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China Telecom launches BlackBerry... the BlackBerry Storm, that is
When a carrier announces that it's adding BlackBerry devices and BES support to its lineup, very rarely does that mean a touchscreen BlackBerry -- but hey, crazier things have happened. China's CDMA-based giant, China Telecom, has announced a partnership with RIM to bring the Storm (the original 9530, as far as we can tell) into the mix in the second half of this month, available in some sixteen provinces for a yet-to-be-announced price. At any rate, it's fair to assume your privacy will be compromised at no additional charge.
ZTE packs 3G, Maemo into its V7 MID
Sure, Android has been getting plenty of attention from MID manufacturers as of late, but we all know that's not the only mobile OS worth a gander. Debuted by ZTE "at a ceremony dedicated to the 3G technology" at Shanghai's World Expo the V7 MID is roughly 4.7 x 3.3 x .5-inches and features the Maemo OS and -- for those of you who value function over form -- a physical QWERTY keyboard. Also on board are a 4.1 inch (800 x 480) display, a 3.2 megapixel webcam, and support for 3G CDMA1X, EV-DO, and HSDPA. But that ain't all! Rounded out by a Marvell PXA310 processor (806 MHz), GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB, and an SD card slot, we imagine that all you mobile Internet fans will be able to put this thing to good use. No price or release date yet, those are but two of many mysteries this device raises. Which leads us to our next question: What goes on at a "ceremony dedicated to the 3G," anyways?
China Telecom launching Palm Pre, BlackBerry handsets this summer
We've been hearing that China Telecom would be grabbing hold of Palm and RIM's respective stables of smartphones since early last year, but at long last we've some official quotes to prove those whispers correct. According to a new report over at the Wall Street Journal, Chairman and Chief Executive Wang Xiaochu has affirmed that it will offer an undisclosed amount of BlackBerry devices in China this May, while Palm's Pre (no word on the Pixi) will hit this July. These deals could certainly bode well for the carrier; as it stands, it's going up against China Mobile -- which already sells BlackBerry handsets -- and China Unicom, which is home to Apple's iPhone. Unfortunately, pricing details weren't available, but we're guessing those will pop sooner rather than later.
China sent 23 billion text messages during Chinese New Year
23 billion text messages in one week, with 13 billion from the first two days alone. Pretty mind-boggling, isn't it? And this 10 percent growth in the number of gung-hey-fat-choi messages is the work of just 747 million phone users in China -- imagine what would've happened if all 1.3 billion people in the country had a phone during Chinese New Year. Throughout the same period, China also produced 1.33 billion MMS messages -- a staggering 40 percent increase from last year -- while China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom operated 127.6 percent, 19.5 percent and 15.7 percent more voice calls respectively. Looks like someone's bagged themselves some extra red pockets here. Now, any guesses for next year's figures?
Lenovo LePhone launching in Le May
As Google and China trade blows on the global stage Lenovo just keeps on truckin' with its plans to launch the Android-powered LePhone in China and overseas. Samsung and Motorola you'll recall, already bent under Google's pressure and agreed to delay the launch of their respective handsets in China last week. Lenovo execs are planning for a hat-trick launch in May on China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom with a rest of world launch expected later in the year. Lenovo shareholders also approved the company's planned buy-back of its mobile handset division today, making them just the latest tier-1 PC maker to join the smartphone party. Picture of the LePhone with its optional keyboard accessory after the break.
Samsung i899 does EV-DO, AMOLED, Android for China
Imagine, if you will, a slightly revised Galaxy for CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A. What have you got brewing in your head right now? Odds are it looks a little something like this, Samsung's freshly-announced i899 for China. Since China Telecom is the patron saint of EV-DO over there, you can probably gather where this sucker will be going -- and it'll come in swinging big with WiFi, a 3.2-inch HVGA AMOLED display, 3.2 megapixel cam with flash, and an 800MHz core (probably the same one used in the Moment, if we had to guess). It'll be launching shortly -- but unless you happen to be in the area, this is probably going to be a tricky one to get.
