Monday Apple Rumors: Chinese iPad Smuggling on the Rise

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daily apple rumors AAPLHere are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for Monday:

iPad Sales Thriving on the Black Market: The combination of runaway popularity and limited availability has created a burgeoning Chinese black market for Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new iPad. As Reuters reports, Apple limited the sale of its new iPad to two tablets per buyer, which, when combined with voracious consumer appetite for Apple’s next-gen tablet, has caused severe disequilibrium between supply and demand.

Savvy Chinese tech smugglers have jumped at the opportunity, with West Coast liaisons snapping up iPads and smuggling them back into China for resale — frequently at more than twice their retail price. Considering that China has rapidly become the world’s top activator of Apple handhelds, indicators point to a growing cross-Pacific black market in Apple products.

Justice Department Emphasizes Vigilant Trustbusting Stance: Sharis Pozen, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official, has publicly announced her intention to remain vigilant in trustbusting investigations. The Wall Street Journal reports that while Ms. Pozen did not specifically mention Apple, her recent statements are making the tech giant uncomfortable — as the antitrust investigation contra Apple is the most extensive currently underway in the U.S. The investigation centers on whether Apple unfairly colluded with e-book syndication partners to the calculated detriment of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and could result in a shakedown of Apple’s publishing allies as well.

Intel Running Fierce Against Apple in Laptop Market: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) has recently been promoting a new line of Ultrabook laptops, and may be poised to give Apple’s Macbook a run for its money. According to a Time Techland feature, Intel’s Ultrabook debut will be the biggest company launch in nearly a decade — and may fall in tandem with Apple’s predicted next-gen Macbook release. Ultrabooks might retail for as low as $799, undercutting the standing price of Apple’s least expensive Macbook Air by a clean $200.

Adam Patterson is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. For more from the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/03/monday-apple-rumors-chinese-ipad-smuggling-up/.

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