MUST READ: Congress demands answers from Google over Glass privacy concerns

Topic: Mobility

My new Apple TV is still in China

Summary: Seeing the little Apple TV travel through Asia does reinforce the idea that we've definitely lost a ton of jobs to foreign workers.

David Gewirtz

By for DIY-IT |

We're all very aware that Apple manufactures its products in China. We've given Chinese manufacturing extensive coverage.

See also: Mike Daisey caught lying about Foxconn; incinerates credibility

Even so, it doesn't really make an impact until you realize that the device you'd expected to show up at the door today is still a world away, literally:

Apple keeps sending me delivery date notices. First, it was supposed to get here on the 28th, then the 21st (today), and now, checking directly on the Fedex tracking page, Apple thinks I'll get it on the 23rd. I'm not in a big rush, but seeing the little Apple TV travel through Asia does reinforce the idea that we've definitely lost a ton of jobs to foreign workers.

Anyway, stay tuned. I'll let you know what I think when it arrives.

Topics: Mobility, Apple, Hardware

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

12 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • yes...but

    Would anyone here seriously entertain even the thought of working at the level of wages and the number of hours that the average Chinese factory worker is subjugated to? A better question, would you want one of your loved ones work in the same environment and earn the same amount of wages?
    nothingness
    Reply Vote

    • All things are relative.....

      What is the cost of living? Here I would not because I could not afford to live/eat. There since the wages are above average and room and board as well as meals come with the deal I might be well off indeed. What are the working conditions in other places across China? Don't know myself but Foxconn might be the best place to work in the whole of China. Again I just don't know. You present an interesting question but not enough information like what are my options?

      Pagan jim
      James Quinn
      Reply Vote

    • I have...

      I worked in a family business, and in the summer time, would routinely put in 80 - 90 hours a week. I admit that I was making more than Foxconn workers, but it was still less than half the wages I would have made at minimum wage and 1.5x for overtime. I am not complaining. My dad and I became closer than ever. I miss him.
      michaellashinsky@...
      Reply Vote

  • Steve Jobs built Apple l,lls etc and even NEXT PCs in U.S.A

    and joe public loaded up on made in asia american branded PCs and Samsungs, Sony's etc.

    building in USA added hundreds of dollars to mac costs.

    Rivals ran ads saying 'apple stuff is too expensive', Michael Dell (the master of overseas component outsourcing) said "Apple should shut down and return money to it's shareholders"

    After leaving Apple Steve Jobs contiuned to build NEXT machines in Fremont California. NEXT machines: Unix, object orientated, multi threaded etc were astonishing at the time. But no one would buy them because they were too expensive. He even begged the government and even government funded colleges to buy them but few did (and today government officials like senators are asking 'why doesn't Apple build in USA?' !!)

    mac market share fell from 30% to 2% as cheap Asian PCs swarmed in to rave reviews from the tech press : "Wonderful! This is bringing AFFORDABLE computing to Americans!"
    the press now complaining about Foxconn (which builds dells , HPs and microsoft products as well) complained to high heaven that Apple stuff was too expensive.

    THEN:

    Jobs hired Tim Cook who used to work for Compaq and IBM to straighten out the supply lines.
    apple followed in the Asian footsteps forged by the PC guys but (as usual) did things BETTER.

    the rest is history.

    TODAY Bill Gates etc can't run ads saying iPads are too expensive. Rivals cost as much or even more for 7" models. And Apple is the the biggest tech company in the world.

    INTERSTING QUESTIONS:
    for all the politicians etc who complain that Apple should build in the USA, will THEY APPROVE purchases for SCHOOLS etc if Macs etc cost $4000 each or will they buy 300 Samsungs? Will taxpayers pay it or revolt? will the people complaining that apple should build in USA buy expansive macs, ipads made in USA or Lenovos and samsungs? (the answers from history is obvious).
    Davewrite
    Reply Vote

    • What are you so worried of, Davewrite?

      first, you bring in Bill Gates - [i]TODAY Bill Gates etc can't run ads saying iPads are too expensive[/i], so it is obvious beyond a doubt that Microsoft worries you, so don't bother denying it. It had zero to do with the blog.

      Then you make it sound as though Apple was [b]forced[/b] to send their manufacturing overseas, when Apple had no need to, as it would only raise the price of their products about 50-60 dollars if they kept it here, so why would you would claim they would cost over $4000? Trying to invent a scenerio to fit your argument? (I heard that Apple products are priced competitively to that other other PC manufactures.)

      And to try and equate that the fact that Apple builds overseas is the government's fault, is ridiculous. (I did LOL on that one)

      People didn't buy them because they didn't need them. The higher cost did not buy anything for majority of computer users needs.

      How is Apple the biggest tech company in the world? Other companies make supercomputers and satilites (technology) fighter jets and space shuttles?
      Oh, you mean "consumer electronics" company. Do they carry as many products as other consumer electronics companies?

      Oh, you're talking "Market Cap."

      Here's an intersting question - would you still come here and proudly brag about Apple's market cap and sales if they moved manufacturing to the US, which in turn loses investors, and decreases profits by the tiniest margin because they cost more to build, which would likely lower the stock price by a substantial margin?

      Don't bother - The answer from history is obvious
      William Farrel
      Reply Vote

      • ah william farrel LOL!!!

        FACT apple now is making them in Asia LIKE THE OTHER GUYS and iPhones and iPads are not more expensive than the rest and apple is doing great.

        you say...
        "How is Apple the biggest tech company in the world? Other companies make supercomputers and satilites (technology) fighter jets and space shuttles? "

        seriously?

