Report: iPhone talks with China Mobile fail
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 30, 2007 at 11:13am
Negotiations between China’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, and Apple on offering the iPhone in China have failed, the Southern Daily newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources (as noted by MarketWatch).
The two parties purportedly couldn’t reach an agreement because of differences over revenue sharing, the paper reported Thursday. Apple now plans to open stores in Beijing next summer to sell iPhones directly, and is in talks with Chinese mobile phone distributors, it said.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
idannyb Says:
Rumor smashed: Talks with China Mobile continue.
From Bloomberg: 11/30/2007
“China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest wireless-phone operator by subscribers, said it is still in discussions to offer Apple’s iPhone handset, denying a newspaper report that talks between the two companies have ended.”
Fact is that Apple continues to have serious discussions with all key players in China - China Mobile, China Unicom, Shenzhen Aisidi and others. Perhaps even with the China Ministry of Information.
No doubt “revenue sharing” negotiations with the two dominant players in China (China Mobile and China Unicom) will be delicate.
Negotiating ploy?
Reports of Apple partnering with Shenzhen Aisidi to open stores (presumably to sell unlocked phones) may actually help Apple in their negotiations with the two major China cellular operators. If they believe that Apple is seriously considering selling iPhone “direct,” then they may find new motivation to reconsider “revenue sharing.”
Given iPhone activation via iTunes + ongoing iPhone upgrades via iTunes + unprecedented (“love craze”) excitement for iPhone in China, there is a strong case for “revenue sharing.”
~ idannyb
Posted on November 30, 2007