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China Mobile planning to subvert Unicom's iPhone launch with the OPhone?
We've known for some time that China Mobile was planning to launch the KIRFy OPhone from Lenovo. Now, with word on the street that China Unicom has snagged the iPhone in that provider's home turf, a report from DigiTimes is suggesting that China Mobile might be trying to undermine the competition's supposed June iPhone launch by dropping the OPhone a month earlier. That sounds sensible enough, but are people there so eager for iPhone they'd jump on the imitation rather than wait another month for the real thing? We'll find out soon enough.[Image courtesy of modmyGphone]
Dell to launch smartphones in China by end of year
After having its prototypes rejected a few times over by carriers here in America, it seems that Michael Dell is taking his smartphone initiative overseas. 'Course, he'll need something mighty special to outshine Lenovo's OPhone over in China, but we digress. Hot on the heels of rumors galore, Reuters is reporting that Dell is indeed aiming to launch multiple smartphones in the Chinese market before the dawn of 2010. A pair of analysts have asserted that the firm is working with Chi Mei Communications -- an unlisted unit of Taiwan's Hon Hai -- on the hardware front, while China-based Red Office is engineering the operating system. Not surprisingly, spokespeople from these outfits are all remaining mum for the moment, but we are told that the US and Europe are on Dell's list of next-up launch markets assuming the China rollout goes well.[Via MobileBurn]
Dell smartphones planning whirlwind Asian trip courtesy of China Mobile?
China Mobile may or may not have lost out to China Unicom in the bid to (officially) bring the iPhone to the most populous nation in the world, but it seems the provider might still have an ace up its sleeve -- Dell. The Texas-based company, which may or may not be actually making smartphones, is said by analyst Zhang Jun to be in final negotiations with the Hong Kong-based provider to ship those actual devices to Asian shores, devices that were supposedly shunned by providers elsewhere on the globe. Talk of Dell's handsets running Android seems to fit in nicely with China Mobile's requirements to use its custom-baked operating system (which has a crunchy Android filling), as does Dell's apparent upcoming release of a TD-SCDMA-packing Mini 10 to Chinese netbookers. So is this a match made in heaven or an analyst daydream? Sadly we won't know until August, when this supposed deal will supposedly be done. Something tells us Unicom and Apple will still be debating by then, too.[Via mocoNews]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone gets hands-on video treatment
It's always nice to get an update on one of our favorite KIRFs as of late. Lenvo's Android-powered OPhone has popped up in a hands-on video, showing off its mock-iPhone OS interface and all the doppelganger apps / features -- weather, stock, calculator and even a near-identical push notification window. Surprisingly, it's actually pretty well put together and includes some things we wish our legit Apple phone would do, like on-screen widgets and an option to change backgrounds. It'll be a cold day in Hell before we see this serial patent infringer outside of China, so for now you'll have to get your OPhone kicks by checking out the video after the break.[Thanks, Neerhaj]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone shows itself again. Launch imminent?
Lenovo's KIRF-tastic OPhone hasn't exactly been all that camera shy since it first dipped its toes into the Android waters in December, but it's now proudly showing itself yet again, and giving everyone their best glimpse yet at its China Mobile branding. What's more, while we've already heard that the phone is on track for a launch this quarter, the talk now seems to be that a release could be just around the corner, with some speculating that it'll roll out immediately after China Mobile's other Android handset, the Dopod G2 (a.k.a. HTC Magic). Hit up the link below for a few more pics, including a closer look at the phone's slightly familiar-looking UI in action.[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]
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]
Lenovo KIRFs again with the oPhone UI
Alright, we have no idea why Lenovo's phone division is suddenly pumping out copycat handsets, but these supposed shots of the Android-based oPhone's UI look awfully familiar, don't you think? Combine that with the equally-fishy rip of Samsung's TouchWiz UI found in the recently-announced X1, and it more or less seems like Lenovo's running a high-end KIRF outfit over there -- no wonder this stuff never leaves China.[Via The Raw Feed]
China Mobile's customized HTC Magic gets shown off
China Mobile already has one Android-based handset on track courtesy of Lenovo, but it looks like it's not stopping there, with this pre-production HTC Magic (a.k.a. G2) now apparently making the rounds ahead of a May launch. What's more, as with some other phones that have landed on the carrier, this one looks to have been pretty heavily customized for its debut, both in terms of its interface and its specs, which should now comply nicely with China's own TD-SCDMA network. That, unfortunately, means the phone has dropped both 3G and WiFi connectivity, though it has at least picked up some nifty Dopod branding in the process. No word on pricing or an exact launch date just yet, but you can find plenty more pics and some (translated) impressions by hitting up the read link below.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Motorola ZN300 gets unofficially official, is surprisingly nice
