“RBC Capital’s Amit Daryanani today reiterates an Outperform rating on shares of Apple (AAPL), and a $595 price target, in a note reflecting on rumors the long-awaited deal to carry the iPhone at China Mobile (CHL) is imminent,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.
“Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt wrote yesterday that a subsidiary of China Mobile had posted an online offer discussing pre-orders for the iPhone 5S and 5C, with pictures of the devices,” Ray reports. “Daryanani is inclined to believe the advertisement is meaningful: ‘Notably, the pre-order system is not direct but instead allows customers to reserve an appointment. This adds further credence to recent China news sources (Xinhua News) suggesting a Dec-18 launch, in line with China Mobile’s 4G network launch.'”
Ray reports, “China Mobile’s 170 million or so 3G subscribers could ‘add $10B/$3.00 to Apple’s annual financial model,’ he argues, and if it prompts sales during Chinese New Year, which could ‘bolster’ sales.”
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MacDailyNews Take: iPhone? Ha! It’ll never appeal to China Mobile subscribers because it doesn’t have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine. Now, it may sell very well or not… [but] you can get a Motorola Q phone for now for (eyes bugging out) $99!!! It’s a very capable machine. It’ll do music. It’ll do Internet. It’ll do email. It’ll do instant messaging…