Philips rolls into China with WinMo 6.5 via D908 slate
Philips has imbued its power-sipping Xenium line with some reasonably attractive industrial design in the past, so we're not too sure what they're thinking with this latest D908 here; granted, it's apparently got WinMo 6.5 on board, but that's no excuse -- goodness knows there are plenty of beautiful devices on the market these days with Microsoft guts. The upshot, though, is that this has EV-DO with an eye on a Chinese launch, a surefire sign that it'll be coming to China Telecom. Other features include a WVGA display, 5 megapixel cam, 2GB of onboard storage with microSD expansion up to 32GB, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, and an integrated FM radio. Just figure out how to slip this into a case 3 or 4mm thinner than the D908's beefy 14.5mm, Philips, and you've got a winner on your hands.
China Telecom follows China Mobile's lead, hooks up with RIM to offer BlackBerry
China Mobile's recent announcement that it'd be getting really tight with RIM -- finally -- to offer a more official, customized BlackBerry experience to the locals than it had before must have sent off a wave of jealousy among carriers, because competitor China Telecom has wasted no time in following on with an announcement of its own. No roadmap has been set for when we might see devices in the marketplace -- the company says that it's still ironing out specifics with RIM -- but we figure this should be an easier rollout than China Mobile, since Telecom uses a hybrid (but well-understood) GSM / EV-DO infrastructure as opposed to Mobile's essentially one-off TD-SCDMA network. At a glance, it seems like devices like the Storm and Tour are basically ready to rock here, but there's no question RIM will need to work both with the carrier (to tailor the BlackBerry experience to the needs of a Chinese audience) and with the government, which probably doesn't love RIM's infrastructure any more than India does.
Motorola's XT701, MT710, and XT800 do Android for China's big three carriers
Even through the lean years, Moto's been making waves in China where it enjoys comparably high popularity -- it was one of the first major manufacturers to throw its support behind the nation's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G tech, after all, and it's had a tendency to get the company's sexier WinMo smartphones like the SURF. On that note, it doesn't come as much of a surprise to see that they've now announced not one, not two, but three fairly attractive, high-end Android handsets specifically for duty in the Far East, one for each of China's big three carriers (each of which employs a different 3G technology, per the gub'mint's orders). Starting on the left, the XT701 is the phone that we'd believed to be the Sholes Tablet -- and considering that it uses HSPA for China Unicom's airwaves, we still have no reason to believe it couldn't make the leap across the Pacific. The MT710 (pictured center) is an OPhone for China Mobile and stands the least chance of making an unfettered jump to another continent since it uses a completely customized UI along with a positively China-only TD-SCDMA radio. Finally, the XT800 on the right looks like a Dell Mini 3i done right to us, rocking dual-mode GSM and EV-DO for China Telecom's rather heterogeneous network. We've got to hand it to Moto here: by all appearances, these 3.7-inch WVGA, 5 megapixel beasts could get Android fans drooling pretty much anywhere in the world, so let's get 'em over to Europe and America on the double, eh? [Thanks, Vitala]
BlackBerry shipments break record in Q3, RIM profits jump 59 percent
RIM being a thriving and profitable company is hardly a new story -- as confirmed by third quarter earnings of $628 million off the back of a record-breaking 10 million units sold -- but the way it's making its money seems to be changing. More than 80 percent of new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter were private customers, marking a distinct shift -- maybe not away from the corporate arena, but definitely toward embracing the consumer market. In an effort to further consolidate its global empire, RIM has also announced a partnership with China Telecom to go along with its earlier China Mobile deal. Oh, and there's the small matter of the 75 millionth BlackBerry being sold, but we're sure the cool cats up in BB HQ aren't counting handsets, they're probably too busy rolling around in piles of money.
