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Taiwanese Consumers Mad Asus Demanding More for Zenfone Smartphones - News - Bubblews
Submitted by RchLuvSlly on April 20th, 2014 –
Category: Tech
Well, my friends, if you think that most, if not all, smartphone vendors will offer exclusive rights to the domestic customers in regards to their smartphone products, you might have to think again. Thing is, it does not always work out that way. As it turns out, the domestic customers might even have to pay a higher sum of cash compared to international customers, as what has just happened with Asus in Taiwan. As it turns out, Asus is asking its domestic customers in its home country, Taiwan, to pay more for the Zenfone smartphone devices that the company has just launched not so long ago.
Well, as expected, the customers in Taiwan become mad due to such action from Asus. In fact, criticisms are coming from every direction. Thing is, as reported by the China Post, the Taiwanese vendor is offering its new Zenfone 5 and 6 smartphones with price tags that are much higher than those offered in China. Heck, as if that is not enough, Asus has even seemingly gone too far by providing Chinese and not Taiwanese users a better specification upgrade. Up to now, though, the company has yet to make any official confirmation regarding that.
In Taiwan, Asus is offering both the aforementioned smartphone models with price tags that are $500 (Taiwan NT) more expensive than the price tags in China. This is quite ironic considering that both China and Taiwan are actually quite close, geographically speaking. So, if you happen to live in Taiwan and want to get your hands on the Asus Zenfone 5, you won’t be able to do that unless you pay $4,990 (Taiwan NT). Yet, for the Asus Zenfone 6, you are going to have to pay a sum of money totaling $6,990 (Taiwan NT).
Considering all the criticisms and negative responses from its customers in Taiwan, the chairman of Asus himself, Jonney Shih, did not hesitate to apologize for the matter. The chairman admitted that the company did wrong in some aspects and that the people behind Asus would accept their mistakes with an open mind. In addition to that, the chairman has also promised that Asus will not only cut down the price tags for both the aforementioned smartphone models but it will also provide the customers in Taiwan with a special specification upgrade. And, as for those Taiwanese customers who happen to have submitted a pre-order for the models affected, they will be allowed to ask for a return. As of the time this post is being written, around 20% of 80,000 pre-orders has been returned to Asus.
Yet, why does Asus have to sell the Zenfone phones cheaper in China in the first place? As it turns out, this is to rival Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone vendor that has recently launched its 5.5-inch octa-core phablet, the Hongmi Note, for an unbelievable price. The Hongmi Note is sold for only 799 Chinese Yuan, equivalent to around US$150. Asus is aiming to sell five million units of the Zenfone devices in total by the end of this fiscal year.
