10:30 AM – Two companies who have been itching to come up with a deal have finally reached an agreement. For quite a while, speculation grew that Apple and China Mobile were very close to having a deal and now it seems that proves true.
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, an ad found by them shows that China Mobile will start taking iPhone preorders on December 12. This is great for Apple seeing as the carrier has over 700 million subscribers and continuously growing. Adding China Mobile to it’s partners is a very good way for Apple to expand it’s customer base.
China Mobile plans to take preorders for Apple Inc.’s iPhones from Thursday in Shanghai, according to an advertisement on its website, as the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscribers moves closer to launching high-speed fourth-generation mobile services in the country.
An attempt to order the iPhone 5s was made on Monday by contacting customer service of China Mobile, however were told to wait until Thursday. That is when the iPhone will go on preorder.
A quick test to preorder an iPhone 5S didn’t work Monday. A phone call to a China Mobile customer representative confirmed that customers can preorder iPhones from the site starting Thursday.
This is also a great opportunity for China Mobile. The company will be launching its 4G TD-LTE network on December 18, so selling one of the hottest phones in the world on its network right around this time is perfect. Even more customers will be attracted to the carrier as new network speeds paired up with the iPhone will bring in a lot of business for both parties.
The China Mobile website confirmed that the carrier’s 4G TD-LTE network will be launch in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjian, Shenzhen and Nanjing by the end of 2013. Initially, the new LTE network will not be available on the iPhone, however after December 18, the new TD-LTE network will be available in select markets.
It’s worth noting that Apple CEO Tim Cook views China as “a huge opportunity” for his company. Both companies have a lot of power and influence and neither side would budge at first. So someone had to give in to make this deal possible.
I wonder who gave in? What do you think?
