Custom iPhone Coming to China?

[Michael Essany]

The arrival of the iPhone in China has, unquestionably, presented a host of tremendous opportunities and also more than a few headaches, particularly as a result of Chinese restrictions placed on cellular technologies. Now, China Mobile says it plans to keep nudging Apple in the direction of creating a custom iPhone - that is, one that could accommodate a network based on TD-SCDMA technology.

According to a report this weekend from Information Week, China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou has confirmed that "negotiations are still underway" between Apple and China's largest mobile carrier - one with more than 500 million network subscribers. But Apple hasn't quickly folded to the pressure to create a separate iPhone simply to accommodate the Chinese, although Cupertino has a history of doing so. Some will recall that Apple's inability to include the Chinese Wi-Fi standard in earlier versions of the iPhone resulted in an exclusive iPhone product for China Unicom that conveniently omitted Wi-Fi.

In the big picture, however, the iPhone hasn't resonated with Chinese mobile users as initially hoped. With sales lagging far behind expectations and potential, China and its mobile carriers are beginning to realize that government regulations may ultimately be a bigger hindrance to the device's popularity than the turtle-speed at which Apple is moving to pacify government leaders and Chinese mobile carriers by customizing an iPhone to their preference. Recently, Chinese officials "relaxed" their stringent rules on Wi-Fi enabled devices, clearing the way for the iPhone 4 to reach Chinese consumers just as it will the rest of the world - without any "customizing" from Apple.

[Islanderbwoy]

So whats the release date so i can get my factory unlocked iphone 4

[Cowboy]

Hmm crazy maybe they will make a verizon iPhone 

[saab9k]

So whats the release date so i can get my factory unlocked iphone

hey bud what have you been doing, watching tv ??

taurus sho

[Islanderbwoy]

saab

being playing with 3gs 16gb 4 pwned

[PWNsyst3m]

He was careful planning this for 2 years lawlz.

[szfebje]

This is the point I've raised in the verizon thread, (check my post history), if China has to twist Apple's arm to create a CDMA phone, on a network mind you that's far larger than both Sprint and Verizon, and would net them very large amounts of money, then WHY would Apple create a CDMA flavor for Verizon?

[wolverinemarky]

if apple makes a cdma for china might as well make one for the US and verizon and Sprint and crush the competition

[Islanderbwoy]

if that happens the it will kill everyone

[tudtran]

I'm glad to live in this country. Happy 4th of July everybody.

500 millions. Even if apple can get a 1/4 of that. That is still 125 millions until. Steve jobs is counting his money for the next coupe year.

[politicalslug]

I'll be the first to say it: While most of the world uses GSM/UTMS/HSPA technology (found in all iterations of the iPhone thus far), there are a great many more users of China's TD-SCDMA standard than all CDMA/EvDo users combined (yes that's you: Verizon, Sprint, much of Canada, and large swaths of Eastern Asia). China is that big. Apple has more customers to gain access to by implementing TD-SCDMA, though likely less actual sales would materialize from such access relative to CDMA (Americans, Canadians, and other CDMA users buy more expensive phones in larger quantities than China Mobile has thus been able to move).

[awesomeSlayer]

We don't get custom iPhones?

How shame-

Oh, never mind. I don't want a custom iPhone.

[lolcats1]

a modified, chines iphone? hmmmm

should be just as useful as a chinese modified search engine

http://brain-terminal.com/common/ima...-tiananmen.jpg

[talbott]

just open up the chinese market and make bank already

[Jahooba]

This article seemed to end just as it was getting good. What do you mean, "Chinese officials "relaxed" their stringent rules on Wi-Fi enabled devices"?

I want to see THAT article. But then, I like the technical details.

[cjgonzales1900]

1st. You can get a factory unlocked iphone in Canada.
2nd. They will make a TD-SCDMA iPhone before CDMA. over 500 million people in China are on that network. It would be foolish of them not to make one.
3rd. If it is possible for Apple to Make a TD-SCDMA version they will within 2 years. or 18 months lol