Edward Kirk
February 9th, 2009, 05:36 PM
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<i>Interfax</i> has revealed some insider details behind Apple's lengthy ongoing negotiations with China Mobile to bring the iPhone to China. Their source claims that when visiting China Mobile Research Institute, company president Wang Jiazhou confirmed two temporary halts in negotiations in the past, and that they had just hit a third in regard to the App Store.<!--break-->
According to <a href="http://tmt.interfaxchina.com/news/1295" target="_blank">Interfax</a>'s source, the negotiations hit a wall when Apple insisted that they have complete control over iPhone app sales through the App Store. Wang allegedly viewed this as a threat to China Mobile as Apple would be the one collecting money from customers directly.
<blockquote>"Wang said China Mobile should operate the application store itself in order to maintain its advantage," the source said.
Wang also pointed out that iPhone users in other parts of the world pay for applications by credit card, a model which would not be successful in China, where users prefer to pay through deposits in their mobile phone accounts. Under the latter arrangement, China Mobile would have to play a part in administering the purchase of iPhone applications in China, the source said.
Wang said during the negotiations that China Mobile is mapping out its own strategy to offer applications for smartphones, according to the source.</blockquote>
[via <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/09/details-of-iphone-negotiations-between-apple-and-china-mobile-emerge/" target="_blank">MacRumors</a>]</div>
<i>Interfax</i> has revealed some insider details behind Apple's lengthy ongoing negotiations with China Mobile to bring the iPhone to China. Their source claims that when visiting China Mobile Research Institute, company president Wang Jiazhou confirmed two temporary halts in negotiations in the past, and that they had just hit a third in regard to the App Store.<!--break-->
According to <a href="http://tmt.interfaxchina.com/news/1295" target="_blank">Interfax</a>'s source, the negotiations hit a wall when Apple insisted that they have complete control over iPhone app sales through the App Store. Wang allegedly viewed this as a threat to China Mobile as Apple would be the one collecting money from customers directly.
<blockquote>"Wang said China Mobile should operate the application store itself in order to maintain its advantage," the source said.
Wang also pointed out that iPhone users in other parts of the world pay for applications by credit card, a model which would not be successful in China, where users prefer to pay through deposits in their mobile phone accounts. Under the latter arrangement, China Mobile would have to play a part in administering the purchase of iPhone applications in China, the source said.
Wang said during the negotiations that China Mobile is mapping out its own strategy to offer applications for smartphones, according to the source.</blockquote>
[via <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/09/details-of-iphone-negotiations-between-apple-and-china-mobile-emerge/" target="_blank">MacRumors</a>]</div>