* Near-simultaneous launch in China a first for Apple
* News leaks online of iPhone 5S and lower-end 5C model
* iPhone 5S with TD-LTE could help close deal with China Mobile
By Lee Chyen Yee
Sept 6 (Reuters) – Chinese telecom carriers China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd will carry Apple Inc’s newest iPhone models within days of their launch in Beijing next week as the U.S. technology giant tries to regain lost ground in its second-biggest market by releasing the phones faster.
Apple said earlier this week it was holding a satellite event in Beijing on Sept. 11, the day after it is expected to unveil its latest iPhones in the United States. The Sept. 11 event is the first time Apple will launch in China at almost the same time as in the United States, underscoring the importance of the Chinese smartphone market, the biggest in the world.
“There used to be a wait of a few months before Apple launches their latest products in China, but nowadays, China is too important a market for Apple and so it will be the first batch of markets to start selling the low and high-end iPhones next week,” said a source at one of the telecom carriers, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The high-end version is being called the iPhone 5S and the low-end version is the 5C.
China Unicom and China Telecom, the mainland’s second and third-biggest mobile carriers respectively with a combined 266 million subscribers, are Apple’s carrier partners in China, the world’s biggest mobile phone market with more than 1 billion users.
China Mobile Ltd is the only carrier without an iPhone contract, although it has been rumored in the market Apple and China Mobile may soon come to an agreement.
Apple’s high-end 5S model may support a 4G technology called TD-LTE, which could pave the way for an agreement with China Mobile, which has more than double the subscribers of China Unicom and Telecom combined.
Officials with all three carriers declined to comment.
Days after the launch in Beijing, both of Apple’s current Chinese carriers will accept pre-orders. It will take about a week for them to deliver the new iPhones to their customers, the source said.
News of the iPhone debuts leaked on Sina Corp’s Weibo microblog, which briefly carried a pre-order advertisement for the latest models on China Telecom’s verified page in Beijing. The post was quickly taken down, although word had already spread among bloggers, many of whom posted screenshots of the announcement.
“Have you prepared your cash to welcome the iPhone 5S and 5C? I’m looking forward to it,” said a Sina microblogger.
Over the past few quarters, Apple’s China market share has dwindled due to stiff competition from global rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and domestic players selling phones that cost a fraction of the iPhone.
Its second-quarter market share slipped to 5 percent and was ranked No.7, trailing Samsung, Lenovo Group Ltd, Yulong Computer, ZTE Corp , Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Xiaomi, according to research firm Canalys. Apple’s iPhones had a market share of 8 percent, making it the No.5 vendor, in the first quarter, Canalys said.
“It’s a very good direction that Apple is launching its latest model so soon in China when its brand attraction is on the decline,” said Nicole Peng, an analyst at Canalys. “It is a sign that they value the Chinese consumers.”
In another sign that its Chinese sales were faltering, Apple’s greater China revenue for its fiscal quarter ending June plunged 43 percent from the previous period and 14 percent from the same quarter last year to around $5 billion.
网易科技讯 9月5日消息,据中国电信、中国联通内部人士透露,两家运营商已确定将引入新一代iPhone手机,并有望成为全球首批销售新一代iPhone的运营商。
据了解,苹果公司已确认将于美国当地9月10日举行新品发布会,同时还将在北京时间9月11日在中国单独召开发布会。目前,中国部分媒体已收到了苹果公司的邀请函。
据中国电信内部人士称,苹果公司在中国召开的发布会将涉及电信版iPhone,中国电信高层将出席此次发布会,并将随后启动预约销售工作。据称,中国电信与苹果公司的谈判早已结束,引入新一代iPhone手机的合作模式也已确定,内部已开始销售前的各项准备工作。
目前,中国联通并未确认是否与中国电信同步启动预售。
按照苹果公司多年以来的习惯,其产品在正式发布大约两个多月之后,才会在中国大陆上市销售。不过,自从库克上任苹果公司CEO后,该公司对中国市场的重视程度正在不断加强。从此次苹果发布会的时间和地点安排上看,中国市场与全球基本实现了同步。
不过,新一代iPhone手机在中国的上市日期,还将取决于工信部进行各项检测的时间。
中国是苹果公司的第二大销售市场,但苹果手机在中国市场的销售份额已出现下降趋势。根据IDC最新发布的报告显示,受到中国手机厂商的强力竞争,苹果公司最近一季度在中国智能手机市场的份额下降到了10%以下,排名下降两位,跌至第六。(陈敏)