mocoNews - Has Apple Finally Reached A Deal With Unicom To Bring The iPhone To China?

Yet another report that the iPhone may be available in China, starting this fall. China Business Network says that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has now signed a deal with Unicom to bring a "specialty-built" iPhone to China beginning in September (via Fortune). Both Unicom and China Mobile have confirmed in the past that they have had discussions with Apple about offering the iPhone in China, although talks with China Mobile reportedly broke down over access to the App store. Last month, Merrill Lynch analyst Cynthia Meng said in a research note that Apple was close to signing a two-year exclusive deal with Unicom. She said the deal would go into effect in October, coinciding with Unicom's launch of a commercial 3G Network.

Apple COO Tim Cook said in April that he wanted to offer the iPhone in China "within the next year"-but to sell the iPhone in China, Apple first has to overcome several regulatory hurdles, in addition to finding a partner. One problem is whether Apple can offer Wi-Fi access on the phones. According to the China Business Network report, Apple will reportedly disable Wi-Fi on its Chinese phones in order to get around a restriction on offering phones with high-speed internet access. Apple's manufacturing partner is already supposedly building the specialty iPhones. No word on whether Apple will use the iPhone brand name in China, which was yet another issue, since another company already owns the trademark in conjunction with phones in China.

Related

iPhone Round-Up: AT&T Tethering Prices; iPhone In China; Crazy Pre-Orders; Speed Face-OffEvidence Surfaces That iPhone May Be Coming Soon To China