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Apple, China Mobile Closer to iPhone Deal

Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 10:45 AM - by

Apple and China Mobile appear to have overcome the biggest issue that has been keeping the companies from striking a deal to bring the iPhone 3G to China. Apparently revenue sharing -- a condition that has already been dropped in other markets -- was still on the negotiation table, but has finally been pulled from the deal, according to MarketWatch.

Gao Songge, deputy director of China Mobile's general department, commented "We've broken through the biggest obstacle and we are negotiating at the working level."

Apple's agreement to relent on major sticking points like revenue sharing means that Chinese consumers are a step closer to seeing legit iPhones on store shelves instead of the gray market units that have been available so far. The change in attitude also means that Apple is a little closer to tapping into China's 540 million-strong cell phone user base.

Apple introduced new iPhone 3G at its annual conference for Mac and iPhone developers in early June. The second generation iPod and smartphone will include 3G wireless data networking, a built-in GPS and support for Microsoft Exchange systems.

The iPhone 3G is scheduled to go on sale on about 20 countries on July 11.

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