Motorola's shiny XT800 shows off its Android
Could this end up being the prettiest Android device to date? We don't want to call it before we have it in our own two hands, but China Telecom's likely entrant from Motorola -- the XT800 -- is looking better than ever in these live action shots unearthed by Chinese site tgbus. What's interesting here is that Moto's reusing the font first seen on the Droid's dock standby screen for a new home screen date / time widget, but the old-school Power Control widget below it has us believing that we're looking at an older Android 2.0 build (or heck, who knows, 1.5 or 1.6). It'll apparently have a 3.7-inch WVGA display with 720p playback and, as we've mentioned before, an HDMI-out for some serious multimedia street cred. It's still unclear whether this is being thrown around internally as the Titanium, Zeppelin, or something else entirely, but whatever -- Verizon, Sprint, bring it on over, alright?
Motorola Zeppelin outed as the XT800 for China Telecom -- US getting it, too?
Even though Motorola's only officially announced a small handful of devices that run Android so far, this much is clear -- the company was dead serious about going all-in on the platform because we're seeing new leaked hardware practically every time we look. This time around, it's a clearer view of the Zeppelin, which turns out to be coming to market on China Telecom as the XT800. It looks like it could be a sharp-looking handset, borrowing design elements of the Instinct HD and featuring both GSM and CDMA radios for compliance with Telecom's up-and-coming 3G network. What makes this juicier, though, is the fact that QQ.com alternately identifies the Zeppelin as the Titanium, a device we'd just seen in the FCC with EV-DO Rev. A last week. That leads us to believe we could see this bad boy on Sprint or Verizon in the near future -- and with an HDMI output in this thing, 2010 is shaping up to be a great year for high-end Android gear. [Thanks, Vitala]
China Telecom to launch Palm and BlackBerry handsets this year?
Although we like to think of the US and European markets as the center of the cellphone universe, there are big (Big!) sales to be had elsewhere behind the unstoppable force of globalization. And when it comes to absolute numbers, markets just don't get any bigger than China with its estimated 700 million subscribers. Rumors of BlackBerry and Palm twist-ups with Chinese carriers are nothing new. In fact, RIM has already been a player in the Chinese market for years. Today, however, we've got a rumored timeline for bringing their handsets to China Telecom: end of 2009 or early 2010, according to a Reuters source. The move would give Telecom its first trendy western mobiles in hopes of improving its third place position behind Unicom and market dominating China Mobile in a battle for the hearts and minds and treasure of China's burgeoning population. And while RIM would certainly be pleased by the additional revenue source, Palm, with its modest marketshare by comparison, would be downright ecstatic at the prospect of tapping into China with its new smartphones.
Nokia intros CDMA trifecta for China
Nokia's newfound commitment to CDMA isn't just a US effort -- it's a big deal in China, too, where a beefy percentage of the world's CDMA users reside. On that note, the company has introduced the Asian market to three new models today spanning the low end to the midrange, but if you're outside China, we wouldn't get our hopes up for a launch in your neck of the woods. Starting at the bottom we've got the 1506, an ultra-basic candybar with an integrated voice recorder and speakerphone; it's being billed as Nokia's cheapest CDMA device yet. Next is the 3806, which steps up to a QVGA display, Bluetooth 2.1 support, and support for external storage up to 4GB -- but maybe the most notable feature here is the inclusion of a "Health Assistant" app that allows "you to stay healthy, which ultimately, allows you to stay happy." We're all for phones that keep us happy around here. Finally, the 6316s slider is the beast of the bunch with GPS and EV-DO for China Telecom's 3G network plus a 2 megapixel camera, but you'll be waiting a while -- it and the 3806 won't be hitting until the first quarter of next year, while the 1506 comes into play by the end of '09.
