In line with its previous announcement, China Telecom today launched the iPhone 4S, becoming the second carrier in the country to officially offer the iPhone for sale. With its 129 million mobile subscribers, China Telecom is a major new addition for Apple and the largest carrier to offer the iPhone on a CDMA network.
M.I.C. gadget has a roundup of the launch events, with China Telecom having announced a greater-than-expected 200,000 pre-orders for the device.China Telecom is actually playing Verizon’s iPhone role in China. As far as we know, China Telecom now has close to 130 million subscribers, and the carrier also boasts about having the largest CDMA network in the world by installed base. With over 200,000 pre-orders placed for the iPhone 4S, China Telecom is likely to emerge the victor in a looming iPhone war with China Unicom by offering both better prices and service.As a CDMA device, the iPhone 4S on China Telecom possesses some of the same limitations seen with the device running on Verizon, including somewhat slower maximum data rates on 3G compared to GSM networks and a lack of support for simultaneous voice and data. China Telecom's iPhone 4S, which ships with iOS 5.1 pre-installed, also requires the use of a micro UIM card. The card is analogous to the micro-SIM card used on GSM devices, although many other CDMA carriers such as Verizon do not use such removable cards and instead rely on subscriber information being stored directly on the device.
China Telecom offers a variety of monthly plans for the iPhone 4S, with the 16 GB model being offered for free on plans as low as 389 yuan ($62) per month for a two-year contract or 289 yuan ($46) per month for a three-year contract. read more..
Saturday, 10 March 2012
China Telecom-China Unicom-Iphone 4S
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Unofficial Apple Weblog-China Mobile-Iphone 4S
Here's a strange story for you: Apple has worked with China Mobile to resolve issues with the iPhone 4S on the Chinese carrier's network. What's strange about that? China Mobile doesn't officially carry the iPhone 4S... Electronista is reporting that some 4S users cannot activate SIM cards or make calls with a full signal. The issues appear to be due to the iPhone 4S only supporting the GSM P band (885 - 915 MHz) and not the E band (880 - 890 MHz), both of which are in use by China Mobile. The P band is primarily used for outdoor use, while E is designed for indoor areas -- train stations, conventions centers, and the like. When China Mobile users move into an area without P coverage, they still see full signal strength, but the connection is dropped. According to China Mobile, Apple has updated all iPhone 4S devices built after February 8th, 2012 to work properly with their network. China Mobile is also saying that Apple is planning to issue a firmware update for earlier 4S devices in the next few weeks. Penn-Olson reported that there are some 15 million unofficial iPhone users on the China Mobile network at this point -- people who love their carrier so much that they're willing to run the iPhones on a system that doesn't give them 3G service. China Mobile expects to become China's third iPhone carrier soon, and is hoping to build a 4G LTE network that may be useful with the next generation of iPhone.Apple addresses issue with iPhone 4S on China Mobile originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments read more..
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
China Mobile-Iphone 4S
China Mobile may be the world's largest carrier with over 650 million customers, but it is not yet an official iPhone carrier, due in part to unique technology used for its 3G network that would so far have forced Apple to build special hardware to be compatible with the carrier.
But that hasn't stopped the carrier from supporting the iPhone for its customers to use on its 2G network, and Tech in Asia now reports on news from Beijing Daily sharing that China Mobile now has 15 million iPhone users. The milestone comes just over four months after the carrier reached 10 million iPhone users.
Despite the iPhone's popularity with China Mobile's customers, the device's potential there is undoubtedly barely being tapped, with advances in chip technology and the carrier's network meaning that future iPhones are likely to run on its fastest 4G LTE networks without requiring unique hardware.
Even iPhone 4S users trying to use the device on China Mobile's 2G network have been experiencing difficulties with SIM card activation, but Beijing Daily reports (via The Next Web) that the issue has now been resolved by Apple despite the fact that China Mobile is not an official carrier for the device.Apple Inc. may release an IOS update specifically for the Chinese mainland in early March to resolve the signal problems plaguing iPhone 4S owners using China Mobile’s network.
China Mobile said that Apple had updated the system of all iPhone 4S handsets manufactured after Feb. 8, 2012 to fully support its network, and will offer a software update for previously manufactured iPhone 4S handsets in early March.The issue is reportedly related to the handling of two different frequency bands used by China Mobile's 2G GSM network, with iPhone 4S incompatibility with the E frequency band resulting in users being unable to connect to the network in areas served by that frequency band. read more..