Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxconn Technology Group, has started producing the iPhone specially designed for the Chinese market according to one of the report on China’s largest portal websites Netease.com Wednesday.
The product, code-named “90″ by Foxconn, keeps the support of popular features such as 3G network, Bluetooth and so on, while eliminates the WiFi function. The details will be negotiated between Apple and China Unicom in the next few weeks.
Although Foxconn and Apple did not comment on the report, the one is inching away from the world’s largest mobile population (687 million by May according to government figures) might be Apple because of some signs.
Apple COO Tim Cook said in April “iPhone would like to be here in China during next year”. Apple could begin offering iPhone within six months since it had applied for the network access license in China on Monday.
China Unicom is still in talks with Apple on introducing the iPhone, spokesman of China Unicom Yi Difei said.
Apple turned to China Unicom because of the third generation (3G) technology that Apple’s iPhone3G and iPhone 3GS supports, but not to China Mobile even it had been in talks with China Mobile in 2007since China Mobile released the iPhone.
China Unicom hopes that introducing iPhone could not only increase its cellphone users appealing to high-end in China but also challenge top perch of China Mobile.