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Apple interest in a Chinese LTE-TD iPhone grows

on 08-03-2011

Apple's CEO Steve Jobs has expressed interest in building an iPhone designed to work specifically for China Mobile's 4th generation network. Although China Unicom already sells iPhones in China, the company has failed to attract as many subscribers as in other countries due to its relatively small subscriber base. Developing an iPhone that can run on TD [LTE-TD] would allow Apple to sell iPhones via China Mobile, now the world's largest mobile phone company.

China Mobile's chairman Wang Jianzhou recently revealed that he and Steve Jobs have discussed the idea of developing an iPhone based on LTE-TD technology. China Mobile uses proprietary 3G standards and intends to develop 4G technology that will not be compatible with existing GSM and CDMA iPhones.

Unlike in many countries, Chinese citizens are not allowed to transfer their telephone numbers from one mobile network to another. So far, the attraction of owning the latest Apple iPhone hasn't been strong enough for most subscribers to change their telephone numbers.

It took Apple a number of years to finally see a CDMA version of the iPhone sold by US mobile operator Verizon and analysts suggest a similar move to LTE-TD technology might take some time unless the development cycle is accelerated significantly. Given the competitive nature of the Chinese mobile phone market, it is unlikely that China Mobile will be willing to wait for long.

At the same time, questions remain around the potential appetite in China for Apple's locked down iPhone model. One thing's for sure: Steve Jobs will have to move pretty quickly to stay in discussions with China Mobile and be in a position to grab a large slice of the Chinese mobile phone market.

What do you think? Is it feasible for Apple to develop an iPhone based on LTE-TD iPhone, or is there a risk that a Chinese company could produce a similar device quicker for the local market?

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