China Unicom surpasses 300,000 iPhone 5 pre-orders

By Cody Lee on Dec 11, 2012

The iPhone 5 doesn’t officially launch in China until the 14th, but sales of the handset are believed to already be well past half a million. Two of the countries largest carriers have been taking pre-orders for weeks now, and there appears to be a lot of interest.

China Unicom, for example, just announced that it has fielded more than 300,000 iPhone 5 reservations during its first week of pre-sales. And China Telecom is said to have similar figures. So needless to say, experts are planning for a big launch this Friday… Read More

 

iPhone 5 and Wi-Fi iPad mini, iPad 4 are headed for China in December

By Ed Sutherland on Nov 30, 2012

It’s official: the iPad mini, iPad 4 and iPhone 5 are set to land on China’s store shelves in December. The company announced today the 7.9-inch iPad mini and 9.7-inch iPad 4 with Retina display will arrive Friday, December 7, while the iPhone 5 drops a bit later – December 14. Only Wi-Fi iPad models are being released now as the cellular option has just cleared China regulatory hoops.

As of the Friday announcement, new iPads are available in 42 countries. The iPhone 5, which had some earlier supply glitches, has now rolled out in 47 countries… Read More

 

China Telecom starts taking iPhone 5 pre-orders

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 26, 2012

Echoing earlier reports, folks in China can now officially get an iPhone 5 as China Telecom, the smallest of the country’s three telecom carriers, started taking pre-orders for the device yesterday. According to a local report, a member of the customer service staff at the carrier’s Beijing branch confirmed iPhone 5 pre-orders in mainland China.

The country’s largest home appliance retailer, Suning, started taking pre-orders for the device earlier in the month. No word on availability of CDMA iPhone 5 models on Apple’s long-time iPhone distributor, China Unicom… Read More

 

Android grabs 90 percent of China’s smartphone market

By Ed Sutherland on Nov 16, 2012

The world is full of ironies. The latest comes from China, whose government frequently blocks most of Google’s properties. Yet, inside the country, more than 90 percent of smartphones run Android. Not laughing is Apple, with just a single-digit share of this enormous market. Specifically, Android’s share hit 90.1 percent mark in Q3 2012.

At the same time, iOS recorded just a 4.2 share, new research finds. Seemingly at the heart of problem for Apple: price. While the average price of an Android-powered handset is $179, the iPhone carries a $726 average price tag. The iPhone 5 can’t hit Chinese shelves too soon… Read More

 

China Telecom to offer the iPhone 5 in late November or early December

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 9, 2012

The iPhone 5 should finally make a landfall in the 1.33 billion people market of China via the county’s state-owned telco, China Telecom. The Wall Street Journal reports that the carrier should start offering the handset in late November or early December though government officials stopped short of saying when the device might win final approval. It was reported last month that the China State Radio Management agency gave the device a preliminary approval for sale in the country… Read More

 

iPhone 5 gets regulatory approval in China

By Cody Lee on Oct 31, 2012

According to a new report, the China State Radio Management agency, one of China’s regulatory agencies, has just given Apple’s iPhone 5 the go-ahead for sale in the country.

The news comes about a month after the handset received approval from the China Compulsory Certificate, and about a month ahead of its scheduled December launch… Read More

 

Report: the iPhone 5 may be headed to China Mobile

By Ed Sutherland on Sep 25, 2012

Outside of North America, China may be Apple’s largest market. Although the iPhone 5 is set to be introduced by China Unicom and China Telecom during the first three months that the new smartphone is available, the biggest audience is still China Mobile’s 700 million subscribers.

Now Apple watchers believe new technology quietly added to the iPhone 5 could improve the chances the iconic handset could soon be sold by the world’s largest mobile carrier.

According to The Wall Street Journal, TD-SCDMA is supported in a Qualcomm chip found in the iPhone 5 when the phone was torn down by the folks at iFixit. The transmission technology is China Mobile’s version of 3G and a clue that Apple wants the carrier as its third partner in the Asian giant. It’s intriguing then that Apple doesn’t mention TD-SCDMA in its technical specifications of the iPhone 5. Read More

 

China Telecom begins selling the iPhone 4S after receiving 200,000 pre-orders

By Oliver Haslam on Mar 9, 2012

The iPhone 4S is popular everywhere it is sold, and China is certainly no different. While previously only available to buy from China Unicom, China Telecom is now also offering Apple’s latest smartphone for sale.

Available through any one of the 2,850 China Telecom stores across the country or via Apple’s online store, the iPhone 4S is proving hugely popular amongst punters, just as it has elsewhere.

The release has been so popular, breaking China Unicom’s 18-month stranglehold on iPhone availability in China, that China Telecom has announced that it received over 200,000 pre-orders for the device. This almost two months after the device was made available through China Unicom. Demand, it seems, has not slowed.

Now there’s a shock… Read More

 

Apple and China Mobile negotiating iPhone deal

By Jake Smith on Feb 21, 2012

Last night, it was announced that the iPhone 4S will be available on China’s third-largest carrier, China Telecom, on March 9th. Apple has been aggressively attacking China and has been reaping off its benefits. To benefit iPhone sales even more, Apple is continuing to pursue adding more carriers to support the iPhone in China.

Reuters reports China’s largest carrier, China Mobile, has been “aggressively negotiating” a deal with Apple, but some technical hurdles are holding back a launch for now… Read More