Tech Would you buy Chinese branded tech like phones, webcams, & cars?

[Kevin]

I wasn't sure whether this one should've been a "Politics" thread or "Tech" thread, depending on how some people might view the topic.

In the US there has been trepidation about buying technology products from Chinese branded products. Tech imports from Japan? South Korea? No problem. Tech imports from China? Not so fast.

Part of the issue is that in recent years there has been a rash of security related issues with technology products from Chinese companies. A big concern is webcams and mobile devices (usually dirt cheap Android phones & tablets) with pre-installed malware, even picture frames. In the past year the US has even banned DJI drones from government & military usage due to security concerns.

This week AT&T was on the verge of announcing a new series of phones from Huawei. Outside of the US Huawei is one of the world's biggest phone manufacturers behind only Samsung and Apple. At the last minute not only was the announcement stopped but the entire deal as well thanks to supposed pressure from the US Government. Verizon is rumored to be under the same pressure. The US Congress is supposedly working on trying to stop Huawei from any US government contracts as well in the same fashion as DJI.

Chinese car manufacturers such as GAC and Cherry have been trying to crack into the US car market for the past few years. GAC, in particular, has been a vendor at the last few Detroit auto shows and wants to break into the market quickly. There has even been speculation that that a Chinese manufacturer could buy an existing brand, like Chrysler, as a quick way to gain entry.

The US government is not happy about the prospect of Chinese cars entering the market because, at the moment, cars from China have a 2.5% import tariff while cars from the US to be sold in China have a whopping 25%(!) import tariff.

So, particularly for the US folks, would you buy technology from a Chinese branded company? Yes or no, what's your reasoning?

 

[Tom]

It just depends on the quality of that specific product and the price compared with LKQ products from other sources. While most of the time I do have brand loyalty, I do consider other brands when making a purchase.

This is a play on the "Buy American" mindset which I don't subscibe to.
Its not my job to support anyone except myself and if the product is better made, dependable and easily servicable and comparatively priced, I'll buy the one I like most.

Likewise, I don't boycott products based on where they are made. I boycott them if they are inferior to other LKQ products available.

I don't care where its made or who makes it.
I don't care about business practices of the company owners.
I don't care if children or slaves make the product.
If it does what I want it to do when I want it to and is affordable...I'll buy it.

 

[Kevin]

This is a play on the "Buy American" mindset which I don't subscibe to.

Well, no, it's not, or at least it shouldn't be. If you note the topic is specific to technology products and even more specifically technology products which have potential security and or privacy concerns related to them.

If it was just "Would you buy anything Chinese made?" then nationalism definitely comes into play. If, on the other hand, you should be concerned about buying a webcam for your house or business because the odds are pretty good that you might have a security concern with it then it is something to think about.

 

[Salty Vampire]

because the odds are pretty good that you might have a security concern

Heck no. For reason quoted.
I am unsure of exactly what could happen, lol, but I assume identity theft, tracking my purchases, access to my passwords, access to PayPal....all these could be compromised?

 

[Kevin]

Heck no. For reason quoted.
I am unsure of exactly what could happen, lol, but I assume identity theft, tracking my purchases, access to my passwords, access to PayPal....all these could be compromised?

In the case of the malware infected mobile devices (usually those really cheap Android tablets you'll see advertised with some brand name you've never heard of), the answer is a potential "Yes" to all of them based on what you're using the device for.

In the case of the picture frames, it was actually the bundled software that came with the frames that was infected. When purchasers installed the software on their PCs the PCs would then get infected possibly exposing any data.

Some other devices that have been known to come shipped with malware include MP3 players, video cameras, and USB memory sticks.

Now it should be noted that devices from other countries other than China have been compromised and often, when challenged, the manufacturer will claim that somebody else along the distribution chain between the time of manufacture to retail was to blame. It just so happens that products from China seem to be the most prone to the problem.

Where it starts to get murky on the topic is that when it comes to China a lot of the manufacturers are actually government controlled. Where the incidents just that, a one-off incident or where they done on purpose at the behest of the government aimed at devices that will be exported? Besides software, is there anything lurking embedded at the hardware level in the device chips? Is it just a coincidence that similar products that are made in China and sold by non-Chinese vendors don't seem to have the same issues, or at least, as often/widespread?

It's a topic that has the potential to be misinterpreted and is why I tried making sure that it was just certain technology products that were in question, not all products in general.

 

[sci-fi-dude]

Absolutly not. Ever walk into any store in any state? Every dang thing is Chinese. Tricky Dick opened up the door, and the cheap felgercarb flowed in. Made in America, Japan, or Europe is the best. That or nothing. Stick to poo poo platter, and egg fu young, or cheap paper and bamboo trinkets, otherwise stay away from el chepo felgercarb....

 

[Kevin]

Verizon is rumored to be under the same pressure.

... and this has come to pass as well.

Verizon reportedly drops all plans to carry Huawei devices due to government pressure

 

[sci-fi-dude]

Made in Merica is the best way to go.

