It looks like the iPhone is going to China
One regional Web site within the giant cellular provider China Unicom has posted a list of phones supported by their new 3G network. The iPhone is on that list, along with the Google Android G1.
The information on the site was, of course, in Chinese but it graphically showed the iPhone at work within the China Unicom 3G network. The information also only appeared on the company’s Shanghai site, although Shanghai is often the place where Western technology enters China first, before spreading throughout the country. Shanghai is a very high-tech savvy city. A spokeswoman for the company’s headquarters said she did not know why the iPhone information was on the Shanghai Web site. China Unicom’s regional branches are said to be fairly independent, according to a PC World story.
This appearance on the Shanghai Web site may be especially meaningful in light of other related occurrences. It has been widely reported that a China Unicom delegation visited Apple last week and that they engineered a breakthrough in talks relative to offering the iPhone 3G on its network. China Unicom has officially confirmed that it is involved in talks with Apple, but it had not been previously reported to be in talks with G1 manufacturer High Tech Computer (HTC), so it is of interest that the HTC-manufactured phone was shown alongside the iPhone on the Shanghai Web site.
China Unicom will be launching trials in the next few months for its 3G network. Their new network is based on the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standard. WCDMA is very popular outside China and is fully supported by both the iPhone 3G and the G1. It is known that China Mobile, China Unicom’s larger rival, plans to offer a newer Google Android phone. They have apparently arranged to sell the HTC Magic, also known as the G2. The China Mobile network is reportedly based on a much more local “standard” known as TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous CDMA).
Apple iPhone knockoffs are already popular in China. It is beginning to be apparent that both Apple and China Unicom feel that the real McCoy will also do well in China. Given the timing, it would seem possible that the Chinese version of the iPhone that goes on sale in China will be the new model due to be introduced by Apple in June.
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