apple iphones and china

Apple may have underestimated Chinese demand for its new iPhone 4S once, but it has no plans to do so a second time.
Remarking on sales of the 4S in Greater China, during the company’s recent first-quarter earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said demand for the device there has been staggering. “We felt we were betting bold, as I think many of you would have thought if you would have known what we were doing,” Cook said of the 4S rollout plan for the country. “But as it turns out, we didn’t bet high enough.”

That’s a rare admission of misjudgment from a company that doesn’t often make them. It’s also a comment that speaks to the massive size of the Chinese market, which remains largely untapped by Apple, thanks to its lone-carrier deal in the country.

Right now, Apple only has a deal with China Unicom, which gives it access to about 10 percent of China’s 150 million “high-end” mobile subscribers, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. If it were to a sign a similar deal with China Telecom, it would gain access to another 15 million. And if it at long last brought the iPhone to China Mobile, it would gain access to an additional 120 million.

That’s a massive addressable market, and one that Apple can ill afford to ignore. To do so would be to leave a lot of easy money on the table, according to Huberty. She figures that adding China Telecom as a carrier partner would create an additional two million to four million iPhone users in the near term. And adding China Mobile would create a much bigger multiple of that.

“We estimate China Unicom has 3 million iPhone users, implying a 20 percent penetration of its 15 million high-end subscriber base,” Huberty said. “The same penetration at China Mobile given its 120 million high-end subscribers would equate to 24 million iPhones, with 14 million switching from other feature phones or smartphones and 10 million existing iPhone users on the 2G network upgrading to the faster 4G network.”

Huberty expects the iPhone to arrive on China Telecom in the next few months. Its debut on China Mobile, however, will take a bit longer, and isn’t likely to occur until Apple introduces the iPhone 5, which is expected to be compatible with the carrier’s upcoming 4G network (TD-LTE).

how to geek 101 the fun facts about computers

The definition of geek has changed considerably over time, and there is no longer a definitive meaning. The terms nerd, gimp, dweeb, dork, spod and gump have similar meanings as geek, but many choose to identify different connotations among these terms, although the differences are disputed. In a 2007 interview on The Colbert Report, Richard Clarke said the difference between nerds and geeks is "geeks get it done."^[2] Julie Smith defined a geek as "a bright young man turned inward, poorly socialized, who felt so little kinship with his own planet that he routinely traveled to the ones invented by his favorite authors, who thought of that secret, dreamy place his computer took him to as cyberspace—somewhere exciting, a place more real than his own life, a land he could conquer, not a drab teenager's room in his parents' house."^[3]
Other definitions include:

• A derogatory reference to a person obsessed with intellectual pursuits for their own sake, who is also deficient in most other human attributes so as to impair the person's smooth operation within society.
• A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media. Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves.
• A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies; for example, using multivariate calculus to determine how they should correctly optimize the dimensions of a pan to bake a cake.
• A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
• A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest. This definition is very broad but because many of these interests have mainstream endorsement and acceptance, the inclusion of some genres as "geeky" is heavily debated. Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks, mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theater geeks, history geeks, music geeks,^{[citation needed]} sport geeks,^{[citation needed]} art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks, video game geeks, and roleplay geeks.
• A more recent school of thought sees nerd as being a derogatory phrase, while geek is simply a description. It is taken to be someone who is an enthusiast, often in things outside of the mainstream spectrum. It may also describe immersion in a particular mainstream interest to an extreme that is beyond normalcy (e.g. sports geek)^{[citation needed]}. Of note is that in this definition, there is no reference to being socially inept in the slightest.^{[citation needed]}

Reclamation and self-identification

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Although being described as a geek tends to be an insult, the term has recently become more complimentary, or even a badge of honor, within particular fields. This is particularly evident in the technical disciplines, where the term is now often a compliment, denoting extraordinary skill. Geek Pride Day has been observed on May 25 in Spain since 2006 (May 25 being the world premiere date of Star Wars and also Towel Day). The holiday promotes the right to be nerdy or geeky, and to express it in public without shame. A new convention, Geek.Kon, has sprung up in Madison, Wisconsin with a purpose to celebrate all things geek. The website BoardGameGeek is an online community of boardgamers who identify themselves as geeks at game conventions; they call their website "The Geek," for short. Technical support services such as Geek Squad use the term geek to signify helpful technical abilities. In recent history, some geeks have cultivated a geek culture, such as geek humor and obscure references on t-shirts. The so-called geek chic trend is a deliberate affectation of geek or nerd traits as a fashion statement. Nonetheless, the derogatory definition of geeks remains that of a person engrossed in his area of interest at the cost of social skills, personal hygiene, and status.
There has been criticism over the widespread appropriation of the terms "geek" and "nerd" as self descriptors, especially by individuals who would have most likely not been described as such under the traditional stereotype. Along with efforts to de-emphasize the negative social aspects, in recent years there have been arguments for de-emphasizing the necessity for having noticeably exceptional levels of intelligence or technical aptitude. This has resulted in the desire to redefine the term geek rather as any person who pursues a passionate interest in anything regardless of genre, is creative, and individualistic. Arguments against the revisionist definitions, however, state that it is not only unnecessary, but it completely contradicts the traditional accepted definition of the terms which distinctly refer to persons who are noticeably above average intelligence, usually more adept in technically demanding fields, and socially awkward or alienated to some degree.

Geek chic

"Geek chic" refers to the embracing of stereotypically "geek" characteristics including black-rimmed glasses, T-shirts with geek in-jokes, and more technically complex accessories.
There are multiple interpretations of the term "geek chic", with heavy black-rimmed glasses being the sole defining trait as far as the press is concerned. Wearing them is sufficiently notable to have celebrities like David Beckham,^[4] Justin Timberlake^[5] and Myleene Klass^[6] being reported as "trying geek chic". David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, has also described the look of his bespectacled character as having "a bit of geek chic".^[7]
To geeks themselves, the term is used for "reclaiming the geek identity as something not only meaningful, but also stylish."^[8] - for this usage, more than mere spectacle frames are required, and so the term has a wider remit, being applied to home furnishings^[9] and objects as well as oufits. In this usage, the term "geek chic" can even be used as a positive contrast to the somewhat more negative term "geeky".^[10]
Geek chic is not to be confused with preppie fashion, which is more widely associated with a conservative image rather than geek culture. Instead, much of the geek chic image borrows from various alternative youth fashions such as goth, hippie, and bohemian among others,^{[citation needed]} but t-shirts with geeky in-jokes seem to originate from the geeks themselves, with shirt designers who tailor to geeks offering rewards for the best ideas.^[11][12]