Apple Inc.’s iPhone will go on sale in China in the fourth quarter, entering a market that has more wireless subscribers than the combined populations of the U.S. and the 16 nations that use the euro.
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the country’s second-biggest provider of mobile-phone service, will sell the iPhone 3G and the 3GS models, chairman Chang Xiaobing told reporters in Hong Kong on Friday. The three-year deal isn’t exclusive, Apple said. That means other carriers may offer the iPhone in China.
Apple will compete with Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and handsets powered by Google Inc.’s Android software in China, where shipments of smart phones may triple by 2013, according to research company IDC. The world’s third-biggest economy has continued to grow during the global recession, fueling demand for electronics and luxury products. China has 695 million mobile-phone users.
“If Apple can get into the market early, there’s a substantial opportunity for them to win subscribers,” said Jeffrey Fidacaro, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group in New York. He has a positive rating on the shares, which he doesn’t own.
Unicom, which trails China Mobile Ltd. in the wireless market, may use the iPhone to attract higher-spending customers and bolster demand for more profitable Internet services, such as Web browsing and game downloads. Unicom announced the agreement with Apple as it reported a 45 percent decline in first-half profit Friday.
