Jane Leung
Jun 28, 2010

China Unicom enters talks with Apple for iPhone 4, iPad rights

BEIJING - China Unicom, the main iPhone service provider in China, has begun talks with Apple to introduce iPhone 4G and the iPad to the mainland market.

Apple iPhone 4
Apple iPhone 4

Apple has not confirmed any plans for the sales of the two new gadgets in China. However, if the deal goes through, iPad, and especially iPhone 4G, will face stiff competition from the gray market and domestic brands that already produce similar models.

The lock-down to use China Unicom and up-front payment with the service provider also posts a hesitation for users, even for the iPhone 3G users.

According to China Unicom, they sold a hundred thousand units of iPhone in 2009. This is a weak number compared to the 270 thousand units sold within the first 30 hours of launch in the States in 2007.

Apple will open a flagship store in Shanghai mid-July.

China Unicom currently holds a non-exclusive, three-year contract with Apple to sell the 3G iPhone in China.

Source:
Campaign China

Related Articles

Just Published

8 hours ago

The devastating comms impact of a Trumpian ...

With uncertainly looming over social media, PR heads lament the rise of misinformation and emphasise the endurance of earned and owned media.

9 hours ago

Lunar New Year goodies: APAC's best Year of the ...

Presenting the first crop of our annual roundup of LNY advertising from 2025.

9 hours ago

Here's a thought: Bigger isn’t always better

As the industry grapples with the Omnicom-IPG merger, The Effectiveness Partnership's Warwick Cairns and Gurdeep Puri question why agency mega-groups seem intent on stifling creativity and extinguishing the very spark clients value most.

10 hours ago

Publicis Groupe taps McCann exec Amit Sutha as ...

Sutha, formerly president and global chief client officer at McCann Worldgroup New York, will now helm Publicis Groupe’s creative, media, and data operations in Malaysia. His appointment takes effect January 20.