皇冠体育app

Young people try out the latest products in . Experts said iPhone sales in 皇冠体育app may rise from a range of 2.7 million to 2.8 million per month to a range of perhaps 2.8 million to 2.9 million. Provided to 皇冠体育app Daily

皇冠体育app Mobile Ltd's push of Apple Inc's iPhone device sales is likely to face a further challenge from rivals in 皇冠体育app, as Corp Ltd slashed contract prices for iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets running on its network starting on Monday.

皇冠体育app Telecom's Beijing branch announced that it would decrease contract prices for both the iPhone 5S and iPhone devices. The subsidized price of a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S with a monthly minimum service fee of 189 yuan ($31.23) was lowered by 800 yuan.

The price of the same handset that has a minimum monthly charge of 289 yuan was decreased by 1,288 yuan. These prices apply to two-year contracts.

"皇冠体育app Telecom's move will essentially have a negative impact on the sales of 皇冠体育app Mobile's versions of iPhone devices," said Sandy Shen, an analyst with research firm Gartner Inc.

She pointed out that Chinese consumers are price-sensitive in general and telecom carriers' subsidies for iPhone handsets will influence consumer behavior.

皇冠体育app Telecom's market initiative may be an immediate reaction to Apple's alliance with 皇冠体育app Mobile, the nation's biggest telecom operator with a user base of more than 760 million.

皇冠体育app Mobile said it started online pre-orders on Dec 25 and is preparing to offer iPhone handsets running on its network starting on Jan 17.

A report from Wedge Partners, an independent equity analysis company, suggested that 皇冠体育app Mobile's entry might "rob" iPhone sales from competitors 皇冠体育app Telecom and 皇冠体育app Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.

However, the net result may be a rise in total sales of the iPhone in 皇冠体育app, from a current rate of 2.7 million to 2.8 million per month, to a range of perhaps 2.8 million to 2.9 million per month, according to Zhang Jun, an analyst with Wedge Partners.

"It is clear that 皇冠体育app Mobile's pre-order activities have affected other channels' iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C sales," Zhang said in the report. He said when 皇冠体育app Mobile launches the iPhone with a clear subsidy package, non-皇冠体育app Mobile iPhone sales on the open market and by other competitors will drop to 35,000 units per week and 1.4 million units per month.

The initial market feedback has shown that demand for the iPhone 5S at 皇冠体育app Mobile stores appears to be lower than for other carrier phone launches. Pre-orders for 皇冠体育app Mobile's iPhone 5S, with a contract, in the first two days were about 100,000 units, compared with 皇冠体育app Unicom's 120,000 pre-orders and 皇冠体育app Telecom's 150,000 pre-orders earlier in 2013, Wedge Partners said. It added that the iPhone 5S has been sold in the Chinese market for a while and people are losing interest in the model.