        Boeing for example has a market cap of 55 billion and apple is around 560 billion ... SOOOOO........
        they are BIG because they build BIG THINGS?

        lol lol lol lol

        I LAUGHED for 10 minutes reading that....

        shoot I have to email that to friends!!!!
        CLASSIC.

        your logic is like:
        that BURGER STALL MAKES A BIGGER BURGER THAN A BIG MAC: IT'S 12 INCHES ACROSS SO IT's A BIGGER RESTAURANT CHAIN THAN MC DONALDS.

        LOL LOL LOL

        apple is the biggest tech company in the world because it's the biggest market cap, the biggest revenues and the biggest profits.
        (and don't tell me samsung is bigger cause it's a group of companies that also make chemicals and earth moving equipment and vehicles).

        as for the 50-60 costs, that often quoted figure is just for assembly (Foxconn is mostly assembly from parts from qualcomm, Samsung, LG etc) . I'm talking about manufacturing all the parts etc in USA, you think people will be happy if apple shipped parts from China and Korea to just stick together here? the 50-60 is ONLY if all the parts are easily available like in China (this was the argument Apple used: the manufacturing ECO SYSTEM doesn't exist here. They gave an example that if wanted part there are bonks of manufacturers in china than can ramp up immediately to get you one. )

        the 50-60 estimate is low. Foxconn wage is around 1.10 an hour. Average tech manufacturing in USA is 32.5 hr (Bureau of Labour stat. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm). an ipad takes 9 hrs to to build. The difference in costs just for assembly is about 280 per ipad.
        http://blog.stonestreetadvisors.com/2011/05/06/how-much-would-the-ipad-2-cost-if-it-was-made-in-the-u-s-a/
        also : http://www.quora.com/How-much-overhead-and-cost-would-building-the-iPad-in-America-add-to-its-price

        Also the costs doesn't include ancilliary staff like support, admin, janitorial or rent, taxes, insurance, set up costs for the factory (the manufacturing lines need to changed often for new products ) etc. Apple also can't optimized costs like Foxconn as Foxconn can shift workers to build Xboxes when iPad rush slows after launch, Apple will just build for itself and have to factor in downtime as well. Also 50-60 is optimal that workers are available, today in many high tech companies they have to pay sign up bonuses for certain types of tech staff or even import them from India etc. Foxconn has thousands of engineers as line supervisors. I've read analysis that costs will actually be hundreds more. Apple has said if it was just assembly costs they would build in the USA but the eco system doesn't exist here anymore. Maybe a mac a school uses won't go to 4000 (I was calculating more of a Macbook Pro being built in U.s) but it would be hundreds more. Besides even if an iPod Touch or iPad was 50-60 more will people buy them?

        shoo...ooot it took me a while to type that cause i'm STILL laughing from the Big Tech point...
        Davewrite
        Reply Vote

  • delivery estimates

    That is so funny. Just this morning, I checked my order status, as my delivery date was supposed to be the 22nd, and I saw my delivery status which had TA YUAN HSIANG TW (which I now guess is Taiwan, maybe?), now it's Anchorage, AK, today. I wondered how it ever would get here tomorrow from Taiwan yesterday.

    But you're right, it does bring it home to see tracking information that starts in China and then Hong Kong.
    software_gods
    Reply Vote

  • Clearly you don't get out much

    It's disturbingly common for packages to do a "world tour" and then indulge themselves with an encore. One of my co-conspirators watched a package travel to and from East Coast to West Coast USA three times. Each time it touched the West Coast, it would get to within 30 km of his place before it fled in terror, ran home and then tried again. Oddly enough he ended getting two of what he thought he wanted because the purveyor was disturbed enough to believe it had vanished into the ether.

    It's also odd that mail to Scotland can get there in a day, but across London it can take a week.

    Personally I blame pixies.
    ego.sum.stig
    Reply Vote

  • Why not go pick one up?

    Got mine on Sunday. Went to bestbuy.com, ordered it, had a confirmation e-mail by the time I got out of the shower. Picked it up and in an hour I was listening to music from iTunes. After that I was playing 1080p from Netflix.
    itguy10
    Reply Vote

    • Got mines on friday.

      So when i saw this i asked myself the same question... Too longer for the iCloud sync (purchased after setting up apple tv) than getting the device..
      Anthony E
      Reply Vote

  • Boundaries are arbitrary... and capricious

    [ul][i]weve definitely lost a ton of jobs to foreign workers.[/i][/ul]Since Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, all Apple jobs should be within the city limits of Cupertino. Otherwise, Cupertino has lost jobs.

    Then there's the guy whose idea of the proper granfalloon is the U.S. "state." That guy says that California has lost the jobs.

    Did you know that Cupertino is in Santa Clara County? That's right, this time it's Santa Clara County that lost the jobs. Why aren't all of Apple's jobs in Santa Clara County? Bad Apple, no donut.
    Robert Hahn
    Reply Vote

  • world tour

    I had a shipment do the -- well two county -- tour once. I accidently put the wrong zip code on the address, so when it would arrive in the listed zip code, no one would ever even look at the city before they took it out for delivery and discovered that that address did not exist (the street did exist). Then they would notice the city and send it there.

    But before they ever put it on the truck for delivery at the correct city, they would notice the zip code and send it back. Cycle starts again.

    If it hadn't been made out of foam rubber it would have been broken by the time we got it.
    rws0205@...
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close