China Mobile's iPhone Talks Have Included Steve Jobs

While reports have surfaced claiming that Apple and China Mobile have struck a deal to bring the iPhone to the world's largest mobile phone carrier, the two companies have yet to confirm that such a deal is in place. But according to a new report from Reuters, China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou has confirmed that those talks have included Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The world's largest mobile operator by subscribers said it has met with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs several times on introducing an iPhone based on its home-grown TDSCDMA network standard.

The companies hope to launch an iPhone as soon as possible, China Mobile's Chairman Wang Jianzhou said, without giving any timeframe.

...

"I met Steve Jobs several times already, but we haven't come to an agreement yet," China Mobile's Wang told a news conference. "All I can say is, it's a common wish of China Mobile and Apple to come to an agreement as soon as possible."

Bloomberg also reports that Wang has confirmed that Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook's visit to China Mobile in June was regarding a potential iPhone deal.

white black iphone 4 china
The two companies have reportedly also already struck a deal to develop a future iPhone model based on China Mobile's homegrown 4G TD-LTE standard, a variant of the LTE standard that has been said to not be included in the iPhone 5.

China Unicom is currently the only official iPhone carrier in China, although both China Mobile and China Telecom are said to be working hard to strike deals for the device. China Unicom is apparently not sitting still on its current deal, however, as company executives have reportedly recently traveled to the United States to meet with Apple about the iPhone, potentially securing a deal for the upcoming iPhone 5.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Curbs Costs After Expensive Projects Fail to Capture Viewers

Monday July 22, 2024 5:11 am PDT by
Apple is scaling back its Hollywood spending after investing over $20 billion in original programming with limited success, Bloomberg reports. This shift comes after the streaming service, which launched in 2019, struggled to capture a significant share of the market, accounting for only 0.2% of TV viewership in the U.S., compared to Netflix's 8%. Despite heavy investment, critical acclaim,...
bsod

Microsoft Blames European Commission for Major Worldwide Outage

Monday July 22, 2024 11:55 am PDT by
Last Friday, a major CrowdStrike outage impacted PCs running Microsoft Windows, causing worldwide issues affecting airlines, retailers, banks, hospitals, rail networks, and more. Computers were stuck in continuous recovery loops, rendering them unusable. The failure was caused by an update to the CrowdStrike Falcon antivirus software that auto-installed on Windows 10 PCs, but Mac and Linux...

Top Rated Comments

troop231 Avatar
169 months ago
If Apple releases an iPhone on China Mobile, Apple's marketshare is going to skyrocket.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hamean Avatar
169 months ago
Jobs is a driven guy. I'm not being critical - it's how he got Apple to where it is today.

I just hope he is not totally sacrificing his health by his continued active involvement in company affairs. I know someone else is supposed to be handling day-to-day operations - but Jobs still very involved.

I know it's his baby, but I'm not sure it's worth dying for.

He is who he is. He'll work until he can't, because he loves it. We all die some time. Staying active can help your mental approach when you are ill, and attitude is one of the most important factors in survival. Death is coming for us all.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miles01110 Avatar
169 months ago
I wonder how much data Apple will be forced to share with the Chinese government.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mave1969 Avatar
169 months ago
Whats up with the status bar clock in those iphone images, China gets a different clock?
Um, I think you'll find those are, like, Chinese characters in front of the numbers.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gav2k Avatar
169 months ago
Hold on to your shares people there about to double!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entatlrg Avatar
169 months ago
Jobs is a driven guy. I'm not being critical - it's how he got Apple to where it is today.

I just hope he is not totally sacrificing his health by his continued active involvement in company affairs. I know someone else is supposed to be handling day-to-day operations - but Jobs still very involved.

I know it's his baby, but I'm not sure it's worth dying for.

The man has my respect that's for sure.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)