China

Apple to offer advanced iPhone 5s reservations on September 17 in China

With the iPhone 5c pre-order launch now well underway, the focus of the media turns to that of the iPhone 5s. Of course, we'll have to wait another week for that, since Apple has opted not to allow advanced purchasing of the handset.

Unless you live in China. While most of the world will have to wait in line to purchase an iPhone 5s on launch day, it appears that folks in the country can take advantage of an advance reservations system beginning September 17...

iPhone 4 becomes China’s budget iPhone

Remember the concern over the higher-than-expected price of the newly-introduced iPhone 5c?

It was predicted to be Apple's entry into inexpensive smartphones for China and other emerging nations. Now comes news Apple may indeed have a low-cost iPhone for China: the iPhone 4.

The device - largely unavailable virtually everywhere after Tuesday's double iPhone 5s/5c launch - remains for sale in China at $423. The price tag happens to fall just where analyst originally expected for Apple's inexpensive iPhone...

Jumbo-sized ‘iPhad’ would be huge in China, but…

In astronomy, it is known as the 'Goldilocks Principle,' where Earth is located not too close to the Sun but not too far away. The 'just right' thinking needs to be applied to calls for a larger-screen iPhone, according to one analyst. While an iPhone with a larger screen is needed to increase demand in China, anything larger than a five-inch display risks creating an 'iPhad' that's part iPhone and part iPad...

iPhone 5c approved for China Mobile, to cost ‘significantly more’ than expected

Recall how the iPhone 5c was thought to be Apple's answer to China's smartphone market dominated by inexpensive handsets? Turns out, the handset costs "significantly more" than expected and nearly as much as the full-featured iPhone 5s, also unveiled Tuesday. At $733 without a subsidy (in China), the iPhone 5C may not be so cheap after all.

"By any standards, it's a premium price," one analyst told the New York Times Wednesday morning. However, there still could be good news for Apple, as China approves the iPhone for China Mobile, the world's largest wireless carrier...

Both the iPhone 5s and 5c support China Mobile’s TD-LTE band

Surprisingly, Apple didn't make any mention of a China Mobile deal at its event today. The Cupertino company had reportedly inked a deal with world's largest carrier earlier this month to carry its popular handset.

But that doesn't mean it can't still happen. In fact, some new evidence surfaced today that suggests a partnership is still in the cards. It's been discovered that both new iPhones support China Mobile's TD-LTE tech...

Alleged iPhone 5S spotted with China Compulsary Certificate markings

There's been a lot of talk recently about Apple's upcoming iPhone plans for China. The company is expected to unveil two new handsets next week, the 5S and the 5C, and rumor has it that it just inked a deal with the country's largest carrier.

So as you can imagine, that makes this next iPhone 5S shell leak rather interesting. Because while we've already seen a number of photos and videos of the handset's rear casing, this particular one has China Compulsory Certificate markings...

WSJ: China Mobile to offer less-expensive iPhone this fall

China Mobile will be offering at least one of Apple's new iPhones this fall, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal's Ian Sherr. The news comes after several years of off-and-on negotiations between the companies.

Sherr claims that sources have confirmed with the news outlet that Apple is preparing to ship iPhones to the carrier, indicating that the Mac-maker has finally reached a long-awaited deal with the world's largest wireless provider...

Estimate: 13M iPhone 5S/5C sales in 10 days, 31M iPhones in Q4

Although Apple's much-awaited September 10 announcement remains days away, analysts are already weighing the potential benefit for the all-important fourth quarter. Can Apple get a much-needed bump in end of the year sales by launching the upgraded iPhone 5S and the new iPhone 5C, as well as potential distribution deals in China and Japan?

At the heart of new estimates for the September quarter is Apple's ability to quickly announce, then begin sales of the new hardware. Lucky for Apple, before becoming CEO, Tim Cook was the iPhone maker's supply chain maestro...

China Telecom prematurely announces it will carry iPhone 5S/5C beginning September 20

Just as Reuters suggested the major Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo could finally start carrying Apple's iconic smartphone this Fall, numerous reports that are now coming out of Asia highlight a seemingly unusual slip-up on the part of China Telecom, the third-largest mobile telecommunication provider in the People's Republic of China and tenth-largest carrier in the world.

The telco officially posted on the popular Chinese micro-blogging service Sina Weibo it'll be offering both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C at launch. Heck, China Telecom had apparently been accepting pre-orders for both devices before it realized its "mistake" and took the post down...

China Mobile ‘has all of the power’ in iPhone talks as Apple makes concessions

Apple usually is in the cat-bird seat when it comes to negotiations. The brand's allure, coupled with billions in cash and a handset responsible for rocketing smartphone sales has made the iPhone maker a brutal negotiator. Now comes word Apple may have made concessions in order to get the world's largest carrier on its team.

Just what Apple had to concede to gain support from China Mobile varies from a low-priced iPhone 5C to even a slice of some profits. While the latter possibility is rather far-fetched, observers agree: the Chinese carrier "has all the power" in these negotiations...

Apple sends out invites for separate September 11 media event in Beijing

Just one day after Apple sent out invitations to a September 10 media event to take place at its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company has apparently sent out invites to a separate event to be held in China a day later.

The event will take place at Beijing’s World Trade Center, and notably, the invitation looks exactly like the one sent out yesterday, albeit the Chinese text. So why would would Apple want to hold a separate iPhone event in China?

Another Android exec leaves Google nest as Silicon Valley romance rumors swirl

It's not often that Silicon Valley gets to mix tech with romance, but there appears to be a full-blown soap opera erupting in the executive suites at Google.

Hugo Barra, who as product manager for Android was the face of Google's mobile software, is moving to China and smartphone maker Xiaomi.

But what's got tongues wagging is that Barra's departure comes amidst news that he leaves a Google romance. Google's co-founder - who just split with his wife - is on the rebound: with a Google employee. Confused? Don't worry, we'll explain it all below, as well as what the product chief's new job may mean for Android and Apple...