Apple and China Mobile have finally joined hands in iPhone deal

A worker cleans glass in front of an iPhone 5C advertisement at an apple store in Kunming, Yunnan province, in this October 27, 2013 file picture.

CREDIT: REUTERS/WONG CAMPION

Apple Inc and China Mobile Ltd. have finally signed a multiyear iPhone deal. Now, China Mobile - the world’s largest mobile network - will sell iPhone 5s and 5C models in its retail stores starting the mid of next month, i.e. January 17, 2014. The phones for China Mobile’s network will also be available in Apple’s retail stores in China.

This deal came after about 6 years of meetings between the CEOs of both companies giving Apple access to China’s 1.22 billion wireless subscribers. The terms of the deal have not been announced and the details of pricing and availability for its iPhone 5S and 5C lines would be available at a later date.

“iPhone still matters a lot for high-end customers,” Tucker Grinnan, a Hong Kong-based analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc, said by phone before the announcement. “One of the main reasons China Mobile is in the position that it is today, in terms of growing revenue at a much slower pace than its competitors, is because they have been waiting for an iPhone deal.”

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. started offering iPhone in November 2009. It is the nation’s second largest carrier. China Telecom Corp. started offering iPhone in March 2012. It is the nation’s third largest carrier.

Sources:

Apple Signs China Mobile IPhone Deal as Both Seek Market Share - BusinessWeek (http://goo.gl/1SsmFG)