Could Apples iPad be facing the chop in China?
We have only just discussed Apples Chinese iPad rival ErenEben yesterday, so it is intriguing to see that Apple have stopped selling their iPad on the Chinese Amazon website, but why?
Could this be that the iPad 3 is on its way soon, or that Apple are in legal wrangles with the Chinese government over who owns the rights to the term “iPad”.
Apple in lawsuit with Chinese company Proview:
Apple are currently in legal dealings with a Chinese company going by the name of proview, this matter is related to the use of the term “iPad” which they claim Apple do not own the rights to as they bought it from a subsidiary who was not entitled to sell the name.
If a decision is made against Apple this could mean that they will not be able to sell their popular tablet in the China region, and will kick up quite a storm for the manufacturing relationships that Apple have with China.
Apple requested the pull:
It has been said in TechCruch that it was Apple who instigated the removal of the item from the store, which means that the whole situation is a bit of a mystery as proview have apparently not asked for Apple to stop the sale of the iPad in China.
With the iPad 3 release date imminent, and with proview rumoured to be seeking $1 billion to settle the dispute, there appears to be little trouble in big China right now.
We will be keeping a close ear and eye on this news.
Anthony Munns