ku> From: kinau@mondrian.CSUFresno.EDU (Kin Hung Au) Date: 13 Apr 93
  ku> 07:22:05 GMT Organization: California State University, Fresno
  ku> Message-ID: <C5Ev4t.G0A@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU> Newsgroups:
  ku> comp.sys.mac.hardware
  ku> 
  ku> In Hong Kong , you can buy a cheap PC 386 or 486 based computer.
  ku> However, it is very experience to buy a Macintosh. Last winter, I was
  ku> back to Hong Kong. I saw the price of Mac Classic in Hong kong is same
  ku> price to buy a LC in the U.S.
  ku> 
  ku> I am not recommended to buy MAc in Hong Kong since Mac is not popular
  ku> in HK.
  ku> 
  ku> Kin Hung Au
  
Hello Mr. Au,

I have to disagree regarding your assessment of Macintosh in Hong Kong. The Mac has a sizeable share of the typesetting market, as in the U.S. A local magazine, Next Magazine (similar to Newsweek here), uses the Mac extensively. I have seen Sir Speedy and other franchises in Hong Kong equipped with Mac-based systems. True, the discount is not as steep as here because customers in Hong Kong cannot buy from gray market, nor are Mac being sold thru mass merchandisers like Apple does here with the Performa lin


e. At this point the sale of Mac is handled by one exclusive distributor. On the other hand, you can always get a PC clone or in the earlier days, illegal clones of the Apple IIe.

Your perception of the Mac not being too popular in Hong Kong is simply because most hobbyists and users find it much cheaper to go to one of those basement stores that sell PC clones with probably illegal copies of BIOS than to pay for a Mac.

Similarly you cannot say Lotus 1-2-3 surely is not well accepted in Hong Kong because the sale is so low. May be it is because of all those places in Kowloon where illegal copies of Lotus 1-2-3 can be bought for $20 and $10 for a professional looking but illegal copies of the manuals.