If it’s a day that ends in a “y”, then its likely the status of the Apple / China Mobile talks has changed! On again/off again seems to be on again, with reports now saying the obstacles have been hurdled, the chasm bridged, the bamboo curtain rolled up to let in some sun.
But can China Mobile beat competitor China Unicom, or even the massive gray market, to the punch?
Only time, and probably a bazillion more flip flops, will tell.
As the iPhone bandies around the world, many Wall Street analysts have been wondering when China Mobile would be invited to join the likes of O2, T-Mobile and Orange to the exclusive iPhone party.
Well, according to dBTechno, it might be sooner than we think.
As exciting as this news could be for Apple, what with 350 some odd million China Mobile customers helping reach Steve Jobs imposed 10 million iPhone goal, there are potential pitfalls that could stagnate the deal. For one, the price point might be out of reach for the average Chinese citizen who would have to make 2 month’s salary to even purchase an iPhone. And that’s not even counting foreign carrier’s exorbitant and limited data costs.
But with a reported 400,000 unlocked iPhones currently in use on China Mobile (not even counting all the knock-offs), there is undoubtedly a market for iPhones. And to imagine the possibilities of a real live, breathing, fingerprint free iPhone in the hands of 350 million ready-to-buy consumers has got to make Apple stockholders seeing green.
rener points us to this story: that roughly 400,000 iPhones are showing up on China Mobile’s network. That’s 1 in 10. That’s alotta iPhones:
According to China Mobile, the biggest wireless carrierin China, there were about 400,000 cracked iPhones using its cellular network service at the end of 2007, representing one out of every 10 iPhone shipments announced officially by Apple. - In-Stat - Information Alert
We’ve treaded lightly on the issue of the iPhone Gray Market and the question of just how many unlocked iPhones are floating about (and why these missing iPhones matter) - but it’s time to stop treading lightly and stomp: Apple either needs to get more carriers (especially China Mobile) on board with the iPhone to staunch this wound or they need to finally admit that unlocked iPhones are still sold iPhones and the lost revenue sharing ain’t a big deal.
  
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The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