First in the "we're surprised they did it" category today is Motorola's ZN300, a handset that doesn't look even a little like a RAZR. We knew you could do it Moto, and congrats on what seems at first glance to be a pleasant departure form the rehashes we've seen so much of lately. The ZN300 is a slider set with quad-band GSM, CDMA, and TD-SCDMA, which makes this set a shoe-in for China mobile. Other notables include 8 MB (hopefully a typo for 8GB) of built in memory that can expand to 32GB, 3 megapixel camera with 8X zoom, Bluetooth, and styling that finally may make some people take notice. Sure this handset may not deserve a ZOMG!, but hey, we're happy to see something, anything, new from these folks. Look for it to launch this quarter; follow on for a wee gallery.[Via UnwiredView]%Gallery-46411%
ZTE showing off ten smartphones at MWC
ZTE's quite an ODM powerhouse these days, taking boatloads of low- and midrange contracts for carriers -- especially when having a brand-name manufacturer's badge appear on the device isn't a priority. To that end. the Chinese company has announced that it'll be "unveiling" some ten smartphones at MWC next week, though it appears most of the devices have already launched somewhere in the world (like China Mobile's U981) -- and others, like the pictured VF 1231 for Vodafone, have already been well-leaked courtesy of our friends at the FCC. The goods run the full range from CDMA and GSM all the way up to HSUPA, so clearly, ZTE's aspirations may not rest merely in the low-end; look out, Nokia.
Talks with China Mobile fail over who can sell apps
Talks with Apple to sell the iPhone in the Chinese market have stalled again, according to Interfax -- this time over the fact that China Mobile wanted to sell iPhone apps directly to customers, rather than through the App Store. A source in the Interfax story said that China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou said that buying extras for mobile phones is different for Chinese customers, since many are accustomed to using prepaid credits rather than a credit card. Wang said that China Mobile would have to play some part in providing apps to customers, if only to fulfill this payment scheme. China Mobile's "application shop," announced in November, would have sold apps for not only iPhones, but for Symbian- and Linux-based phones, too. Apple obviously wanted to sell iPhone apps through iTunes, as it does now all over the world. Wang declared to Apple that "China Mobile should operate the application store itself in order to maintain its advantage." It's unclear what this means for the future of the iPhone in China. China has other carriers, like China Unicom, and the lengths that Apple has gone to to please China Mobile might be reason enough to look for another partner. Rumors last year suggested China Mobile demanded an iPhone with a reduced feature set that some analysts later predicted could be the iPhone nano. [Via MacDailyNews.]
Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXXI: Sumsang Omnia can't fool anyone
Oh, the horror! You know, Samsung's Omnia isn't terribly unique, but we never thought we'd see it knocked off and disrespected like this. Clearly created for use on China Mobile (and by fools who don't actually inspect the devices they buy), the Sumsang Omnia is a GSM smartphone that sports a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, an MP3 player, a 13 megapixel camera (right...), USB connectivity, a couple of games, a microSD card slot and a sure-to-be-counterfeit version of Windows Mobile running the show. Of course, this abomination will only set you back a buck twenty, and hey -- at least this version comes with dual SIM slots![Thanks, Derek]
Vodafone's Vittorio Colao dreams up "unbeatable" alliance around LTE
And here we go again -- new CEO, same message. Just under a year after ex-chief Arun Sarin urged the industry to rally around LTE, the new bigwig (that's Mr. Vittorio Colao to you) is coming forward with even zanier ideas. In a recent interview with Financial Times, Colao asserted that collaboration between China Mobile, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless around LTE could create an "unbeatable" alliance. More specifically, he noted that the trio could "work more closely... in the management of customers, procurement and service creation," which in some courtrooms may be misconstrued as collusion. All kidding aside (maybe), this master plan makes more sense when you realize that Vodafone owns a 3.2 percent stake in China Mobile and is already involved in VZW via a joint venture. Still, just because Microsoft and Apple could join forces to create an unbeatable operating system factory doesn't mean that laws would allow it.[Via mocoNews]
China Mobile blowing $8.6B to build out 3G network
Building a wireless network is never cheap -- but when you take into account the fact that you have to cover a huge landmass that's home to well over a billion souls... well, you get the picture. China Mobile has announced that it intends to sink some 58.8 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) this year alone into building out its TD-SCDMA-based 3G network to cover 238 cities across China with roughly 60,000 base stations. In the 3G race, they'll be going up against China Unicom and China Telecom who'll be operating more world-friendly WCDMA and EV-DO networks, which raises an interesting question: will TD-SCDMA equipment be cheaper thanks to royalty loopholes, or more expensive because there's no global scale of economy?[Via mocoNews]
Lenovo's Android-powered OPhone to hit China Mobile this quarter
