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China Unicom launches WoPhone Linux platform, because the world can't get enough of Tux
Another day, another Linux mobile platform launched. The latest flavor hails all the way from China Unicom -- Apple's sole iPhone partner in China thanks to its WCDMA network -- who's just announced the WoPhone platform to, ironically, "break up the foreign smartphone platform monopoly." Of course, this isn't the first time that a Chinese carrier has pushed out its own OS -- TD-SCDMA operator China Mobile already has OPhone, though it's really just a bastardized Android; whereas China Unicom claims that WoPhone's an entirely new OS built around the Linux core. That said, some of WoPhone's UI elements do look awfully familiar. While we don't expect to see this new OS trickling out to the rest of the world any time soon, a big handful of manufacturers -- namely Motorola, Samsung, HTC, TCL, K-Touch, ZTE, Huawei, etc. -- and cloud service partners were present at yesterday's launch event to show off the first batch of devices, including the K-Touch U2 pictured above. Head over to ifeng for more hands-on pics.
iPhone demand in China still exceeds supply
We've heard some crazy stories out of China about the call for Apple products there, both that Apple is trying to increase supply as quickly as possible, and that they're still not living up to the demand. And here's more news that Apple is racing, and probably failing, to keep up with all of the demand there. China Unicom says that Apple is still falling short of orders in that country. So far, 600,000 iPhone 4s have been ordered, but there's no word on how many of those have been delivered yet. Hong Kong's Telstra also says demand is high there, and that company says that it too has had trouble keeping up supply under all the demand. This is both good and bad news for Apple -- China has already been identified in the past as one of the company's biggest possible markets in the future, and it's great to hear that the expectations of demand are being matched, if not exceeded. On the other hand, it's never good to leave money on the table, and if Apple can't take advantage of all of this demand, it'll be doing just that.
Analyst: There's a market of four to five million iPhones a year in China
I thought Apple sounded a tad bit defensive about China on the conference call Monday, but Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty says there's nothing to worry about: she expects Apple to sell up to four or five million iPhones in China per year. Apple told us on Monday that they've activated about 200,000 iPhones in China so far, but Huberty claims that there's a market for maybe 50 million iPhones over there, and echoes Tim Cook's assertion that price is the main issue. "Hardware pricing, service plan pricing and the large up-front payment," she says in her report, "were cited by 85%, 66% and 56% of respondents respectively, as reasons they were not likely to purchase an iPhone." Keep in mind that the four to five million figure is a top end -- in the first year, Apple has said that they're aiming for more like one or two million. But there is definitely a solid market to be found in China, and significant sales there could help buoy Apple earnings reports over here for sure.
China Unicom finally bringing iPhone to world's most populous country?
Is it really happening? Is the world's most thickly settled nation finally getting the iPhone in earnest? If a bold (albeit woolly) report from China's own national news agency is to be believed, China Unicom has just locked down a deal that'll grant it exclusive rights to sell Apple's heralded smartphone in mainland China for three whole years. Unfortunately, most of the nitty-gritty details are absent, but we are led to believe that this will be the first-ever iPhone sold with any branding at all outside of logos splashed on at Cupertino. The "Wo" icon you see just below the speaker signifies that this here device is ready to rock on the carrier's 3G network, though we still can't say with any amount of certainty if said image is fully legitimate. We're also waiting to hear whether it'll be the iPhone 3G or 3GS (or both) that's sold, and we're particular curious as to whether or not these handsets will include WiFi modules. In related news, it does sound as if China Unicom bent over backwards a bit to make this all come together, with the article stating that it signed on to move between one and two million units per year regardless of how many consumers actually show up to buy one. If you'll recall, an eerily similar agreement has Russian operators in a world of financial hurt, but we get the feeling the reception in China will be quite a bit warmer. At any rate, it's noted that Unicom will be snapping up the devices from Apple at a cost of around 3,000 Chinese yuan apiece ($439), with end users being asked to pay an undisclosed lesser amount on contract. If all goes well, the units could hit Chinese shops as early as September, though only time will tell how everything shakes out. Oh, and considering that Apple can hardly keep up with iPhone 3GS demand as it is, we suspect it'll want to wait a few months anyway before stressing its supply channels further. Update: A China Unicom spokeswoman has now been quoted as saying that "we have made progress but there are still some problems to be resolved." Really? Another round of this?
China Unicom still not confirmed as Chinese iPhone provider
Remember how last week China Unicom brazenly threw up product images for the iPhone and a few other smartphones, implying that in the very near future it would be providing service to them? Well, funny story: turns out the company's chairman, Chang Xiaobing, is now saying negotiations are actually still ongoing with Apple and that the two have a good bit of wheeling and dealing left to do. What could they possibly still be discussing? According to Barron's, the debates focus on two primary issues: a Chinese law banning WiFi use in mobile phones; and Unicom's insistence on installing its own software on the iPhone, including some sort of *gasp* non-iTunes media player. How long now until these issues are resolved? Barron's is citing research firm Wedge Partners, who indicates it may not be until the end of the year. Better stick with those gray-market imports, folks. Read -- Negotiations still under wayRead -- Barron's
Unicom confirmed as Chinese iPhone / G1 provider?
It's been a long, arduous road to Shanghai for the iPhone, but its trip may finally be at an end. Sure, there are already thousands of the things in the pockets and purses of trendy Chinese right now, but an official launch there has taken ages. Last summer it was looking like China Mobile had scored the deal with Apple, but word is now that China Unicom may have completed the upset, posting up a page on its site detailing the iPhone's specs and including the phone in its list of supported headsets. The company hasn't officially confirmed the phone's availability or anything else, but word on the streets of Shanghai is that the phone will be launched there on May 17th. Update: Looks like it has posted specs for the G1 as well, albeit complete with T-Mobile branding. Hmm. [Thanks, Sze!][Via JLM Pacific Epoch; thanks, Scott]
CoolPad re-ups 728 with 728B
Remember that dual-mode GSM / CDMA Pocket PC out of China a few months back, the CoolPad 728? It looks like it must've done alright for itself because the manufacturer (which we think may be CEC Telecom, the folks behind our latest installment of Keepin' It Real Fake) has wasted no time in rolling out its successor, the 728B. From what little information we have, it looks like there's nothing to get terribly excited about here -- besides being a body double for the 728, the specs are largely similar though the 728B seems to add GPS navigation to the mix. If the 728B strikes your fancy (or you're an overly jealous 728 owner) get ready to dig deep: it scoots out the door for about 7,500 yuan, which works out to about $950 by our calculations.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Samsung SCH-W579: dual mode with a touchscreen
We're guessing that taking up residence in China has its fair share of disadvantages, but let it be known that a dearth of nifty, unusual smartphones is not one of them. Samsung has rolled another for China Unicom, the SCH-W579, and with support for CDMA 800 / 1900 and GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900, the touchscreen-enabled beast isn't likely to leave its owner without coverage. Other features include internal QVGA and external 96 x 80 displays, a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, business card recognition, and a media player. We can't make heads or tails of what OS this thing will be rocking, but Linux is a strong possibility.[Via Slashphone]
