14 DAY TRIAL // The trend for companies to announce that they have initiated talks with Apple over the iPhone has died down, as have the various rumors about the iPhone soon being released in various countries. Now word is coming back of said talks ending in a failure, which is not exactly shocking considering the latest developments.
China Mobile was one of the companies quick to announce that it had begun talks with Apple over their cell phone. Considering that the Japan launch is still many months away, such talks could only have been described as premature, but that did not prevent them from happening.
Market Watch now cites the Chinese-language Southern Daily paper, who in turn cites "unnamed sources," who inform the world that the negotiations between the two companies have failed. The reason is, surprisingly enough, money. Allegedly, Apple asked for the same kind of deal it has gotten so far, namely revenue-sharing, but the two companies were not able to agree on a figure.
Between the lukewarm sales figures in Europe, two unlocked versions of the device already being available for purchase, as well as companies starting to offer to buy potential customers out of their two-year contract by refunding them the extra cost of the unlocked device, is it any wonder that China Mobile does not want to give its money to Apple?
Apple is now reportedly in talks with other mobile phone distributors in China, and it will be interesting to see if the jig is up and carriers will not buy into the system anymore. If so, it will be interesting to see how things will look between the carriers that Apple has already bagged, for several years to come.
On the other hand, if the success of the iPhone is not on track, one can be sure that Steve already has the iPhone nano, or something equally sellable, ready to roll out, and the cash cows can go right back to grazing happily.