China Mobile on verge of official iPhone announcement

by Stevie Smith - Jun 30 2008, 11:13

After recently announcing a steady parade of international carrier deals for its upcoming second generation 3G iPhone handset, Cupertino-based Apple Inc. would appear to be on the cusp of securing an official entry into China, one of the world’s most influential and profitable technology markets.

Moreover, according to a spokesperson for China Mobile Communications Corp., Apple last week made a proactive effort to clamber over a major introduction hurdle for the region by abandoning its insistence on the implementation of a monthly revenue-sharing policy between itself and China Mobile.

Speaking in an AFP report late last week, Gao Songge, deputy director of China Mobile’s general department, said that the Chinese carrier has finally “broken through the biggest obstacle” in bringing the iPhone to China, and that both parties are now immersed in “negotiating at the working level” regarding the resolution of various practical issues.

Boasting a customer base of more than 380 million people, China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile phone carrier and represents a hugely juicy market opportunity for Apple should the computer and gadgetry specialist secure a deal for the carriage of its slickly iconic touch-screen smartphone.

With the iPhone seemingly on its way to China, that leaves Russia as the last region of note that Apple has yet to conquer in terms of coverage. However, it’s likely that Russia is next on Apple’s list of saturation considering that CEO Steve Jobs recently intimated that deals within both China and Russia were likely before the close of 2008.

Apple’s move to withdraw its insistence on revenue sharing has come about due to the introduction of more conventional carrier subsidisation to help keep down the retail price of the new 3G iPhone model.

AT&T, which is the exclusive iPhone carrier for the United States, will be applying subsidised payment back to Apple in order to offer the 8GB model of the new 3G iPhone for $199, which is a drop of $200 based on the retail price that accompanied the original EDGE-network iPhone that launched in June of 2007. AT&T will look to recoup its per-unit payout via customer service subscriptions.

While Apple hopes to integrate its iPhone into some 70 countries by the close of 2008, various international regions (beyond the likes of France, Germany the UK) preparing to take stock of the 3G iPhone include the likes of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

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