“Inside sources at China Unicom claim the wireless carrier’s executives recently ended a successful negotiation session with Apple regarding the next-generation iPhone and expect the handset to launch on the network by the end of the year,” AppleInsider reports. “Employees claiming knowledge of the Chinese carrier’s plans said China Unicom Deputy General Manager Li Gang and other unnamed executives concluded a successful August visit to the U.S., the result being a possible earlier than usual release of Apple’s much-anticipated smartphone, reports Sohu IT.”
“China Unicom, the nation’s second-largest carrier behind the world’s largest wireless operator China Mobile, has been an Apple partner since 2009 after signing on to a three-year deal to sell the iPhone. Apple also reached an agreement with China Telecom to sell the handset in February,” AppleInsider reports. “China Mobile has yet to strike a deal to bring the iPhone to its 600 million subscribers, however a report in February rekindled rumors that the wireless monolith would soon carry the device on its 4G TD-LTE network.”
Read more in the full article here.
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It’s official: Apple invites media to iPhone 5 special event on September 12 – September 4, 2012
As the Chinese market grows in importance to Apple, and as the consumers respond to rumors like they do in the West, it behooves Apple to bring the newly launched products as quickly as possible to China. It’s no different than new movie releases that are copied then distributed in China within 24 hours. The sooner Apple can launch in China, the better off they’ll be.
Am I the only who keeps wanting to read that company’s name as “China Unicorn”?
——RM