Cook's visit seeks to grow Apple prospects
Source: Agencies |
January 10, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
APPLE Inc's CEO Tim Cook is meeting with partners and government officials in China on his second visit to the firm's second-largest market in less than a year.
Last month, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5 smartphones in China in just three days, the company's best-ever iPhone launch in the market.
Despite the roaring success of iPhone sales in China, analysts say the company's longer-term outlook in the market may hinge on expanding its partners to include China Mobile.
"Tim is in Beijing meeting with government officials and partners. China is an important market for us, and we look forward to continued customer excitement and growth here," Apple's spokeswoman in China Carolyn Wu said yesterday.
The iPhone is currently sold through seven Apple Stores on the Chinese mainland, resellers and partners China Unicom and China Telecom - which together have fewer than half the mobile subscribers of bigger rival China Mobile.
A deal with China's biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improving Apple's distribution in a market of 290 million users. Apple has been in talks on a tie-up with China Mobile for four years.
China Mobile and Apple initially said they were separated only by a technical issue - as the Chinese carrier runs a different 3G network from most of the world - but that has evolved into a broader and more complex issue of revenue-sharing.
On Tuesday, Cook met with Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, discussing the development of the smartphone industry.
Last month, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 5 smartphones in China in just three days, the company's best-ever iPhone launch in the market.
Despite the roaring success of iPhone sales in China, analysts say the company's longer-term outlook in the market may hinge on expanding its partners to include China Mobile.
"Tim is in Beijing meeting with government officials and partners. China is an important market for us, and we look forward to continued customer excitement and growth here," Apple's spokeswoman in China Carolyn Wu said yesterday.
The iPhone is currently sold through seven Apple Stores on the Chinese mainland, resellers and partners China Unicom and China Telecom - which together have fewer than half the mobile subscribers of bigger rival China Mobile.
A deal with China's biggest carrier is seen as crucial to improving Apple's distribution in a market of 290 million users. Apple has been in talks on a tie-up with China Mobile for four years.
China Mobile and Apple initially said they were separated only by a technical issue - as the Chinese carrier runs a different 3G network from most of the world - but that has evolved into a broader and more complex issue of revenue-sharing.
On Tuesday, Cook met with Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, discussing the development of the smartphone industry.
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