On July 4, Lenovo chairman Liu Chuanzhi famously told a Financial Times reporter, "We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn't care about China. If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."
Looks like he spoke too soon. Yesterday Apple debuted a Chinese online retail store and App Store that features localized featured apps and charts in Simplified Chinese.
Offering free shipping, free engraving, and free customization for Mac products, the new distribution channel will make it much easier for those living outside Shanghai and Beijing, where Apple has four retail stores, to purchase an Apple product. Furthermore those based in the mainland will be able to download legal Apple apps for the first time.
But it remains to be seen whether Apple can maintain the same consumer enthusiasm seen at the launch of iPhone 4 last month, especially when the average rural worker makes $752 per year, and the mean in cities is $2,700 per year.
Apple released the iPad in China on Sept. 17 and the iPhone 4 on Sept. 25. Days later, there were reports of scalpers purchasing dozens of iPhones and re-selling them at inflated prices to those who could not get their hands on the coveted device. The issues prompted Apple to temporarily shut down one of its Beijing retail stores.
In related news, a day after China's Apple Store launched, a local manufacturer accused it of copyright infringement over the iPad name. Proview Technology, a screen manufacturer, claims it owns the rights to the iPad name in China, AFP reports. Proview shareholder Li Su claims the iPad trademark is worth $800 million.