Why is apple selling iphones in less developed countries?

yeah, especially countries like Niger, people are so extremely poor there, it’s not realy imaginable…

I sold mine to a guy in Nigeria… I wonder if they have them there?

another thing—even if they do get the iphone, they need a plan, a computer to transfer pictures, itunes to buy songs, CDs, an internet plan, among other things.

courtney, let me guess, you had to send it and he’ll transfer it to you in a very dubious way? ;)

There are lots of wealthy people in less developed countries, you just hear about the poor ones.

Very true what crunchaweezy says. In every country there is an upper class that exists for various reasons (not all of which are good). A country like Niger is swimming in oil. Yes there’s basically a civil war but in order for that oil to actually get on the tanker ships and over to the ports of Europe and North America a lot of money changes hands on a very regular basis.

For instance, I lived in Guyana for a short time. It is a poor country (though not as severely as some). Even there, with a population of only 800,000 were some very wealthy people who had pretty much everything they wanted (that could be obtained there anyway).

Just don’t forget that wealth creates vacuums. For there to be extremely wealthy people or nations there must exist extremely poor ones.

There’s something very simpleminded about thinking that poverty should preclude the possession of anything exciting or good that the unimpoverished take entirely for granted.
Remember when people, er, that is, white people, used to get furious when
they saw (presumably poor) black people driving fancy cars? They felt those drivers should allocate their resources better. How was this any of their white ass business?

I have to come back now and actually answer the question.

The reason Apple is selling iphones in less developed countries is that there are people there who want them and will pay for them. Apple likes money. How
complicated is that?

In India, for someone like me [ 27 yrs old, freelance graphic designer, MBA education, living in one of the Metropolitan cities ], an iPhone for $200 is probably the best deal on the market yet when it comes to buying a mobile phone. My current phone is a Nokia N72, which I purchased in Dec 2006 for about $360. The iPhone falls in the category of an ‘aspirational’ product and I know people who make less than $200 a month who still buy the product – book it before it is even here. And we don’t have snake-charmers and elephants on Bombay’s streets – unless of course it is on the Queen’s Necklace on Marine Drive where foreigners come to the ‘real’ Bombay :)

Yes. Everyone wins: Apple sells their product to millions of aspiring First-Worlders, who get a gorgeous product for less; “less developed” leaps into
parity with the Old Rich; the failing American empire gets yet another wake-up call on its arrogance.

Just because somebody is selling something doesn’t mean that you have to buy it.

No, but it does mean you could buy it. Think about naina’s wonderful category, the “aspirational”
product. And think about how much we want things that will define us and give us status or at least we hope so. This need for status acquisition exists in every society in history or prehistory. It’s bedrock human.

If you only make $200 a month and decide to buy something that you don’t need, who’s fault is it? I’m sure your car goes over the speed limit, do you blame the manufacter when you’re getting a tickect? Because we all have the “need for speed”

@Notreallyhere: I don’t quite understand your point there… Could you elaborate?

Warning and apologies: Threadjack!

@paulc, do you have any references you can cite to back up your statement: “Just don’t forget that wealth creates vacuums. For there to be extremely wealthy people or nations there must exist extremely poor ones.”

Because, you see, I happen to think that the economics of wealth is not a zero sum game.

—

The Economist documents the tremendous world-wide improvement in both social conditions in poor countries and the alleviation of poverty: Between 1999 and 2004, some 135 million people emerged from destitution, and there are now twice as many countries with fast-growing economies as there were in 1980.

- excerpted from Imprimus

—

It’s more correct to say that a rising tide lifts all boats.

And yes, of course, there are indeed those malfeasants who seek their own personal betterment at the detriment of others… but it’s not a universal truth in all arenas.

My point, by saying all that, is only to point out that it’s a good thing that people in poorer countries can afford the iPhone. It’s a sign that the economies there are improving in general. That’s good for everyone.

Not only that. It’s not like iPhones are the same as refined
sugar (another aspirational product, but one which makes you sick). They actually do create opportunity: for learning, for teaching, for contact, for increased membership in the Rising Tide Which Lifts All Boats.

Because there is a lot of money in less developed countries, you just can imagine, what you see on tv are normally depressed areas, with families with 5 or 6 children, but in urban areas, the story is different…

Yeah, there’s a ton of money in third world countries. People in Niger can afford lots of things you couldn’t even imagine. Granted it’s only a select few.

Yes, yes, yes, “people in Niger” includes lots of poor people. We’re not talking about
poor people. We’re talking about rich people like us. Get a grip.