Though the Chinese market is and may remain a tough one for Apple (see our separate story), at least one company is working to make inroads. Arcsoft released Arcsoft Photostudio X there in July and even flew in a speaker from Europe to show off the new product.
Arcsoft is a software company focusing mostly on the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) market for digital cameras. Two Chinese people in the United States started the company in 1994. Since then, it has grown to a 100-man operation in the States with offices all over the world. They now have another 100 people working at their China offices.
PhotoStudio is a photo editing application that provides a collection of photo editing and retouching tools, plus a large assortment of enhancements and special effects with unlimited levels of modification. Arcsoft Photostudio X is the first third party application localized in Chinese for Mac OS X.
The title sells for 400RMB (about US $50) and is compatible with a Power Mac G3 and better. It runs on both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. The package includes a free copy of PhotoPrinter Pro, a utility designed to help users print more efficiently, and a free CD with 106 TrueType fonts for Simplified and Traditional Chinese.