product.
According to So hoa (digitalization) newspaper, the prices of the new iPad are
“very reasonable” if noting that the first iPad 2 was priced at 30 million dong
when it first appeared on the Vietnamese market.
However, the current prices in Vietnam are still much higher than the original
prices. In Singapore, Apple Store now sells 16GB iPad with 4G at 13.7 million
dong, including tax. In 2011, an iPad 2 was sold at 14.3 million dong, when the
price got stabilized.
Buu dien newspaper has also reported that the sale prices of iPad 3 of between
18.8 and 23 million dong for 4G models are “acceptable” and “not shocking.”
In HCM City, MuabaniPhone.vn shop stated that it owned the first new 16GB wi-fi
iPad in Vietnam on March 13. The owner of the shop said that the product was
sourced from the US which he bought from a foreigner. The shop owner said on Buu
dien on March 17 that the shop was selling wi-fi products at 13.68 million dong,
15.68 million dong and 17.68 million dong for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, respectively.
Meanwhile, it has not announced the expected sale prices for 4G models.
Buu dien has also quoted high technology experts as saying that the above prices
are not overly high for a product which is catching the special attention from
the technology community like iPad.
Despite the launching of the next generation iPads on the market, iPad 2 prices
remain unchanged, though analysts predicted before that iPad 2 prices would
plummet once iPad 3 appear.
However, the well-known private shops such as DigiWorld Hanoi, PhoneGee, Nhat
Cuong, TechLand and iShop on March 16 all still quoted the unchanged prices at
12.99 million dong for iPad 2 1GB 3G, and 14.89-15.2 million dong for 32GB 3G
products.
The shop which is believed to offer the lowest sale prices now is
MuabaniPhone.vn, where iPad 2 16GB 3G is selling at 11.99 million dong, iPad 2
32GB 3G at 13.99 million dong and iPad 2 64GB at 15.9 million dong.
However, analysts believe that if the new iPad are imported in big quantity to
Vietnam, the prices of iPad 2 will decrease in two or three weeks.
However, other local newspapers have reported a different situation. Ngoi Sao
online, for example, late last week reported that the iPad 2 prices have dropped
sharply to 9 million dong, or 500,000 dong lower than the price quoted prior to
March 8.
The newspaper quoted high technology product distributors as saying that the
demand for iPad 2 is not big in Vietnam. Those, who wanted iPad 2, bought the
products already, while those who want to buy now, would rather to wait some
more days to get better prices.
C. V

VietNamNet - Vietnam issues calendar to commemorate Steve Jobs | Vietnam issues calendar to commemorate Steve Jobs

Vietnam issues calendar to commemorate Steve Jobs

VietNamNet Bridge – A local book company has published a New Year Calendar 2012, entitled “Be hungry – Be foolish,” a famous statement by Steve Jobs, in order to commemorate this talent.

The calendar includes 14 selected pictures which feature the most memorable moments in the life of Steve Jobs. Each picture goes with a famous statement by Jobs, in English and Vietnamese.

The 14th page of the calendar features Jobs’ life since 1976, with 56 small pictures.

The cover.





"Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically
good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them".





"Bottom line is, I didn't return to Apple to make a fortune. I've been very lucky in my life
and already have one. When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided
then that I wasn't going to let it ruin my life. There's no way you could ever spend it all,
and I don't view wealth as something that validates my intelligence".






"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith".





"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by
dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise
of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have
the courage to follow your heart and intuition".











"When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece
of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it.
You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back".






"I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do".










"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.
So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust
in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never
let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life".





"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to
help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations,
all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away
in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important".





No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.
And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that
is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.
It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new".





"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night
saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me".





Be hungry – Be foolish.

The callendar is now available at bookstores in Vietnam, priced VND60,000 (around $3).

Many readers have emailed VietNamNet Bridge to ask how to buy this product. At this present, it is only available in Vietnam. You should contact the publishers for further information.

First News
11H Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1, HCM City
Tel: (08) 38227979, Fax: (08) 38224560
Email: triviet@firstnews.com.vn - right@firstnews.com.vn

Tre Publishing House
161B Ly Chinh Thang, Ward 7, District 3, HCM City
Tel: (84.8) 39316289 - 39316211 - 39317849
Fax: (84.8) 38437450
Email: nxbtre@hcm.vnn.vn
Website: www.nxbtre.com.vn

Hoa Binh



VietNamNet - Vietnam issues calendar to commemorate Steve Jobs | Vietnam issues calendar to commemorate Steve Jobs

Apple New i Phone 4G found in Vietnam

Pictures and a video of an iPhone-shaped device that includes Apple's logo and apparently an Apple-designed processor cropped up Wednesday on a Vietnamese website. The site user who posted the information said the device was an iPhone 4G that was recently brought to Vietnam.Assuming the phone is an authentic Apple prototype, it would mark a second serious breach in Apple's legendary wall of secrecy in as many months. Last month, tech blogs Engadget and Gizmodo published pictures of another iPhone prototype that was discovered in a Redwood City bar.
Although it's unusual for Apple gadgets to be seen months before they are officially unveiled, the recent leaks are not all that surprising, said Van Baker, an analyst with technology research firm Gartner. The cell phone pictured on the Vietnamese site is almost identical to the one found in Redwood City. The chief differences are that it doesn't have two screws on its bottom surface and says it has 16 gigabytes of storage. The amount of storage built into the Redwood City
The latest report had at least one notable revelation. Unlike Gizmodo and Engadget, the Vietnamese site dismantled the iPhone prototype enough to discover the chip inside. Pictures indicate that the new iPhone will include a version of Apple's A4 processor, the same chip at the heart of the company's iPad tablet.Analysts said it wasn't surprising Apple would put an A4 processor in the next iPhone. The company has been widely expected to design chips for its phones since it bought chipmaker P.A. Semi in 2008. Putting the A4 in the next iPhone "is a logical move," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at tech consulting firm Creative Strategies. It was unclear from the Vietnamese site how the prototype was obtained or by whom. In the past, iPhones have been made by contract manufacturers in Taiwan. Gizmodo bought the previously disclosed prototype for $5,000 from a person who obtained it after an Apple engineer left it in a Redwood City bar. The tech blog later returned the phone to Apple after the company asked for it back.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible felon