Look out, China -- Lenovo's all-too-sexy OPhone is about to land in the hands of unsuspecting China Mobile subscribers, or so says Reuters, anyway. The planet's largest mobile carrier will reportedly launch the 3G handset sometime this quarter, though some reports are suggesting that development is being hampered as engineers struggle with creating a Chinese language version of the OS. Once launched, it will go down as the first Android-powered handset to operate on China's home-cooked TD-SCDMA 3G network, but there's no word on just how costly it'll be. Not like cost is really a concern here, right?[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of modmyGphone]
China finally awards 3G licenses, winners no surprise
If you thought Vodafone or Telefonica would somehow emerge as a big winner in China's 3G spectrum launch... well, yeah, think again. China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom have now been armed with licenses for TD-SCDMA, WCDMA (UMTS and HSPA that is), and CDMA2000 / EV-DO, respectively, meaning the world's largest carrier will be rolling out China's homegrown 3G standard -- not to say Unicom's or Telecom's footprints will be anything to sneeze at, either. In fact, in the long term, it's suggested that Unicom and Telecom will actually be able to grow faster since they're using standards that other countries have actually heard of, but for the next few years, Mobile's still the safe bet if you absolutely, positively must have the most insane Chinese coverage available.[Via mocoNews]
Lenovo's Android phone for China hotter than a G1 with a defective battery
What if we told you the most beautiful phone in the world was a Lenovo? Reactions to that statement are likely going to oscillate between "Lenovo doesn't make cellphones" and "impossible, considering this is the country that gave us the QKfone G998," -- but seriously, have a look. Even if you don't agree that it's one of the most attractive mobile devices you've ever laid eyes on, you're going to have a hard time making a cohesive argument that the Android-based slate doesn't run circles around the G1 for physical design. 'Course, that just makes it all the more maddening that it's apparently nothing more than an early model of the "Ophone," a handset designed to comply to China Mobile's Open Mobile System that combines Android's core with support and apps for the carrier's homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G network. Translation: we'll never see one outside China, so yeah, just lust from afar while you pray HTC and its comrades are busy cooking up some stellar gear.
China Mobile making things complicated?
China Mobile, the service provider in talks with Apple to distribute the iPhone in the world's most populous country, is still expressing interest in selling the handset, but has plans to open its own online app store. According to Macworld, Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile's chairman and CEO, said at a recent conference that "We will set up our own shop, and we hope, welcome all content providers to sell their software applications and games and songs and any other products in our application shop." Cult of Mac's Ed Sutherland notes that Apple and China Mobile are still in talks to bring the handset to China, according to Wang. Dan Nystedt of the IDG News Service speculated that China Mobile's app store would sell apps for Linux- and Symbian-based mobile phones, but it's unclear how this will affect China Mobile's burgeoning relationship with Apple. Apple, of course, already has the iTunes store, which offers music, games and apps for the iPhone platform. China Mobile's store is unlikely to interfere technically with the iPhone/iTunes ecosystem, but it would compete financially with Apple's offering. Not that there's anything wrong with competition, of course. An agreement with China Mobile would mean having the iPhone available to a market of 400 million existing subscribers, and perhaps millions more new subscribers. For comparison, the total population of the United States last year was just over 300 million people.
Apple now selling iPhone 3G unlocked in Hong Kong
If you can't get your goods into China via the front door, there's always the back. Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong. The 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about US$694) or HK$6,200 (about $797) for the 16 gigger. Already available since July 11th with a local Hutchison Telecommunications contract, this is the first time that Apple has sold its device unlocked in Hong Kong:"iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation."Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese, the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only -- not that the gray market cares about T&Cs. It'll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena, perhaps in direct response to having its WiFi and the imperialistic 3G gutted from handsets sold under Apple's rumored China Mobile deal.[Via PC World, thanks Twins N]
China Mobile could deactivate 3G / WiFi on iPhone 3G launch
Currently, over 400,000 unlocked iPhones are roaming around China. Now that China Mobile is about to officially launch Apple's latest handset in the world's most populous country, we can only imagine that figure going up. In a bizarre twist of trying to keep a homegrown 3G standard (TD-SCDMA) alive, the carrier has announced that it is intending to launch the mobile with WiFi and 3G disabled -- a move that would make it less appealing to those who may be considering buying one, unlocking it and using it on the expected W-CDMA network from China Telecom. Uncool, China Mobile. Very uncool.[Via mocoNews]