Even though Apple has yet to be officially released its iPhone for sale in China, iPhone-related news continues to domnate handset discussions here in Beijing. We have reported in the past that iPhones were widely available in China by way of parallel imports (or grey market); more recently, iPhones have made the headlines when it was announced that that Apple will NOT cooperate with local mobile giant, China Mobile. Our very own, Dave Carini, was quoted by BusinessWeek in the article "Apple Loses a Big One in China ".
This non-deal (that has since become a headline) should not be surprising to those who are familiar with both China Mobile and Apple.
Even though Apple has yet to be officially released its iPhone for sale in China, iPhone-related news continues to domnate handset discussions here in Beijing. We have reported in the past that iPhones were widely available in China by way of parallel imports (or grey market); more recently, iPhones have made the headlines when it was announced that that Apple will NOT cooperate with local mobile giant, China Mobile. Our very own, Dave Carini, was quoted by BusinessWeek in the article "Apple Loses a Big One in China ".
This non-deal (that has since become a headline) should not be surprising to those who are familiar with both China Mobile and Apple.
China Mobile, with over a 70% share of the Chinese mobile market, is a juggernaut, bringing in huge revenues, dominating the mobile sector, and firmly in control of both high-end users and the millions of new low-end users signing up each month.
In terms of wireless value-added services (WVAS), China Mobile has been gradually increasing its role in the mobile services value chain and essentially phasing out the smaller content providers (CPs) and service providers (SPs). In doing so, they are able to demand a larger piece of the revenues generated by WVAS sold over its network.
Apple is reportedly seeking generous revenue-sharing from its operator partners... just ask AT&T.
In terms of handsets, China Mobile only uses the subsidized handset model for a few promotions - most handsets in China are sold un-locked and un-affiliated with the mobile operator.
Apple is pushing for operator subsidized handsets to get its phone into the hands of more consumers.
Without even considering the two companies' familiar position of leverage when it comes to partnership negotations, it comes as no surprise that Apple and China Mobile were not able to find a deal to satisfy both parties.
So for now, we'll have to look to our local grey handsets store to get a hold of an un-locked iPhone, at least until Apple begins stocking them in Apple outlets in China!
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