14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone users in China might soon have the chance to choose between two of the hottest mobile phones available on the market at the moment, namely the Apple iPhone and the Palm Pre. While the former will certainly come towards users in the country starting with the fourth quarter of the ongoing year, the latter is only rumored to be on its way to the Chinese market.
According to an article on ComputerWorld, one of the China's largest carriers, namely China Telecom, is currently in talks with Palm for the introduction of the Pre in the country. Wireless carriers in China have been granted 3G licenses at the beginning of the year, and the move is meant to enable China Telecom to attract more users on its side as soon as its 3G network is up and running in the country.
In addition to the Palm Pre, the operator is also in talks with Research In Motion for the introduction of a BlackBerry device on the market, at least this is what an investor relations representative reportedly stated on Friday. In case the carrier will indeed ink such deals, its users will have the possibility to enjoy attractive handsets that will work on the company's upcoming 3G networks.
As China Telecom is set to lure more users on its side, the 3G-capable handsets it plans to offer should help it a lot. The company will release a series of Nokia phones later this year, the representative stated, and two more handsets should come from Motorola. At the same time, the operator will also provide its users with a series of low-cost handsets, aimed mainly at the young.
Other carriers are also taking steps towards coming to the market with great 3G handsets. China Mobile, the largest carrier in the country, is rumored to plan on releasing a Dell smartphone (called the Dell mini3i), while China Unicom has announced recently that it struck a 3-year deal with Apple for the launch of the iPhone in the country.