Apple is reportedly in talks with China Mobile to bring the iPhone to the world’s largest carrier and Reuters is reporting that Steve Jobs is leading the negotiations personally.
Negotiating with carriers is generally not something you’d expect Apple’s CEO to handle but this shows just how important China Mobile could be for the iPhone. China Mobile has over 600 million subscribers, which is more than the combined population of the United States and Japan. Please note that I’m not just talking about the number of mobile subscribers, China Mobile has more customers than Japan and the United States have people.
While the number of subscribers on China Mobile is large, it used to be that many of these subscribers were on the lower end of the spectrum and couldn’t really afford the iPhone and the somewhat costly data plan that comes with it. That same Reuters report said that there are already more than 7 million iPhone users on China Mobile already who have purchased the device and brought it on the network on their own. There is definitely interest in the iPhone.
Apple is already on an incredible hot streak and it sold more than 20 million iPhones last quarter and it reported a strong reception in the Asian markets. If Apple could get the iPhone 5 out soon and land a deal with China Mobile by the time it launches, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it sell 30 million iPhones next quarter.
[Via China Mobile, photo]