China Unicom to start selling the iPhone in October
Hong Kong-based China Unicom released details today concerning its August announcement of a three-year deal to sell the iPhone. Sales of the iPhone will begin in October, dovetailing with its October 1st 3G network launch, and will be priced at approximately 5000 Yuan, or around US$730. The iPhone will be sold in both Apple retail stores and through Unicom's own network of stores, and plans for the iPhone will range from 126 Yuan to 886 Yuan, or about US$18 to US$130. There will also be a handset subsidy, depending on the chosen plan above 126 Yuan, which maxes out at 4253 Yuan, or about US$623. China Unicom competes heavily with the larger China Telecom, which is believed to be in negotiations to distribute the Palm Pre. Details here (in Chinese.)
Access and China Telecom in talks to launch CPhone custom Android platform
Man, the Android action in China just keeps heating up: hot on the heels of China Mobile's OPhone platform debut, we're hearing China Telecom and Access are in talks to launch a rival called "CPhone." Just like OPhone, CPhone looks to be a specialized build of Android 1.5 with a custom UI, but instead of OPhone's KIRF iPhone look, Access seems to have filtered any number of haphazard Samsung UIs through a case or two of Tsingtao and called it a day. The big question right now is whether this one 3.5-inch device is the CPhone or whether Access and China Telecom are looking to launch a range of CPhone devices, but we're sure to find out more soon. [Via Cloned in China]
China Telecom talking to Palm for the Pre?
Nabbing a contract with a carrier pushing into nine-figure subscriber count territory would go a long way toward helping any manufacturer's woes, so it's reasonable to believe that Palm would be shopping its latest wares around the streets of Hong Kong and Beijng where China's big three carriers are headquartered. Intriguingly, the Financial Times has just casually mentioned in a somewhat-unrelated piece that "China Telecom is planning to offer the Palm to its subscribers," a perfect fit considering that rival Unicom is poised to launch the iPhone and Telecom runs CDMA with nascent EV-DO coverage in the works. The Pre already knows a thing or two about CDMA networks from its Sprint and Bell launches, of course, so they've already got that base covered -- beyond that brief FT mention, though, we've got nothing, so it's hard to say when this might be hitting retail.
Motorola A3300c coming to China Telecom with WinMo, 3G?
It's apparently still not 1,000 percent official, but that A3300 we spied not long ago from Motorola is looking a lot more real now that we've got pictures that look like they've been taken with something remotely resembling pro photography gear. sina.com.cn is reporting that the full-touch WinMo phone has sprouted a "c" on the end of its name, a shout-out to the CDMA radio it's packing as it prepares for a launch on China Telecom's EV-DO-based 3G network. Other goodies on board include a 5 megapixel cam, WiFi, AGPS, and a WQVGA display -- and no, unless you're in China, you probably can't have it since Moto's all about Android now. [Via motorolazine.biz]
China Telecom mulling BlackBerry offering
We've got to assume that it's a momentous occasion for a manufacturer any time they have an opportunity to break into the world's single largest phone market, so if they're prepping the bubbly out in Waterloo, we can't say we'd blame them. China Telecom -- one of China's three nationals -- reported this week that it has engaged RIM about the possibility of bringing BlackBerrys to its lineup. No deal has been made just yet, but considering that China Unicom doesn't offer any of the devices and China Mobile's been soft on marketing it, Telecom could have an ace up its sleeve if it brings hot models to retail and pushes 'em hard. RIM's not talking so far, so there's no telling where the talks are -- or when the deal might be finalized.
China to abandon UMB, snag LTE within 2 to 3 years
Fresh in the wake of China's massive wireless restructuring, execs are already on the offensive with fightin' words that suggest true, standards-based 4G could be coming sooner rather than later. Though he says EV-DO Rev. A is still in the cards for the short term, China Telecom's CEO says that GSM and CDMA networks alike will all converge to LTE in the country, thus signalling the abandonment of the CDMA-favored UMB migration path by yet another of the world's wireless juggernauts. All told, it's looking promising that the overwhelming majority of the world's countries will be on the same cellular technology page within the next decade or so -- but who would've thought the creator of TD-SCDMA would commit to being one of the first to flip the switch?[Via IntoMobile]
