Apple Finally Hops the Great Wall: China Unicom Announces Three-Year iPhone Deal
by Peter Kafka
Posted on August 28, 2009 at 3:33 AM PT
Apple’s long-awaited entry into the Chinese phone market is finally here. Or at least it will be by the end of the year: China Unicom says it has struck a three-year deal with Apple to sell iPhones in China that will kick in during the fourth quarter.
The announcement, predicted in multiple reports this week, came via the carrier’s earnings report this morning, and has almost zero detail. Here it is in its entirety:
On 28 August, the Company and Apple reached a three-year agreement for the Company to sell iPhone in China. The initial launch is expected to be in the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. This will provide users with brand new communication and information experience.
At a news conference, executives from the carrier announced that they would sell two versions of the 3G iPhone, but didn’t say much more. Other reports suggest that Unicom, the second-largest carrier in China, agreed to buy five million handsets from Apple (AAPL) for the equivalent of $1.5 billion in order to snag the deal.