 

[sci-fi-dude]

I have seen some bad issues involving going "cheap" on mechanical parts or vehicles. Wheel bearings, those are the things that allow wheels to spin and attach the wheel to the axel, they are pressed or tapped in the wheel hub, or the axel. Oem parts fit like a glove. Cheapneese fit loosely. Example, your suv needs bearings, you go on the cheap, all 4 corners wobble like jello, your driving at highway speed, then bingo you loose your wheels and you and your kinfolk are in a torpedo or a boomerang flipping round the ground like a dice or a wounded carp flipping on a boat deck. Hope you have insurance.Cheapaneese dirt bikes are a lou-lou also, imagine a person out for a recreational weekend riding a cheap Jap dirt bike knock off, and they are up to speed, then the frame cracks, you endo, and you are tossed like a rag doll, can anyone say body cast? Cheap electronics, cheap anything. A wise individual once said to me, "You get what you pay for". This is truly a safety issue, not emotional issue. Be smart and safe or be sorry..... Dude has spoken....

 

[Kevin]

@sci-fi-dude, it's not a "Buy American" thing; heck, you'd be hard-pressed to find any high-end electronics like phones that are made in the USA. I'm sure there are some out there, but even when you think of an "American" company like Apple they use Chinese manufacturers (and "American" is in quotes there because these days Apple is technically an Irish company for tax purposes).

 

[sci-fi-dude]

@sci-fi-dude, it's not a "Buy American" thing; heck, you'd be hard-pressed to find any high-end electronics like phones that are made in the USA. I'm sure there out there, but even when you think of an "American" company like Apple they use Chinese manufacturers (and "American" is in quotes there because these days Apple is technically an Irish company for tax purposes).

I with you bro, but 90's on back made in the USA was the best thing, heck fire spare the matches, Jap and Euro provided us with quality products, try a simple test, purchase anything Chinese and compare it to a Jap, Euro, Or Merican, and you can see its a good copy, but its quality is pretty bad. I know nafta and other entities sent jobs abroad do to some weird thinking. But ill purchase quality if I can find it, and I hoping quality and longevity returns. Ex. I purchased a nose hair trimmer, Ol Tex love a clean schnozz, and it broke, I bought 3 more they broke, I don't want to look like Repunzel in my nostrils, so I keep buying cheap stuff, gets expensive you know.....

 

[Kevin]

At the urging of the US other governments are starting to drop Huawei as well. There has got to be more known then what has been released to the public; why else would the US offer to pay for an Australian cable project rather than letting Australia pay itself for a contract with Huawei?

Who’s Afraid of Huawei? Security Worries Spread Beyond the U.S.​

Wall Street Journal, Dan Strumpf, Rob Taylor, Paul Vieira in OttawaMarch 20, 2018​

​

National-security concerns surrounding China’s Huawei Technologies are spreading beyond the U.S. to key allies. The telecommunications equipment maker was a subject of debate in Canada’s Parliament this week, and the chief executive of South Korea’s largest telecom, considering vendors for next-generation wireless technology, reportedly called Huawei a “concern.”​

​

Australia, where U.S. officials have been pushing a case that the Chinese company is a national security risk, recently pressured the Solomon Islands to drop Huawei as the contractor on an undersea cable connecting the South Pacific nation with Australia. It offered instead to fund a separate cable itself. Australia is now consulting other nations about their security concerns around Huawei’s involvement in next-generation 5G wireless equipment, officials said.​

​

The U.S. has taken a series of actions aimed at Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of wireless equipment and No. 3 vendor of smartphone​

 

[Jethro]

The Chinese built Great Wall ute is making inroads into Oz (no pun intended), but as my mate who is a traddie states "clearly the blokes buying them don't make good money because they aren't good at their jobs".

Back in the day was doing a contract over the ditch in Auckland and a report there was some of the apps that came with Huawei devices were unexplained and probable data risks. Would take that with a grain salt.

Have a tendency to buy Dell or HP tech equipment and Samsung mobiles.

 

[sci-fi-dude]

Y'all hear bout' the self driving uber vehicle accident. Pretty pathetic! Some machines cant ever replace the human element, bottom line. What creeped me out was the felon sitting in the emergency seat who was supposed to be awake was snoozing when the accident occoured. I think any thing that is self propelled is stupid, dumb and ridiculous! I will never use uber or any other tech company again. I'm goin' Grey hound or supper shuttle or yellow cab, that's it. We all love sci-fi and tech, but this is absurd, self drivin' vehicles and such!

 

[Kevin]

The Chinese built Great Wall ute is making inroads into Oz (no pun intended), but as my mate who is a traddie states "clearly the blokes buying them don't make good money because they aren't good at their jobs".

Back in the day was doing a contract over the ditch in Auckland and a report there was some of the apps that came with Huawei devices were unexplained and probable data risks. Would take that with a grain salt.

In the US it was just announced that Best Buy (a national chain selling mostly electronics & major appliances) has stopped ordering Huawei as well.

Have a tendency to buy Dell or HP tech equipment and Samsung mobiles.

Oddly, my home tech is the same. Last round of laptops were HP but as they age they are getting replaced with Dell and all phones are Samsung (Galaxy S7 Edge currently for me & Mrs. Kevin, our S5 & S3 phones were given to others in the family).