Apple and China Mobile sign deal to sell iPhones

Apple plans to offer the iPhone to more than 760 million China Mobile customers next month, which could help it increase its share from the fifth position in this growing market.

The company already sells its phones in China through two other carriers in the country—China Telecom and China Unicom—but a deal with China Mobile, the largest in the country, had eluded it for some time. One reason is that China Mobile uses a different wireless telecommunications standard from its competitors.

As part of an agreement announced Sunday, Apple’s iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available from China Mobile and Apple retail stores in China on January 17. Preregistration of the phones will begin on the carrier’s website and through its customer service hotline from Wednesday.

The pricing of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for China Mobile will be available at a later date, Apple said in a statement.

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