Dan Butterfield

China Mobile: Tea Leaves Give Mixed Reading

@Ryan you said "I see AAPL doing two different deals; they are much too protective of their brand to let it get away from them in China. But they also won't spurn CHL; 400m customers is too many to ignore."

I agree ... Apple's first deal in PRC may have to be with China Mobile ... Building a special (still just guesswork) "TD iPhone 3G for China Mobile" presents a real dilemma for Apple ... This type of crippling customization is an almost unthinkable divergence in strategy for Apple and I can already hear the “no ways!” … However, China (MIIT and other ministries) may have pushed hard for just such a compromise as a way to promote their nascent TD-SCDMA network. Think of this compromise as Apple’s entrance fee into China’s highly controlled handset market. The good news is that a large share of Apple’s risks/costs in developing this customized TD iPhone 3G may be born by China Mobile’s parent CMCC (i.e. China). More >
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