Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » China Unicom

Apple iPhone 4S Given Clearance In China By Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:20:11 +0000

The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4S has been given clearance for debuting in China. About 4 days ago, the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued a network access permit for the iPhone 4S. China Unicom is preparing for the iPhone 4S to be released by Christmas or sometime early next year.

The MIIT controls the Internet and wireless communications in China. The iPhone 4S still has to obtain a network access license from regulators. The iPhone 4S has obtained a three-year valid Radio Transmission Equipment Type Approval Certificate (RTETAC), which is a requirement for getting the network access license. The iPhone 4S that was submitted was compatible with GSM, WCDMA, HSDPA / HSUPA, Bluetooth, and WAPI. China Unicom expects that the iPhone 4S 16GB will cost 4,999 yuan without a contract.

[MICgadget]

China Unicom Sells 100,000 iPhone 4 Devices In 4 Days

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:33:27 +0000

China Unicom sold 100,000 iPhone 4 devices in four days. China Unicom is sold out as of right now. About 200,000 people pre-ordered the device. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) started selling the device this past Saturday and the second shipment is expected to arrive on October 1. [PCWorld]

200,000 iPhone 4 Pre-Orders Made In China; Thousands Wait In Line At Store [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:29:36 +0000

The original iPhone was not greeted well in China. Supposedly China Unicom signed up only 5,000 subscribers. The iPhone 4 was launched this past Saturday in China. Over 200,000 people in China pre-ordered the iPhone 4 according to China Unicom. At 8AM when China Unicom opened the doors to the new Apple store at the Joy City shopping mall in Beijing, there was a line of about 1,000 people.

“It’s like waiting in line to see a movie star,” stated Computerworld reporter Sun Jian Kuan. “No phone can best the iPhone.”

One of the biggest differences between the iPhone 4 now and the original iPhone is that the Chinese government did not intervene as much this time around. The original iPhone in China was made without a WiFi receiver.

The price is also substantially different for the iPhone 4 in China now too. A contract-free 32GB iPhone 3GS was being sold for $1,033 last year. This year it costs 5,999 yuan ($905) without contract. The 16GB model sells for 4,999 yuan ($754). China Unicom reporter over 40,000 of its customers purchased the iPhone 4. Below is a video of the store’s opening:

[Fortune]

China Unicom Launching App Store Later This Month

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:28:58 +0000

China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) plans to launch an application store this month. The China Unicom Unistore will offer applications for smartphones and tablet computers. China Unicom has about 10 million 3G users.

Of the three major phone operators in China, China Unicom is the last to enter the market. China Mobile was the first to launch an application store in August 2009. China Telecom launched an app store in March 2010. China Unicom’s app store will support phones that use Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, the iPhone, and other operating systems. The Unistore is expected to launch later this month.

[InformationWeek]

Ericsson Makes $1.8 Billion Deal With China Mobile and China Unicom

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:03:39 +0000

Ericsson has announced a deal with China Mobile and China Unicom that is worth $1.8 billion. Ericsson will provide China Unicom with a faster 3G network. Ericsson will also provide China Mobile equipment to boost their capacity for mobile networks. “The signing of the significant frame agreements is a manifestation of our continued strong co-operation with our Chinese customers,” stated Ericsson head of China Mats Olsson. [BBC]

China Unicom Hits 100,000 iPhone Units Sold

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:38:29 +0000

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (ADR) (NYSE:CHU) has sold about 100,000 iPhones since the device became available in the Asian country this past October. Shortly after the launch of the iPhone, China Unicom said that about 5,000 of them sold in the opening weekend.

In South Korea, the iPhone sold slightly better. In the opening weekend of the iPhone’s availability, KT had about 60,000 pre-orders for the device in South Korea. In total China has about 700 million mobile phone users.

China Unicom sells both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3G S. However China Unicom removed WiFi from the iPhone as part of government regulation compliance. China Unicom is selling the 32GB iPhone with no contract for 6,999 yuan (a little over $1,000).

Apple iPhone Fails To Make Profound Sales In China

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:03:54 +0000

In the United States and several other countries, Apple has sold millions of iPhone devices. But in China there has not been a good number of sales whatsoever. China Unicom reportedly sold only about 5,000 iPhones in a week. Two of the biggest problems with selling the iPhone in China so far is that the price is too high and it does not come bundled with WiFi.

The iPhone costs $1,025 in China while it costs $299 in the United States with an AT&T contract. China Unicom is selling the iPhone for a price that is 26% higher than what it is selling for in Hong Kong.

“We believe that eventually China will emerge as a major market for iPhone sales, but it could take a year or two to gain meaningful unit traction as it did in the U.S.,” stated Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster.

Apple iPhone Comes To China Without WiFi

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:00:33 +0000

The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone is now available in China through the China Unicom telecommunications company. The problem with the iPhone in China is that there isn’t any built in WiFi. Apple did this in order to comply with a government regulation. In China the iPhone costs between 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025).

Given the high price in China, it seems unlikely that the phone will be as big of a hit there as it was in America. That seems unfortunate considering that the iPhone is manufactured in Shenzhen. WiFi was banned by the Chinese government in order to replace it with WAPI technology. WAPI stands for WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure. WAPI was rejected by the ISO and was one of the reasons for a U.S. and China Trade dispute.

“We are talking with Apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year,” stated Unicom spokesman Yi Difei. Do you think that this will hinder people in China from buying the device?

China Unicom Expected To Sell The iPhone Starting October 15

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:01:10 +0000

China Unicom is planning to start selling the Apple iPhone in the most populated country in the world starting October 15. The price is expected to be 1,999 yuan ($293) to buy the phone for an 8GB model. And the 16GB model is expected to be 2,999 yuan ($439). Both of the models will need a 2 year contract to buy the phones at those prices. The phone plans will begin at 186 yuan ($27) making it very affordable. Apple and China Unicom have a 3 year agreement.

The iPhone Is Coming To China

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:01:10 +0000

China Unicom and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have made a deal to sell the iPhone in China. That is great news for Apple iPhone developers because their customer base grow even bigger. Currently in China, there are about 687 million wireless subscribers.

The iPhone will be sold in China in the fourth quarter. And the China Unicom and Apple deal has been signed for about a 3 year contract. According to The Wall Street Journal China Unicom will not be sharing revenue with Apple but will buy them on wholesale and resell it to consumers.

The good news for Chinese consumers is that China Unicom will be subsidizing the phone. But there is no word on how much it will be subsidized. India on the other hand does not currently have any subsidizing phone making it harder for consumers there to afford it.

China Unicom has about 141 million subscribers as of this past July. China Unicom hopes to attract more high-end consumers. China Unicom will be rolling out a 3G network now. The 3G network will be launched by September 28.

One of the problems with launching the iPhone in this market is that there are already a good number of iPhone owners in China. About 1.5 million iPhones are floating around China that have been bought from overseas and have been jailbroken.