Maverick China Research

China Mobile confirms that it has ended talks to team up with Apple on the iPhone. Maybe China Telecom is a better bet as a partner

by Bruce Einhorn
 

Apple and China Mobile seemed like such natural partners. Apple, whose iPod has eclipsed all rivals, has been shaking up the telecom industry with its iPhone since last June. Like Apple, China Mobile enjoys overwhelming dominance in its market. Apple is king of the hill in digital music players while China Mobile rules in the world's largest cellular market. China Mobile's 370 million subscribers make the state-owned operator the world's largest mobile-service provider.

Apple won't open shop in Beijing until next year. But for $680, you can buy a smuggled, hacked one today

by Bruce Einhorn and Chi-Chu Tschang

Want to buy an iPhone in Beijing? Liu Yong is your man. Apple's hugely popular mobile device isn't legally available in China. Yet at Liu's electronics shop near the capital's premier universities, you can buy one for $680. Never mind that Apple hasn't authorized any Chinese cellular operator to offer the iPhone. Liu's iPhones have been hacked so they can be used locally, and inputting Chinese characters on its touch screen is a cinch.

By Peggy Anne Salz

Mobile devices are playing an increasingly important role in the financial industry because of their immense potential to act as a platform for a plethora of financial transactions. There is a flurry of activity around both payments and banking, with investments, operator adoption and development of innovative solutions driving the market.

As Beijing consumers snap up hacked versions of the popular phone, Apple bides its time in striking a deal with authorized cellular operators

by Bruce Einhorn and Chi-Chu Tschang

Want to buy an iPhone in Beijing? Talk to Liu Yong. Apple's wonder isn't legally available in China, but Liu, who operates an electronics shop in the Zhongguancun neighborhood close to the capital's premier universities, has plenty of inventory and is more than happy to sell you one for about $680.

By the time the torch is lit, the long-delayed next-generation, or 3G, mobile-phone networks are expected to be ready

China's leaders won't be the only ones applauding when the Olympic torch lights up Beijing's nest-shaped National Stadium next August. The country's tech and telecoms set will be heaving a sigh of relief because it should mean China's long-delayed next-generation, or 3G, mobile phone networks will finally be ready.

China has 140 million Internet users and nearly 500 million mobile users. Despite those healthy figures, some executives say broadcasters are yet to capitalize on the potential of the mobile TV and online businesses. And they face new challenges in social networks such as MySpace. Ritesh Gupta reports

Broadcasters in China are yet to make significant inroads in the fields of IPTV and mobile TV as these new platforms struggle with regulatory and technology issues, plus doubts about their commercial viability. Moreover, these fledgling services face fierce competition from the internet in delivering information and entertainment.  

In a country with nearly 500 million mobile phone users and a very low credit card penetration rate, payment can be a problem.

Businessweek/China Economic Review

Picture this scene: a small town in hilly Anhui province hasn't received its regular consignment of mobile phone top-up cards used by pre-paid customers to recharge their accounts. Without the cards, usually sold at convenience stores and newsstands, many people are denied their primary means of communication.

Endless delays in China to roll out a home-grown 3G technology could hit the country's tech competitiveness

by Bruce Einhorn

Beijing's effort to transform China into a world-class player in next-generation mobile telephony is suffering a new setback. For years the government has been backing the development of a home-grown standard for 3G mobile phones. The hope is that this technology can compete with the two Western-developed ones in terms of network speeds, greater voice capacity, and a range of interactive data features.

Chinese govt reportedly says mobile firms may adopt caller-pays fee plan

China's Ministry of Information Industry said the country's mobile-phone carriers are likely to overhaul their tariff structure to charge users only for outgoing calls, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The adoption of the "caller pays" policy in areas of China that fulfill certain conditions "has become a development trend," the Xinhua report Tuesday cited an unidentified ministry official as saying.