A reservation page spotted online is the latest evidence that suggests that China Mobile is about to start taking pre-orders for the Apple iPhone 5s. This would dove tail perfectly with a report earlier this week that had the world's largest carrier taking pre-orders for an iPhone from its customers for the first time ever on December 12th. In Beijing, where the pre-orders are supposed to start, it is almost 3pm in the afternoon as we write this.
While China Mobile has so far denied it has a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone, earlier reports had the phone launching for the carrier on December 18th. Apple had previously been unable to sell its iconic smartphone to China Mobile's750 million subscribers because the device was not compatible with the operators TD-SCDMA pipeline. Now that the carrier is moving to a 4G LTE network, there have been leaked posters and other indications that Apple and China Mobile had reached an agreement for Apple to sell the iPhone via China Mobile.
Earlier this month, a Suzhou-based subsidiary of China Mobile posted a reservations page for China Mobile customers interested in buying the Apple iPhone 5s and the Apple iPhone 5c, but it was subsequently taken down. The whole back and forth has to be getting China Mobile subscribers frustrated, along with Apple executives. China Mobile is an important carrier for Apple to snag. If only 1% of its customers buy an iPhone, that equals 7.5 million units sold.
China Mobile Beijing appears ready to take pre-orders on the Apple iPhone 5s
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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