How many times have you heard that the iPhone is going to China? How many times have we told you that Chinese carriers are just about to launch Apple’s hot phone? Well we’re just about to do it again and it looks like this time everything is for real.

China Unicom is the carrier that’s going to bring the iPhone to China and we have even prices to prove it. The iPhone will cost $733 without a contract but you’ll definitely want to get it for a subsidized price if you are one of China Unicom’s 141 million subscribers. Well that’s possible of course and you’ll be able to pay from $131 to $623 for the iPhone as long as you choose a new contract from $130 per month to $18 per month, respectively. And yes, if you do the math, getting a subsidized iPhone from China Unicom will be a whole lot cheaper than getting it from AT&T.

via WSJ

Tags: Apple, Apple, At&T, China, China Unicom, iPhone, Other Brands, Prices

After all the controversy surrounding the coming of the iPhone to China, we all know for a fact that China Unicom has gained the exclusive rights to distribute the popular Apple handset. However just like in most countries, there are more than one telecom companies who are doing business. For China, China Mobile is hoping to get some share of the pie as it is in talks with Apple to sell iPhones in China also.

Though nothing has come out of these talks, it is believed that China Mobile may likewise get the blessings of Apple and distribute the iPhone to the Chinese market. China holds one of the largest potential mobile markets in the world and surely China Unicom cannot solely handle all of these by its lonesome.

China Mobile, if successful in its talks with Apple, could be the largest carrier of iPhones in China.

Image Courtesy: Intomobile

(Source) Wall Street Journal

Tags: Apple, Apple, blessings, Business, china china, China Mobile, China Unicom, chinese market, controversy, doing business, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, mobile markets, telecom companies, wall street, Wall Street Journal

After a bumpy issue, Apple and China Unicom have finally come to terms on the official distribution of iPhones in China later this year. There were rumors that the iPhone would not be launched at all but apparently all the kinks were ironed out after both parties agreed to a multi-year deal to have the popular Apple handset distributed by the fourth quarter.

With the deal, Apple is expected to further boost its popularity, covering one of the biggest markets in the world today.

(Source) Wired

Tags: Apple, Apple, Business, China Unicom, fourth quarter, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, kinks, popularity, world today

There have been rumors circulating regarding the iPhone on China Unicom for some time now but we haven’t had any concrete evidence to support the fact. Today, however, the deal has been made official which will effectively intorduce the iPhone to the Chinese market in Q4 of this year.

According to the WSJ, China has over 687 million wireless subscribers with over 141 million of them on China Unicom so it’s needless to say that this is definitely a win for Apple.

Tags: Apple, Business, Cell Phones, China Unicom, chinese market, iPhone, iPhone

The iPhone’s official Chinese debut may not be far off as recent reports suggest that China Unicom has ordered 5 million devices from Apple to the tune of 10 billion yuan (around $1.46 billion). This deal came to life after Apple and China Unicom reportedly worked out a deal to disable the phone’s WiFi making it legal to sell in China.

There’s no word on when China Unicom will actually make the iPhone available for purchase but our sources seem to be sure that it will be sometime in September.

via pmp-today

Tags: Apple, Apple, Cell Phones, China Unicom, chinese, iPhone, iPhone, Mobile News, order, report, rumor, speculation, WiFi

Once again we announce that the iPhone will be available in China at some point. To tell you the truth, this is getting a little bit annoying. Every carrier in China wants the phone probably, every Chinese subscriber would consider buying one eventually and Apple is probably dying to enter that market. So what’s the problem people? Why can’t you get along and launch the phone already?

It looks that the first Chinese iPhone will be an almost regular GSM iPhone and when we say almost we mean that it will lack WiFi support. A WiFi-less iPhone is something we talked about a long while ago. This time it seems that, for some reason, the Chinese government doesn’t want phones capable of WiFi connectivity so Apple will have to “cancel the WiFi function without changing other components.” In other words, smart Chinese iPhone users will have WiFi in their iPhones right?

So when will Apple and China Unicom launch the first iPhone in China?

via BusinessWeek

Tags: Apple, Apple, China, China Unicom, Mobile News, Other Brands, WiFi

We’ve told you so many times that Apple is really going to sell the iPhone in China that it’s hardly news anymore. We all know it’s bound to happen sooner or later, depending on when Apple and the Chinese carriers decide to shake hands.

Like before, China Unicom is close to get the iPhone deal for China for the next two years. A Merrill Linch analyst said that:

Our industry checks reveal that Unicom and Apple have most likely reached a deal for an exclusive 2-plus year agreement. We expect iPhone products to be available in conjunction with the Unicom commercial scale 3G launch in Q4, starting on Oct 1.

So there you have it Chinese folks! The Apple phone is coming to you in October. Will Apple and China Unicom reach a favorable agreement by then?

via Reuters

Tags: Apple, Apple, China, China Unicom, iPhone, Other Brands, Portable Devices

Alcatel has sprung quite a pleasant surprise this time.  We have seen many low-range Alcatel cellphones make an appearance from time to time but this round, the OT-S988W is a smartphone that can put many of the other devices in the same segment to shame.  Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the device has a Qualcomm 528MHz helped along by 256MB RAM and an equal amount of ROM and has support for China Unicom’s newly unveiled WO 3G network.  Also crammed in are a GPS receiver, WiFi, Bluetooth, a QWERTY keyboard, and yet another surprise, a 3.5mm headphone jack.  Headed for China Unicom in the near future at an unknown price, and we should know better than to expect something this good to appear Stateside.

