Apple "discriminates against Asians"

WOULD-BE Apple punters in the Philippines are miffed that Apple seems to be discriminating against Asian customers.

Manila Standard hack Chin Wong has penned an open letter to Steve Jobs asking why iTunes will not set up shop in Asian countries.

All Asian customers get from Apple are "vague and mumbled remarks" about "the issues that still need to be resolved". This is invariably followed by another sentence saying they are not authorised to say more.

When Apple launched its movie service a red-faced Hong Kong manager had to admit that it was true that iTunes is not available in Asia. That goes for music and movies. It also means that anyone who actually bought an iPod in Asia is only allowed to rip their music from their audio CDs or download free podcasts.

Wong points out that if there is a problem, a company that claims that it is on the cutting edge of innovation should not take five years to come up with a technical solution.

Yet at the same time Snapple's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, sees the rest of Asia as an opportunity to increase market penetration.

Wong says that Apple should start treating buyers here with the same respect that you give your customers elsewhere in the world.

Of course, that is assuming that Apple does not discriminate against Asians because it thinks they are all pirates. But if that was the case, shurley it wouldn't be trying to flog Ipods in Eastern Europe. µ

L'INQ
Manila Standard