China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) should be ashamed of itself for its recurrent ineptitude that has once again resulted in China’s exclusion from the list of countries where the newest iPhone 5 will make its global debut. That’s my major conclusion from an increasingly recurrent theme that has seen Apple launch major new products in the US and in numerous countries globally, only to delay their launch in China for months for unexplained reasons.
Tag Archives: Apple
China Mobile: 4G Near, iPhone Far 中国移动：4G接近，iPhone走远
iPhone 5 Launch: Another China Snub? iPhone 5：中国还是不能成为第一批上市国家？
With the buzz rapidly rising about the upcoming launch of the newest iPhone, being dubbed the iPhone 5, an equally low-key buzz is starting to build over whether Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will include China on its global launch map for the product or snub the country once again. On a conceptual level, the question should be a no-brainer for Apple, due to the huge importance of the China market to its business. But for other reasons which I’ll explain shortly, Chinese media are already predicting that Apple will once again snub China with the latest high-profile launch, which is expected in the next 2 weeks. (Chinese article)
Smartphones Surge As Apple Support Fades 中国国产智能手机崛起 运营商或减少iPhone补贴
There are a couple of interesting reports out today from the smartphone space, highlighting the rapid rise of these feature-packed phones with the growing availability of affordable, high-quality models supplied by newcomers like ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), Huawei and Xiaomi. Those increasingly popular models, many selling for 2,000 yuan or less, could quickly pose a major challenge to high-end specialists like Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), amid early signs that Chinese mobile carriers are looking to cut back their generous subsidies for these more expensive models.
Apple’s Next Targets: ZTE, Huawei, TCL 华为、中兴及TCL或成苹果下一轮专利诉讼目标
Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) big courtroom victory in its smartphone patent dispute with Samsung (Seoul: 005930) could soon send a chill through China’s up-and-coming tech sector, with the US giant likely to soon file a series of similar lawsuits against companies like Huawei and ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063). This probable new twist in Apple’s ongoing quest for global smartphone dominance would not only hit the Chinese firms financially, but would also shine a spotlight on the uncomfortable fact that most still depend strongly on foreign technology for many of their higher-end products.
China Mobile: Set for 3G Blitz? 中国移动将发起3G攻势？
I’ll end out this peak week of second-quarter earnings season with a couple of telecoms items, starting with comments from dominant wireless carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) that indicate it may finally be preparing for a much-needed offensive to breathe new life into its flagging 3G network. While China Mobile struggles under its own massive weight, separate news bites indicate the up-and-coming Xioami, a maker of low-cost, high performance smartphones, may be running into its first troubles after a strong debut for its first product last summer.
China Mobile Tie-Ups: Apple Near, Cable Far 中国移动可能很快与苹果合作 推出固网宽带业务尚需时日
Just a day after I wrote about the latest mixed signals coming from China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), we’re getting still more mixed messages from China’s largest wireless telco, including an exciting one that indicates a highly anticipated new tie-up with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) could come soon. While the Apple tie-up would be highly welcome, another unrelated development appears to indicate that a deal that would have seen China Mobile link up with China’s new national cable TV operator may fail to materialize.
New Mixed Signals from China Mobile, Unicom 中移动和联通释放复杂信号
Wireless leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) may have new leaders, but they seem to be following the company’s previous tradition of sending mixed signals with new aggressive expansion plans for its trial 4G network as it continues to neglect its current 3G system. The mixed signal syndrome seems also to have spread to rival China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), China’s second largest mobile carrier, which is reportedly in talks with Korea’s Samsung (Seoul: 005930) to launch its first tablet PC, giving the cold shoulder to longtime partner Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), maker of the more popular iPad. These latest news bits reflect the broader reality that China’s telecoms market is in a bit of a state of turmoil, as companies look for advantage following a major government-led industry reshuffle more than 2 years ago.
Xiaomi: China’s New Apple? 小米：下一个中国的苹果公司？
The sales and marketing people at smartphone wannabes like ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), Huawei and Lenovo (HKEx: 992) are probably green with envy over the surge in publicity surrounding the upcoming launch of the newest low-cost smartphone by up-and-comer Xiaomi. I’m not usually someone who gets too excited by new product launches, but I have to admit that even I am increasingly intrigued not only by this new phone, Xiaomi’s second following the launch of its first model last fall, but also by Xiaomi itself. The hype looks very similar to the kind of excitement that companies love but often have difficulty generating for their new product launches, with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) as one of the few companies that can successfully generate such buzz.
News Digest: July 25, 2012 报摘： 2012年7月25日
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 25. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
- SolarWorld (Frankfurt: SWV) Files Anti-Dumping Complaint in EU-Source (English article)
- China’s Mobile Online Game User Base Reaches 78 Mln (English article)
- Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Reports Q2 Financial Results (PRNewswire)
- Regulator OKs Minsheng Bank (HKEx: 1988) A-Share Convertible Bonds (HKEx announcement)
- Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Rivals Swoop as iPhone China Sales Flag (English article)
- Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)
Mobile Internet Passes the Desktop 手机成中国网民最大上网终端
A government agency has just released data showing that mobile Internet users in China have passed traditional desktop users for the first time, posing an interesting challenge for all players that have typically designed their products for people who surf the web from fixed-line PCs at home and in Internet cafes. This move reminds me of a similar shift to mobile from desktop computing now taking place worldwide that is dealing a blow to former PC giants Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which have long dominated the desktop computing arena but are having trouble in the mobile space.
