Tag Archives: iPhone

News Digest: January 16, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 16. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Announces iPhone Plans, 16G Model For 5488 Yuan (Chinese article)
  • Tencent (HKEx: 700) To Pay HK$1.5 Bln For China South City (HKEx: 1668) Stake (Chinese article)
  • AsiaInfo-Linkage (Nasdaq: ASIA) Announces Completion of Merger (PRNewswire)
  • Huawei Estimates Operating Profit Rose Over 40 Pct Last Year (English article)
  • Former Nuomi Head Named As LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) China President (Chinese article)

Looming iPhone Price War To Boost Apple

China braces for iPhone price wars

Chinese media are buzzing with anticipation as dominant mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) prepares to finally offer the latest iPhones for its network next week, after becoming the last of the country’s 3 telcos to sign a deal with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). The move will almost certainly provide a nice boost for China Mobile’s newly launched 4G service, and I expect we could see up to 2-3 million iPhones sold over the next 2 weeks in the run-up to the gift-giving Lunar New Year late this month. But the real beneficiary of the deal will be Apple itself, which could see its iPhone sales boom as China’s 2 other telcos offer their own attractive new iPhone promotions. Read Full Post…

Unicom Picks FDD 4G, China Mobile Counts Down To iPhone

Unicom puts money on FDD-LTE

After 2 weeks of silence following the long-awaited issue of 4G mobile licenses, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is finally making some hints about its strategy in the new era of high-speed telecommunications. I’m usually quite negative about the company due to its disorganization and lack of focus, but for once I have to compliment it for a strategy that looks reasonably well conceived. Meantime in other 4G news, the final countdown to China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) iPhone launch may finally be nearing an end, with speculation that announcement of the long-overdue tie-up could come as soon as Wednesday. Read Full Post…

News Digest: December 11, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 11. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Santander (Madrid: SAN) Ups Bet On China With Bank of Shanghai Stake (English article)
  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Website To Take iPhone 5S Orders From Thursday (Chinese article)
  • E-House (NYSE: EJ) Announces Plan To Offer $180 Mln Convertible Notes (PRNewswire)
  • Lianhua Supermarket (HKEx: 980) Former Top Executive Under Probe (Chinese article)
  • LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Extends Forbearance Arrangement With Noteholders (PRNewswire)

iPhone Finally Coming To China Mobile

Apple, China Mobile finally reach iPhone deal

This week will go down in the history books as the week when China finally entered the high-speed telecoms era with its granting of 4G licenses after years of waiting. But China still has the dubious distinction as one of the world’s few markets where Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) wildly popular iPhone isn’t available to more than half of the country’s 1 billion mobile subscribers. That looks set to finally change soon, with media reporting that China’s dominant carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) has finally signed an iPhone deal with Apple. Read Full Post…

China Mobile Eyes Harmony, iPhone For 4G Launch

China Mobile to brand 4G service as He

Update: Since originally writing this, the MIIT has finally formally issued 4G licenses, allowing each of the 3 major telcos to operate a service based on the homegrown TD-LTE standard. China Mobile will formally launch service on December 18.

It’s a new day, so I figured that’s a good enough excuse to write about the latest 4G wireless services rumors, which seem to be coming almost daily at this point. The newest rumors look a bit sexier than other recent chatter, this time unveiling the brand name industry leader China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) will use for its new service, and also adding the company will finally offer an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone for the network when it formally launches service later this month. Word of the actual launch date, in this case December 18, was probably the least interesting news in this latest report. That’s because every report I’ve read these last few months nearly always contains a launch date that is ultimately incorrect, and there’s no reason to believe that this new report will break that trend. Read Full Post…

News Digest: December 3, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 3. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) To Release 4G Brand, iPhone On December 18 – Report (Chinese article)
  • China Southern Airlines (HKEx: 1055) Says 4 Executives Under Anti-Graft Probe (English article)
  • SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) To Launch Financial Services On December 16 (PRNewswire)
  • Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) To Release Search-Customized Keyboard (English article)
  • EU Nations Approve Pact With China On Solar-Panel Imports (English article)

News Digest: November 8, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 8. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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News Digest: September 26, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on September 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • US To Get Coveted Alibaba IPO After Hong Kong Talks Founder (English article)
  • 5S Accounts For 91 Pct Of New iPhone Sales In China, 5C For 9 Pct – Report (Chinese article)
  • Sogou Sues Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) For Unfair Competition, Qihoo Countersues (Chinese article)
  • China to Trial Paid Music Downloads (English article)
  • Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOWG) Ups South China Push With Guangdong Expansion (English article)

iPhone China Orders Off To Slow Start

Early iPhone China numbers fail to dazzle

Everyone is watching closely to see how Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) 2 new iPhones will perform in their upcoming first weekend on sale, and I have to say the early numbers coming from China look rather unimpressive. I should give a major caveat by saying the figures I’m about to cite are very partial, and the extrapolations I’ll make are mostly based on my own guess work. But based on the cool reception that the 2 new iPhones have received in China so far, I would say the 2 new models would be lucky to sell as well as their predecessor, the iPhone 5, which itself wasn’t too impressive due to its late launch in China. Read Full Post…

China To Apple: Give Us Something Special

China underwhelmed by new iPhones

The buzz is quickly dying over the newest iPhone, with Chinese media and gadget fanatics decidedly underwhelmed by China’s first-ever inclusion in a global launch for a major new Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) product. In many ways this kind of disillusionment was almost inevitable, since there was so much hype when media first began reporting last week that China would be included in the global launch for the iPhone 5S. But at a deeper level, it looks to me like the Chinese are disappointed that they weren’t given more special treatment to acknowledge their status as the world’s largest smartphone market, and are also annoyed at having to pay a big premium for the 2 newest iPhones. Read Full Post…