January 2009 Archives

Reuters BEIJING--Apple Inc said on Tuesday it had launched an online shop selling secon d-hand Apple products in China, offering discounts of up to 22 percent, as it l ooks to beef up its business in the country. These are products that were previously sold and returned to Apple and have und ergone quality tests, the company's website said. The refurbished products available on Apple's Chinese website ranged from a 308 yuan ($44) iPod shuffle to an iMac computer costing more than 14,000 yuan ($2, 047). "We kicked off the campaign at the end of last year," said Huang Yun a, Apple's spokeswoman in China. She declined to give a figure of total used pr oducts available. Apple has introduced similar deals in other countries, including the Unites Sta tes, the United Kingdom and Japan, for years, but second-hand purchase only mak es up a small portion of its total sales. U.S. retailer Best Buy Co earlier this month started selling refurbished versio ns of Apple iPhone 3G that were priced about $50 less than new ones in an effor t to seek new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers. ($=6.84 yuan).

By Anna Valmero INQUIRER.net APPLE CEO Steve Jobs won't be delivering the keynote in this year's MacWorld ev ent (January 5 to 9). The iconic Apple CEO has recently confirmed the cause of his weight loss, dispr oving speculations that it was due to cancer. In a letter, Jobs said everyone can relax and enjoy the MacWorld event, as he s tressed that doctors have found that a hormone imbalance has been causing his c ontinuous weight loss. He wrote:

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and st raightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose t his much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will t ake me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple's CEO duri ng my recovery. He called for the Apple community to support him in his recovery.

To read his full letter, click here.