There has been no shortage of rumors, denials and counter-denials in the ongoing “iPhone to China” drama. In case you haven’t been following the saga on a daily basis … let me give you the soap opera digest of the last few episodes:
August 11, 2009: China Business News reports that China Unicom (CHU) has agreed to pre-purchase 5,000,000 iPhones from Apple (AAPL) for a cool $1.46 billion USD. This news breaks at a signing ceremony between China Unicom and Carrefour, one of several mobile phone distribution partners for China Unicom. The executives who spilled the beans are identified by name and are associated with Guangdong Unicom, a subsidiary of China Unicom.
August 12, 2009: China Unicom and Apple both deny the $1.46 billion presale rumor as “no iPhone deal has yet been concluded.”
August 14, 2009: Zhou Fang, the CBN reporter who broke the original 5-million iPhone presale story adamantly sticks to his report, and to back up his case, reveals that he made audio recordings of his interviews with the talkative Guangdong Unicom execs.
August 14, 2009: Chongqing Evening News, quoting an unnamed Carrefour employee, states that the iPhone in China deal is indeed a “go” and Carrefour would be part of the iPhone distribution plan. The Carrefour employee further reports that stores in Guangzhou and other costal areas have begun preparing iPhone store displays.
August 14, 2009: DoNews in China, citing “unnamed sources,” claims that China Unicom’s handset distribution division, Vsens, intends to have multiple iPhone distribution partners including Carrefour, Gome and Suning.
Hey, what about Best Buy China and Wal-Mart China?
August 19, 2009: Quoting an industry source, Interfax TMT reports that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will soon grant iPhone its long awaited Network Access License (NAL). The NAL is a gating factor to any deal announcement.
Wang Jianzhou
August 20, 2009: Facing the financial press after a somewhat disappointing quarterly earnings report, China Mobile (CHL) CEO, Wang Jianzhou states that China Mobile is still engaged in discussions with Apple over a possible iPhone deal.
August 21, 2009: A China Mobile spokesperson reaches out to Interfax TMT and modifies (ahem, refutes) the words of his own CEO … According to the media relations rep, talks between Apple and China Mobile “have been over for two months.”
Don’t know about you, but I’d believe the CEO versus a PR spinmeister. Perhaps there will soon be two China carrier deals to announce? > More
August 21, 2009: China Business News quotes a Foxconn source who claims that an iPhone for China (presumably Model A1324 without WiFi) will be ready by September.
Image from - Ministry of National Radio Authority http://www.srrc.org.cn/
The much bigger news from the Foxconn source was the claim that Apple is now developing a second iPhone for China (presumably Model A1325 with WAPI/WiFi*). This second WiFi-enabled model for China could be ready for launch by yearend.
Note: Adding credence to this story, a second anonymous source, from China Telecommunication Technology Labs (CTTL), backs up the dual WAPI/WiFi iPhone model claim > More
August 23, 2009: labs.chinamobile.com (an affiliate of China Mobile) reports that a formal agreement between Apple and China Unicom was reached (signed contracts?) on August 17, 2009.
Come on China Mobile, please share a few more juicy tidbits about those supposed talks that you’re “not having” with Apple.
There you have it … You’re now up to date on the last few episodes of “As the iPhone Turns.”
Still confused? Don’t fret … This soap opera actually does make sense once you understand the layered plot and actors’ motivations.
* More background on > WAPI/WiFi
