China Mobile Likely to First Launch 2G iPhone in China

BEIJING, Jul 01, 2008 (SinoCast via COMTEX) -- AAPL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- China Mobile Ltd. (SEHK: 0941 and NYSE: CHL) is likely to introduce the 2G iPhone to China initially, said market observers.

China Mobile is in contacts with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which is not insisting on its revenue sharing business model, said Wang Jianzhou, chairman and chief executive officer for China Mobile, in an earlier interview.

Absence of the revenue sharing policy eliminated the biggest obstacle in the possible partnership between the two companies, and the remaining problems are some practical issues, said Rainie Lei, China Mobile spokeswoman. However, no timetable has been set for the rollout of the products and which version will be launched has not been decided yet, according to Ms. Lei.

It is not possible for Apple to debut TD-SCDMA iPhones in China when China's homegrown 3G TD-SCDMA standard is still in the trials, predicted an analyst at Wanfang Consult. On the contrary, China Mobile has a well-developed 2G network and numerous high-end users who may be interested in the 2G iPhone.

From www.enet.com.cn, Page 1, Monday, June 30, 2008 info@SinoCast.Com

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