(more…)

Tags: Alcatel, Cell Phones, China Unicom, OT-S988W

China has been known to be a place where locals would try to develop clones of authentic peripherals which pose as an alternative for people who cannot afford the original. And as far as headcount is concerned, it is not surprising to find over a million of them in China. Add to the fact that these figures may as well be too modest!

Although it has not yet formally entered China, the number of iPhones entering the Chinese market through various channels has reached over one million. Telecommunications consulting service company Ovum recently released a report that says it has taken little more than a year for sales of the iPhone to double in the Chinese market. However, compared with the popularity in China, iPhone sales in North America were exceeded by RIM’s BlackBerry for the first time.

At the end of 2007, consulting firm In-stat pointed out that the unlocked number of iPhones in the Chinese market reached 400,000, which means that within just more than a year, iPhone sales in China had increased by 2.5 times. Ovum estimates that if China Unicom introduces iPhone officially, sales in China will rise in a straight line.

Now is that good or bad? You be the judge.

(Source) China Stakes

Tags: Apple, BlackBerry, Business, China Unicom, chinese market, clones, consulting firm, consulting service, estimates, headcount, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, north america, one million, peripherals, popularity, RIM, straight line, telecommunications, where locals

3G is something that Chinese wireless customers have been craving for but failed to get it so far. However that’s about to change soon. The Chinese carriers have realized that 3G is the way to go and their 3G networks are being developed if not already finished.

China Unicom will be launching its first UMTS/3G network on May 17. The new service will be called Wo and it will bring 49 new 3G devices to Unicom subscribers. That’s a nice round number! From these initial 49 devices more than 40 are phones manufactured by Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, ZTE, Huawei, Sharp, Lenovo and others. Over 284 cities in China will get 3G coverage and we should only assume that lots of customers will be thrilled about it. We’ll be waiting for more pricing details from China Unicom as I am sure new plans are about to be unveiled. And when will the other carriers in China roll out their 3G networks?

via C114.net

Tags: 3G, China Unicom, Mobile News, Other Brands, Wo

Motorola has a new W series phone for you, the W7. The handset is a slider phone capable to deal with China Unicom’s future 3G network. That’s where the phone was spotted so far and we assume that’s where it’s going to be available initially.

The W7 will bring you the following features:

• 2.2 inch QVGA display
• Music player
• FM radio
• 2MP camera
• Secondary camera for video calls
• MicroSD card support

The phone will be available in China in May but we have no idea when the phone will come to other markets too.

via ePrice

Tags: 3G, China, China Unicom, Mobile News, Motorola, Motorola, W7

China has been waiting for the iPhone for a long while now. And from what we hear the phone will come officially for the Chinese customers via China Unicom. The carrier has posted iPhone specs on its official site without posting prices or actual availability dates. According to unconfirmed rumors, the phone will be launched on May 17th.

The G1 has also been spotted although it still wears T-Mobile branding. We’ll keep you updated on how and when the G1 will be available in China.

via China Unicom

Tags: Apple, China, China Unicom, G1, Google, iPhone, Mobile News, Other Brands

China Unicom, a leading mobile service provider in China, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent to deploy 3G W-CDMA networks in 14 Chinese provinces. This major contract, secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell (ASB), Alcatel-Lucent’s flagship company in China, will enable the operator to provide its end users with new, advanced 3G mobile services including media streaming, ring back tones, video sharing and high-speed internet access.

Initial network deployments in the cities of Tianjin, Baoding, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Guiyang and Guilin are expected to be completed in May, 2009.

Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its end-to-end industry-leading and future proof 3G/W-CDMA solutions, including about 11000 Node B (Base stations), Home Location Register (HLR) data base system as well network maintenance and optimization in 14 provinces — Hebei, Fujian Guangxi, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Shandong and Xinjiang.

With 56 commercial networks worldwide in 37 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in the W-CDMA infrastructure market. Known for its excellent reliability and quality, Alcatel-Lucent serves one out of every four networks worldwide, covering all regions and deployed in a wide variety of markets. The company is also a world leader in the provision of sophisticated project management, consulting and design services, applications and software integration and the design, deployment and maintenance of next-generation networks.

(Source) Press

Tags: alcatel lucent, Business, cdma networks, China Unicom, high speed internet access, home location register, infrastructure market, Mobile News, mobile service provider, ring back tones

We’ve talked and talked about the Chinese version of the iPhone 3G but the phone has never made it to China. And today we have one more piece of information related to Apple’s iPhones and China. Apple seems close to signing a deal with China Unicom. The carrier should have its WCDMA network ready in May 2009. We have no prices available yet and we’re waiting for a confirmation on this one. What do you think? Is it finally time for the iPhone to officially get to China?

via Shanghai Daily

Tags: Apple, Apple, China, China Unicom, iPhone, Mobile News, WCDMA

China is probably the dream country when it comes to cell phone makers and mobile carriers. It has the world’s largest mobile market which will only grow. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said back in November 2008 that there were 633.84 million Chinese mobile subscribers. And only three carriers get to share it: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. I imagine it’s really hard for them to share all those millions subscribers… or not! And China has about as many more people left who are potential customers so we should see cell phone makers still struggling to get some of that market share.

via digitimes

Tags: China, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Mobile News, Other Brands

China seems to be heading towards the future communications wisely. The 3G licenses have been approved and we should expect China to start building its 3G network. And China has been waiting for 3G for quite a while now. Remember those 3G-less and WiFi-less custom ordered iPhones for the Chinese market? What will happen to them now that the country will have 3G support?

A lot of money will be made off the whole 3G business. The main carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, as well as the equipment makers like ZTE and Comba Telecom Systems will get a piece of that Chinese 3G cake while the rest of the world is getting ready for 4G via WiMAX or LTE.

via Reuters

Tags: 3G, China, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Mobile News