John Paczkowski

Recent Posts by John Paczkowski

China Mobile’s iPhone Talks Evidently Never-Ending

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s visit with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in Beijing last month sparked all manner of speculation that the long-rumored iPhone deal between the two companies is finally in the offing. But, according to Xi, the two companies have yet to finalize a deal that would bring the iPhone to China Mobile’s more than 700 million subscribers.

During a press conference in Hong Kong Thursday, following its latest earnings report, Xi said that China Mobile is still in a “deliberation process” with Apple about an iPhone distribution agreement.

Quite the “deliberation process.” By my count, it’s well into its fifth year.

“We are actively negotiating and both sides are keen,” Xi said, adding that there are still some technical issues that must be resolved before a deal can be signed. Presumably, those issues revolve around China Mobile’s current TD-SCDMA network, which doesn’t work with today’s iPhone.

So, when might we expect an iPhone deal between China Mobile and Apple? Said Xi, “We will make an announcement when we sign a contract.”

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December 30, 2013 at 6:49 am PT

2013 Was a Good Year for Chromebooks

December 29, 2013 at 2:12 pm PT

BlackBerry Pulls Latest Twitter for BB10 Update

December 29, 2013 at 5:58 am PT

Apple CEO Tim Cook Made $4.25 Million This Year

December 28, 2013 at 12:05 pm PT

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I think the NSA has a job to do and we need the NSA. But as (physicist) Robert Oppenheimer said, “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you’ve had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”

— Phil Zimmerman, PGP inventor and Silent Circle co-founder, in an interview with Om Malik