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Foxconn's Push Into Televisions Hints at Preparation for Possible Apple Television

TWSS37 said:
Vizio's main niche was that they marketed cheap and quality TVs which exactly where the marketplace was headed. Apple, might be able to do the quality part...
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You don't think the millions of image conscious Americans are not going to pay a premium for a all metal tv with a Apple logo on it? They won't be able to make enough.
 
osofast240sx said:
You don't think the millions of image conscious Americans are not going to pay a premium for a all metal tv with a Apple logo on it? They won't be able to make enough.
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Sure, millions will. Millions would also pay premium for lawnmower or a barbeque with an Apple logo on it. Just because something will sell does not mean it is the right long-term business decision.
 
palmharbor said:
The Chinese know that if they build a product that will last 10 years, they lose repeat business, but if it last 2 years or less, they get a new sale.
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Most of what Apple sells is made in China.
Not seeing any viable complaints about quality.

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fivedots said:
Millions would also pay premium for lawnmower or a barbeque with an Apple logo on it.
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Ya know, if that lawnmower or barbecue was built to Apple's standards, worthy of the Apple logo, I'd buy it - not because "it's Apple", but because I could trust it will work the way I expect and not stop working or rust out not long after purchase.

A lot of businesses would make the right long-term business decision by focusing on usability rather than being the cheapest POS out there.
 
Can't wait...then everyone can compare which factory their TV got built in and compare defects with different screen suppliers ON A LARGER SCALE! woo hoo :rolleyes:
 
Now I want some rubber or silicon? fingers for when I'm doing small work.
 
cababah said:
Can't wait...then everyone can compare which factory their TV got built in and compare defects with different screen suppliers ON A LARGER SCALE! woo hoo :rolleyes:
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Which is a perfect example of the challenges of retailing a large item. Boxing up a 60" TV and heading back to the mall is not exactly what I call convenient.
 
osofast240sx said:
You don't think the millions of image conscious Americans are not going to pay a premium for a all metal tv with a Apple logo on it? They won't be able to make enough.
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<insert Fry 'can't tell if serious or sarcastic meme'>

If serious: no, it's one thing to buy a subsidized, $200 device in which technology has evolved on a fairly regular basis recently. It's quite another to spend 5 - 10 times more than that on something that you already own that more than likely meets your needs. I'm not taking my TV outside of my house as a perceived status symbol. People would need to come to my house to see it.
 
ctdonath said:
Most of what Apple sells is made in China.
Not seeing any viable complaints about quality.

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Ya know, if that lawnmower or barbecue was built to Apple's standards, worthy of the Apple logo, I'd buy it - not because "it's Apple", but because I could trust it will work the way I expect and not stop working or rust out not long after purchase.

A lot of businesses would make the right long-term business decision by focusing on usability rather than being the cheapest POS out there.
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Because the lawnmowing industry has such a reputation for products that stop working or rust out? Have you bought a comparably priced lawn mower in the, I don't know, past 20 years?

People, stop using comparisons that make no sense. If you were to buy virtually any product that cost as much as an Apple item, you wouldn't be replacing it in the first place. Don't say you'd buy an Apple super deluxe lawnmower when your entire life you've used hand me down push mowers.

Oh, if Apple made grills you'd buy one because you wouldn't be worried about quality of product? Have you ever used a Weber? Believe it or not, companies exist in their respective marketplaces that have high standards and quality products that equal or exceed Apple's products in the technology sector.
 
IF Apple does come out with a TV the only way it will sell is IF the way content is packaged is revolutionary, and that is mostly out of Apple's hands. Based on the way media cos. resist Apple's overtures (plenty of iTunes competitors have better deals than what Apple gets) I don't see this happening.

Apple invigorated a moribund music industry by convincing the music cos. to allow Apple to make inexpensive music downloads available. The result was that the iPod became a runaway hit. Apple has to repeat this if its going to have a shot at selling enough TVs to make that venture profitable. But a la carte programming is a tough nut to crack because content companies don't want to offend their bread and butter cable/sat companies.

Without affordable content, sold someway that isn't now available, I don't see what an Apple TV has over a Samsung or Sony at same price point.
 
Let me see... According to the first paragraph, Foxconn wants to go into TV market to diversify its client base away from Apple, but by the fourth paragraph this move constitutes a hint that it will be manufacturing TVs for Apple soon. Impeccable logic here...
 
ctdonath said:
Most of what Apple sells is made in China.
Not seeing any viable complaints about quality.
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Modern manufacturing technology allows for any product to be perfectly assembled in any country, by any work force. When is the last time you saw some manufactured product poorly assembled? Toasters, watches, cars, bikes, TVs, watering cans, cameras...all are just about perfectly made now. The difference is in the vision of the design and the quality of the specifications, and quality control.

BTW, Sony is announcing pre-orders for a 4000k TV for $5K now. Soon they will be far more affordable. Machines make these things, in time by the millions and cheap.
 
