Official: China and Apple hammer out iPhone deal
by Stevie Smith - Aug 28 2009, 15:15
Finally on its way to China. Image: Apple.
After much debate and related rumour, Cupertino-based gadgetry titan Apple Inc. has finally cemented a distribution and carriage deal that will bring its über popular touch-screen iPhone handset to China’s sprawling consumer base.
The deal was officially confirmed on Friday, August 28, by Chinese telecommunications heavyweight China Unicom, which operates as the country’s second largest carrier and supports in excess of 140 million customers.
The deal’s formal stamp of approval comes after prolonged talks between Apple and China Mobile, the country’s leading provider with a user base of some 500 million, stalled earlier in the year.
“We believe China Unicom’s high-speed mobile broadband network, coupled with [the iPhone] will create new communication and different experiences for customers in China,” enthused China Unicom chief executive Chang Xiaobin during a press announcement.
An accompanying statement released to media sources outlined that the deal between Apple and China Uncom will run for three years and the country’s official retail introduction to the iPhone (black market availability notwithstanding, of course) will begin before the close of 2009.
Neither Apple nor China Unicom has yet offered any concrete news with regard to pricing, subsidies, data plans or revenue sharing, although related reports claim the operator will initially be taking stock of around five million iPhones.
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