International Law

China iPhone Alert

By Stan

Hot off the presses, from China Tech News:

China Unicom has reportedly reached an agreement with Apple on iPhone’s entry into China and the 3G iPhone may appear in the Chinese market in May 2009.

Foreign media are quoting representatives from Ovum, a British consultancy, as saying that China Unicom and Apple will achieve cooperation soon and if everything goes smoothly, the 3G iPhone will enter the Chinese market in May 2009 at the earliest, but no more detail is given. Prior to this latest rumor, other rumors abounded both China Mobile and China Unicom intended to introduce Apple’s iPhone into China. China Mobile started early in the negotiations with Apple, but the two sides have not reached any agreement.

At the beginning of this month, China Unicom reportedly sent a negotiating team to the United States to talk with Apple about the issue and the two companies even implemented tests on iPhone in some Chinese regions.

Apple’s 3G iPhone can support the WCDMA network, which is the 3G service provided by China Unicom. Previous reports stated that China Unicom will start the commercial trial of WCDMA in China from May 17, 2009.

No idea whether this is true, but if some day in the future I can get my battery replaced in the PRC, I will be happy.

Full post as published by China Hearsay on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).