If I were to have a boatload of money and going to buy an expensive TV, I'd get a Loewe instead ..

Nice and expensive indeed, at least it makes truly luxury electronics .. :cool:
 
I think TV's is one place where more people go for "value" over quality. The biggest bang for the buck seems to be a guiding principal. I just don't see why the "Apple-smart" of a TV needs to come from anything more than a small, boxed interface like the current Apple TV product. You can use that product to make any TV smart. As Home Theater enthusiasts move into higher-end and larger displays, many of us don't want to trade the cost of "Smart" for larger screen size. Large screens are where the largest profit margins are, but those larger screens and their buyers are more interested (IMO) in OLED, Ultra HD/4K and 3D advancement than they are at being able to talk to the TV or wave their hands at it. I think an Apple-branded TV is quite unlikely to be very successful in the already well established market of LG, Samsung, Sony and Sharp.
 
If apple does make a tv i hope they dont use Vizio.
its not a good tv. i belong to a number of high def tv forums
and Vizio dont last more then 3 years.
 
fivedots said:
I see girls who may or may not be 18 but who are clearly of an age old enough that they may choose to work, working in a clean, organized environment while wearing adequate protective gear. Quite far removed from a "sweatshop" or "slaving" away.

You're jumping to a lot of conclusions based on a photograph and your misunderstandings of child labour and the physical attributes of other ethnicities.

By your definition the 16 year old immigrant who just served me my lunch at McDonald's is a slave in a sweatshop.

I am definitely not saying that there are not poor working conditions that we are not seeing, be it at Foxconn or elsewhere, but I'm not sure how you are extrapolating your comments from this particular photograph.
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I am not saying the photography is the epitome of cruel worker treatment, it can't be it's publicity photo for foxconn.

What I am saying though is that it's a really callous, but very typical, western world attitude that people just go on speculating about their 60" tv sets, in an article with a (very clear and up close) photo depicting some noticeably underage girls slaving away on a production line.

Anyway dude, we might have to disagree here, but that's the way I see it.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
IF Apple does come out with a TV the only way it will sell is IF the way content is packaged is revolutionary, and that is mostly out of Apple's hands. Based on the way media cos. resist Apple's overtures (plenty of iTunes competitors have better deals than what Apple gets) I don't see this happening.

Apple invigorated a moribund music industry by convincing the music cos. to allow Apple to make inexpensive music downloads available. The result was that the iPod became a runaway hit. Apple has to repeat this if its going to have a shot at selling enough TVs to make that venture profitable. But a la carte programming is a tough nut to crack because content companies don't want to offend their bread and butter cable/sat companies.

Without affordable content, sold someway that isn't now available, I don't see what an Apple TV has over a Samsung or Sony at same price point.
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I ll bite and dip my toes into the subject matter of the thread. And I agree with what you said. I just want to add that they can't so far manage to negotiate a subscription music deal (eddie cue's collusion book tactics or their blackmailing the music industry into a corner are apparently not working due to competing services) so I can imagine how long the content deals for video, where a lot more money (and control) is at stake will take them.
 
fivedots said:
Sure, millions will. Millions would also pay premium for lawnmower or a barbeque with an Apple logo on it. Just because something will sell does not mean it is the right long-term business decision.
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There is no right or wrong decision, just like a bigger iPhone.
 
4TheLoveOfTech said:
You seem to be able to. Looking back at your posts you own Apple products.
If it bothers you that much then you wouldn't purchase Apple Products.

Or PC computers, Refrigerators or 80% of the things you use on a regular basis.

I'm not saying that it's right but I'm not hypocritical enough to make a post like yours using a product made by the same company you are complaining about.
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Wait a second, yeah, I do own apple products, and a quite a few of them. But I am not Tim Cook, if I were I wound't be paying some bozo from dixons 3 million for a half a years work, nor would I be throwing around hundreds of millions of dollars to top execs (some of them later to be fired for missing the statue of liberty in a maps app) and I 'd prioritize going hard on foxconn for their working conditions, while also coming up with a concrete plan on how to move jobs back to the states, and not just 50 people putting together a few mac minis.

Are you offering me the job?

(I also try to be mindful of where I buy my stuff from, fairtrade, and all, but in electronics my hands are kinda tied).
 
theBB said:
Let me see... According to the first paragraph, Foxconn wants to go into TV market to diversify its client base away from Apple, but by the fourth paragraph this move constitutes a hint that it will be manufacturing TVs for Apple soon. Impeccable logic here...
Click to expand...

Exactly the same that I was thinking.
 
tazz3 said:
If apple does make a tv i hope they dont use Vizio.
its not a good tv. i belong to a number of high def tv forums
and Vizio dont last more then 3 years.
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My 2 Vizio HDTV's are still working. They get their parts from huge parts bin just like all of the other tv manufactures. And I belong to avsforums.
 
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