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Friday, July 10, 2009, 11:30 pm
Apple nears wireless license for iPhone in China
Apple may have finally cleared a hurdle in bringing the iPhone to China as it has reportedly applied for a Network Access License in the Asian country, putting a release just a few months away -- albeit without Wi-Fi.Although he doesn't say how he obtained the information, Wedge Partners analyst Matt Mathison claims that the application was filed today but doesn't make any mention of onboard Wi-Fi. Rumors have repeatedly hinted that Apple may be forced to remove Wi-Fi to appease the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which would prefer that iPhone owners use local networks.
Apple has supposedly been "hellbent" on shipping the iPhone to China with Wi-Fi but appears to have relented in order to get the phone into the populous nation.
If the process moves along as usual, this special iPhone would take between four to six months to receive the green light and go on sale. This would put a launch no later than January, and Mathison is confident the device would arrive before the Chinese New Year, which in 2010 will start in mid-February. He views the licensing as partly a negotiation tactic that would help bring Apple closer to a deal with China Unicom, the carrier recently pegged as the most likely candidate for an iPhone due to its inherent compatibility with the iPhone's existing 3G standards.
While it's rare to have an estimate that narrows the release window for an iPhone in China, whether or not this latest prediction is accurate is still debatable. Local carriers have been in talks with Apple since at least late 2007, and one-time favorite China Mobile has often tried making multiple special requests that have likely stalled hopes for a quick agreement, such as demanding that the American company either use the government-backed TD-SCDMA standard for 3G or cede control of the App Store.
Apple has so far only said that it wants to have the iPhone in China within the next year and has been silent on its progress.
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Previous Comments View All
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhReallyNow 
I thought about just saying "first post!!!".. but then, if thats all I said.. that would be really lame.
SO...
I bet apple's whole reason for such stringent negotiations are b/c they would have to manufacture an entirely new phone ... or significantly alter their production line to meet these demands... NOT because they really think Chinese people deserve wifi in their lives. I suppose they figured the profit from selling in China would outweigh any added costs to make it happen. I mean, apple sells the same exact phone everywhere in the world.. EXCEPT for possibly China?! I'm no materials and manufacturing expert.. but that's got to be bad news to have to significantly alter your process just for one market??
Meh, politics....
I thought about just saying "first post!!!".. but then, if thats all I said.. that would be really lame.
SO...
I bet apple's whole reason for such stringent negotiations are b/c they would have to manufacture an entirely new phone ... or significantly alter their production line to meet these demands... NOT because they really think Chinese people deserve wifi in their lives. I suppose they figured the profit from selling in China would outweigh any added costs to make it happen. I mean, apple sells the same exact phone everywhere in the world.. EXCEPT for possibly China?! I'm no materials and manufacturing expert.. but that's got to be bad news to have to significantly alter your process just for one market??
Meh, politics....
More like meh, Communist country. There must be wifi permitted phones there that are sold by the government. Or, there is no way Apple will put a device in to let them monitor the wifi activity, or some other useless crap China doesnt want people to have access to. Funny thing is, aren't the iPhones assembled there? So the Chinese would have to make phones for the rest of the world with wifi, while making their domestic phones without it. Wouldn't they find that demoralizing? Sometimes, revolution is good. Pick up your weapons and revolt!
Quote:
Originally Posted by technohermit
Funny thing is, aren't the iPhones assembled there? So the Chinese would have to make phones for the rest of the world with wifi, while making their domestic phones without it. Wouldn't they find that demoralizing?
Funny thing is, aren't the iPhones assembled there? So the Chinese would have to make phones for the rest of the world with wifi, while making their domestic phones without it. Wouldn't they find that demoralizing?
Oh, I don't know... there's a difference between needs and wants.
I think that, sometimes in the West, we confound the two.
Needless to say it probably won't have the YouTube app, which I think is banned in China. I wonder if they'll somehow block the Twitter app in the App Store?
Anyone think they might disable WiFi via Software and not hardware? Just a thought....
What exactly is so threatening about wifi?
Or is it banned just so china mobile can frisk the public via lucrative mobile data fees?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 15inchbrich
Anyone think they might disable WiFi via Software and not hardware? Just a thought....
Anyone think they might disable WiFi via Software and not hardware? Just a thought....
Well I would hope that the Chinese govt would be at least smart enough to realize people would just torrent the OS version that ANY of the other hundreds of countries use and/or somehow "jailbreak" the chinese iphone OS to allow for wifi.
I mean, but then again, they are the Chinese government.....
I don't know that this makes much sense - they sell laptops with Wi-Fi in China, don't they?
In China, data transmitted over WiFi can be routed through proxies to the outside world, whereas cellular data is more easily moderated by government censors. The iPhone's state-of-the-art technology makes it the best possible pocket-sized device for recording information and events and instantaneously sharing them with the world. The Chinese government is apparently aware of the grave threat that an army of unsupervised iPhones represents, and by choosing to omit WiFi from its phone, Apple appears to have blinked. How sad.
The need for net-savy citizen journalists has never been greater. What a powerful gift it would be if an American company is able to sell them the latest tools of the trade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajmac
In China, data transmitted over WiFi can be routed through proxies to the outside world, whereas cellular data is more easily moderated by government censors. The iPhone's state-of-the-art technology makes it the best possible pocket-sized device for recording information and events and instantaneously sharing them with the world. The Chinese government is apparently aware of the grave threat that an army of unsupervised iPhones represents, and by choosing to omit WiFi from its phone, Apple appears to have blinked. How sad.
The need for net-savy citizen journalists has never been greater. What a powerful gift it would be if an American company is able to sell them the latest tools of the trade.
In China, data transmitted over WiFi can be routed through proxies to the outside world, whereas cellular data is more easily moderated by government censors. The iPhone's state-of-the-art technology makes it the best possible pocket-sized device for recording information and events and instantaneously sharing them with the world. The Chinese government is apparently aware of the grave threat that an army of unsupervised iPhones represents, and by choosing to omit WiFi from its phone, Apple appears to have blinked. How sad.
The need for net-savy citizen journalists has never been greater. What a powerful gift it would be if an American company is able to sell them the latest tools of the trade.
do you understand that if all data traffic has to go through chinese iphone provider, how much more profit can they make? it is apple begging for chinese market, not the other way around, your bonehead. there are tons of wifi cell phones in china, but iphone. in order to gain into the door, if chinese carrier wants apple to put shit on the iphone, they would do so. you know why? without iphone, they still can make zillions of money.
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I thought about just saying "first post!!!".. but then, if thats all I said.. that would be really lame.
SO...
I bet apple's whole reason for such stringent negotiations are b/c they would have to manufacture an entirely new phone ... or significantly alter their production line to meet these demands... NOT because they really think Chinese people deserve wifi in their lives. I suppose they figured the profit from selling in China would outweigh any added costs to make it happen. I mean, apple sells the same exact phone everywhere in the world.. EXCEPT for possibly China?! I'm no materials and manufacturing expert.. but that's got to be bad news to have to significantly alter your process just for one market??
Meh, politics....