A letter to Steve Jobs from China

Dear Steve,

My name is Hao Peiqiang, an Apple app developer from China. The reason why I write to you is because I'd like to talk with you about the frustrating app developing situation in China. Please finish reading this email. I believe you will get something for the Apple market in China

It seems that the iPhone 4 sales very good in China. Actually, I went to the Shanghai Apple Store and waited for 8 hours before I got my iPhone 4 on the day when it launched in China. While, from my point of view, the Apple is company not only cares the hardware or the sales of the hardware but also the software. Everyone knows that the app sale in App Store is greatly affected by the software piracy after the jailbreak of the hardware. And I think this situation in China is the worst. The reasons I think are as follows:

Firstly, there has a long tradition in using the cracked software in China. Many users never consider buying software but trying to find cracked version. Though they usually say the price is too expensive for them, they still choose using the piracy version when the software only costs $0.99 in App Store. This is a very severe problem but could not be solved in a short time.

Secondly, the credit card is not so widely used in China as in the United States. There are so many people in China has a decent income and could easily afford an iPhone 4, while they don't have a credit card. Maybe you it is hard for you to image that, but it is truth. And it is not a sufficient reason for them to apply a credit card just for buying an iPhone. Because the credit card used very few and not convenient to use, other payment methods take the role of it in China. There has a very popular micro-payment platform named AliPay(alipay.com) in china. Most of the Internet buyers in China are using this platform but not the credit card to pay their bill. They may be experienced e-commerce customers but not credit card owners.

Additionally, the users in China couldn’t buy the apps under Game Category when the App Store started its service for China region. Thus the users had to apply for a U.S. ITunes account or a Hong Kong account by using the credit card released by Banks in China, or buy illegal black cards from Internet. Though it is OK to buy game apps in China App Store now, it left users the impression that no good apps in the China App Store. What’s more, some companies only provide apps in the U.S. App Store when they releasing their new product (like Google), which results in users who buy apps in App Store don't use the ITunes account in China region. 

There are a lot of websites, like www.weiPhone.com, teach the iPhone users how to do jailbreak and provide lots of cracked version apps. Software for jail breaking like 91helper (http://soft.sj.91.com/91helper/) are also very easy to find and use. It is frustrating that many business offices of China Unicom provide the jailbreak and cracked apps installation service.

The reason why so many users buy iPhone in China is just because it is cool. Except the call and iPod function, other functions are almost not used by them.

All the situations mentioned above result in a serious problem that thousands of Chinese iPhone developers focused their app development on U.S. market or other countries but not China. It is a fact that developing apps with Chinese characteristics is unprofitable. So many apps that developed by Chinese doesn't support the users from China. I think this is not good for Apple. Because has a huge population in China, it is undoubted that China will be one of the biggest consumers for all series products of Apple.  The Apple hardware sales great in China, while is not the case of software.

Hope Apple Company could pay more attention on the piracy problem in China. I have the following suggestions that I think Apple could do:

• Show customers on how to use the iPhone in Apple Local Store, especially how to buy apps. Let the users familiar with the app buying by making advertise and taking promotional activities on that. 
• Support other payment methods like Alipay in China if it is possible. 
• Publicize there exists lots of good apps in China App Store.
• Take legal action to stop the websites or software which spreading the cracked version of apps,
• And also take action to China Unicom for its wrongdoing on helping spreading the piracy. 

I hope the measures, along with all other means that Apple considering, will improve the genuine rate, which makes the developer from China has the interests at least to develop apps that close to Chinese culture. This definitely will benefit Apple, China Unicom and all of the Chinese developers in the long run.

Finally, although the chance you will reply me is frail, I still hope I could receive your response. Of course, what’s more important, it is Apple will take action for the problems. 

Thanks,
A Chinese Developer: Hao Peiqiang

And thank sailoryee translate this letter to English.