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China Mobile Confirms Another Recent Meeting Between Chairman and Apple CEO Tim Cook

H2SO4 said:
Not being funny, but what does that statement mean?
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I think he's referring to China being a 'BRIC' country (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIC)

… and perhaps making a reference to iPhones being 'bricks' of sorts?

But yes, suffice it to say my reaction was similar to the following:

Screen Shot 2013-07-31 at 17.45.14.png
 
MacRumors said:
.....China Mobile and Apple have been reported to be in talks over the iPhone for several years, although no deal as yet been struck. Cook was spotted at China Mobile's headquarters in June 2011, and he visited with executives at the carrier again earlier this year during a trip to China.

Article Link: China Mobile Confirms Another Recent Meeting Between Chairman and Apple CEO Tim Cook
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scbn said:
Looks like they are having a hard time to reach a deal! The battle is about who will have the control over potentially a hundred million iphone customers; China Mobile doesn't want to give up control over its mobile users and they also want a lion's share over the sales of items from iTune and Appstore. But if Apple gives China Mobile a sweet deal, other carriers will demand the same thing. That would be a different headache for Tim.
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A deal with ChinaMobile is a tough nut to crack. With their huge number of subscribers, CM knows that when it comes to APPLE, they are in the drivers seat. Of course, when it comes to giving up some control of their ecosystem, as well as user data and revenue stream, there is a line APPLE will not and can not cross.

With a plethora of lower cost alternatives available to them, ChinaMobile knows APPLE needs them more, than the other way around. It'll be interesting to see if Tim can convince Xi Guohua to flex a little, or if APPLE will be the one to ultimately accede to CM's demands.
 
Lol Cook trying to casually wear a jeans for a serious business meeting. No Tim, only Steve could pull that off.
 
Isn't China Mobile owned by the Chinese state?

From what I have read on Wikipedia, China Mobile is owned by the Chinese state:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Mobile

(About 30 percent held by the public but that makes them irrelevant for control of the company.)

And China has made it clear what their priority is for China Mobile: Advancement of TD-LTE.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2013-07/03/content_16716093.htm

"The global telecom industry is closely watching the development of China TD-LTE. At this time, the tendering project for China Mobile's TD-LTE construction shall become an important opportunity for TD-LTE to catch up with LTE FDD and achieve "one-third of the global 4G market"."

A Huawei LTE baseband chipset in an Apple iPhone would be quite a coup for Huawei and China itself.
 
iPhone 5"China"

I really don't like the name iPhone 5C, unless the C stands for "China". Any chance that Apple would make a unique, low cost iPhone just for the China market?
 
It's quite simple I think.

China Mobile uses a proprietary standard called TD-SCDMA for their 3G network which reaches up to 2.8Mbps. Given that LTE is out and they are using TD-LTE I wonder if Apple will incorporate TD-LTE into the next iPhone? For TD-LTE I hear only Clearwire is planning to deploy it here in the US.

The truth I believe is that Apple needs GLOBAL scale to incorporate a technology into its iPhone. The time has passed for China Mobile's proprietary 3G TD-SCDMA that is ONLY used in China and NO WHERE ELSE in the world for Apple's iPhone. I bet the next iPhone MAY have TD-LTE in addition to regular LTE for those carriers who are using the TD version of LTE (its quite similar to the FDD-LTE global standard).

Their competitors in China (China Unicom, uses global standard GSM & GSM 3G (GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+) and China Telecom (CDMA2000 & EVDO rA) use global standard technologies with scale and therefore have hte iPhone.

Is there a coverage difference in China that China Mobile has the most 2G EDGE coverage that iPhone users suffer EDGE speeds to use China Mobile instead of their competitors?
 
JBall said:
I really don't like the name iPhone 5C, unless the C stands for "China". Any chance that Apple would make a unique, low cost iPhone just for the China market?
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iPhone 5C is in fact an unique low cost iPhone for China ) Except that the remaining stock will be sold in other countries.
 
Mactendo said:
iPhone 5C is in fact an unique low cost iPhone for China ) Except that the remaining stock will be sold in other countries.
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Highly unlikely I think. Everything to me points towards it being a US-slated phone first.

1) The price seems more likely to be around $450 USD not the $300 USD of the LG Nexus 4.

2) Multiple plastic colors are more suited for a phone to be marketed to family members on a family plan. A pure budget phone could be sold only in black plastic and later maybe white, like the Nexus 4.

3) There's no reason to have LTE at all in a budget phone aimed at emerging markets outside of China, which the Nexus 4 did not have to support even with hardware that was compatible.

4) The lower-cost iPhone fills a niche of replacing all the older 30-pin connector based phones and perhaps is even convenient to evade the upcoming import ban on the iPhone 4 if it isn't overturned by the President.
 
JohnPhamlore said:
Highly unlikely I think. Everything to me points towards it being a US-slated phone first.

1) The price seems more likely to be around $450 USD not the $300 USD of the LG Nexus 4.

2) Multiple plastic colors are more suited for a phone to be marketed to family members on a family plan. A pure budget phone could be sold only in black plastic and later maybe white, like the Nexus 4.

3) There's no reason to have LTE at all in a budget phone aimed at emerging markets outside of China, which the Nexus 4 did not have to support even with hardware that was compatible.

4) The lower-cost iPhone fills a niche of replacing all the older 30-pin connector based phones and perhaps is even convenient to evade the upcoming import ban on the iPhone 4 if it isn't overturned by the President.
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I'd say the multiple colors and the choice of colors are suited exactly for Asian markets. Regarding the lower cost iPhone nothing stops Apple from selling previous model (iPhone 5 this autumn) at lower price. But it looks like previous models are unpopular in China, cause with their mentality they tend to buy the newest and latest (there were some news on macrumours I believe supporting this point) and most people there can't afford the newest iPhone so Apple choose to make another one which will be also 'the latest' but cheaper. And even if its slower or has less functions than previous model it's still a more favourable choice for these customers.

And I'm sure that the name iPhone 5c is a flirting with Chinese customers like 'c' stands for China.
 
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