AfterDawn: Tech news

Apple and China Mobile still in talks over iPhone

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2009 2:40 User comments (3)

Apple and China Mobile still in talks over iPhone At the Mobile Asia Congress event this week, China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou said his company is still in talks with Apple over bringing the iPhone smartphone to the nation, despite Apple's recent deal with China Unicom.
“China Mobile has continued negotiations with Apple to introduce the iPhone on China Mobile's network," he added. The China Unicom deal is non-exclusive.

The talks, which began in 2007 with the original iPhone model, are still held up by a few snags, likely feature-set and pricing. However, "we really are still in talks with Apple. In our negotiations in the past, we insisted on sticking to our conditions. We are still very sincere about completing this negotiation."

The Wi-Fi-crippled and overpriced version available from Unicom has seen underwhelming sales, with some reports placing sales at just 5000 in the first week. In comparison, the iPhone 3GS sold 1 million units in its first weekend in the US.

Previous Next  

3 user comments

118.11.2009 15:58

2 years of negotiations? That's ridiculous! Just what are these "sticking point" that have apparently put a snag on what shouldn't be(at least in my naive view) such a difficult thing to work out? IF it weren't for their huge population I'd just say screw China and forget about it if I were Apple. What a headache those talks must be for them.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 18 Nov 2009 @ 4:05

219.11.2009 08:47

Three words, Government Run Entity. Need I really say more?

Like any gov run company, they will run it into the ground with idiotic rules, requirements, and regulations.

Banning WiFi to support a failed home grown solution? Pleezeeeee...

319.11.2009 08:54

I seriously doubt the iphone will ever have strong sales in China. I'm sure the prices at China Mobile will be similar to what China Unicom has (4999-6999yuan(700-1k US~)). Why would they pay that much for a crippled phone when they can just buy the knockoff that is just as good for under 100 US and have all of the features (other than being able to access itunes).

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
2 user comments
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive