telecom

Apple's dealings in China have been all over the Web lately due to an eye-opening New York Times report blaming Apple for extremely subpar working conditions in its manufacturing plants in southeast Asia. That story has cast a nasty shadow over Apple in China, and now there's some more news of a deal to bring the iPhone 4S to China Telecom, China's third largest wireless carrier.

Earlier this week Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty told investors that Apple would likely strike a deal with China Telecom and China Mobile (China's largest wireless carrier) to bring the … Read more

Apple's expansion to two additional carriers in China could bring in an extra 40 million iPhone buyers next year, according to a new analyst note.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty sent a note to investors yesterday (picked up by Apple Insider), suggesting that Apple this year will expand its mobile presence in China by making deals with China Telecom and China Mobile--the latter being the world's largest wireless carrier with about 650 million subscribers.

Huberty suggests Apple's next iPhone will be offered on both of those new networks, and with an estimated 20 percent of customers in … Read more

Apple saw its global iPhone sales skyrocket to more than 37 million last quarter. Just imagine what the number might have been if the iPhone 4S had been available in China at that time.

During Apple's earnings call yesterday, CEO Tim Cook said that he's been happy with sales of the iPhone 4S in Greater China. But since the phone didn't launch until January, the results weren't counted for the December quarter, a move the Apple chief seemed to regret.

"We felt we were betting bold, as I think many of you would have thought … Read more

It's no surprise that China's mobile market is highly coveted by any handset manufacturer. According to a new report from Wireless Intelligence, reported by GigaOm, China is approaching the 1 billion mark for mobile connections, largely due to the popularity of 3G, which accounts for nearly 25 percent of subscribers.

China's mobile connections grew almost 17 percent from 2010 to 2011. China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom are the big three cellular service providers in China, though only China Unicom currently offers Apple's iPhone.

If anything is an indication of the popularity of mobile devices … Read more

China is booming, and Apple knows it. While the only official iPhone carrier in China, China Unicom, is offering free iPhones with long-term contracts, a new competitor may be soon entering the market.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, China Telecom, the third largest wireless carrier in China may soon be offering the iPhone on its network. China Unicom is expected to start selling the iPhone 4S this Friday, though the device it'll be peddling won't likely be compatible with China Telecom's network.

The regulatory agency that approves devices for use on Chinese networks … Read more

The outlook for IT spending this year isn't quite as rosy as Gartner previously predicted.

Spending on IT products and services is expected to reach $3.8 trillion in 2012, a 3.7 percent rise from last year when spending totaled $3.7 trillion and had climbed by 6.9 percent from 2010.

Released today, the new forecast is a dip from Gartner's prior projection of 4.6 percent growth for this year. The market researcher now believes that all major tech sectors will witness slower gains in spending for 2012.

Spending on telecom equipment will see the … Read more

After briefly mentioning it yesterday in its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans, LG spilled more details today on its upcoming LG Prada 3 Android smartphone.

Like the Prada and Prada 2 before it, the Prada 3's calling card is its sleek (0.3-inch), "look at me!" profile. Though relatively minimalist by Prada standards, the handset's glossy black skin, "Saffiano" pattern on the battery cover, and prominent logo are enough make it eye-catching. Accessories are optional, but encouraged.

Features include a WVGA 4.3-inch display with a Prada-designed user interface, a 1GHz dual-core processor, a … Read more

British Telecom filed a lawsuit against Google on Thursday, alleging that Android and other services violate six of the telephone company's patents.

The lawsuit (see below), filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware, claims that Google services such as Android Market, Google Maps, Google Search, Google+, and Google Offers violate patents owned by British Telecom. The services infringe on a variety of patents including ones that cover systems for navigation information, service provision system for communications networks, and telecommunications apparatus and method.

The suit seeks unspecified damages as well as an injunction.

A Google representative rejected BT's … Read more

AT&T is apparently readying a Hail Mary pass to save its foundering $39 billion bid for T-Mobile. Trouble is, there's every reason to think it won't be enough.

According to Bloomberg, the telecom giant is preparing to offer a deal to the Department of Justice under which AT&T would divest as much as 40 percent of T-Mobile's assets as part of the acquisition. It's not at all clear which parts of T-Mobile AT&T might consider shedding as part of this plan.

The Justice Department filed suit to block the deal … Read more