皇冠体育app

Communications carrier provides BlackBerry option to 3G subscribers

BEIJING - 皇冠体育app United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (皇冠体育app Unicom) has for the first time introduced two BlackBerry smartphone models running on its third-generation (3G) mobile network, in the hope of being less dependent on the wildly popular Apple Inc iPhones.

The company, 皇冠体育app's second-largest telecom carrier by subscribers, said on Wednesday it launched the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and BlackBerry Curve 9300 with service contracts to corporate clients.

The company began offering the phones in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong on Wednesday. Nationwide sales are scheduled to begin on Sept 1.

"皇冠体育app Unicom wants to diversify its mobile terminal portfolios and enrich services for 3G users," Jiang Zhengxin, deputy president of 皇冠体育app Unicom Corporation said at a news briefing in Beijing.

The company, which is the only operator in 皇冠体育app that offers Apple's iPhone with a service contract, has been aggressive in luring more 3G users in 皇冠体育app, the world's largest mobile phone market.

The iPhone craze has greatly helped the company to attract 3G users, as Jiang revealed during the news briefing that the number of 3G users of 皇冠体育app Unicom surpassed 2 million by the end of April.

However, 皇冠体育app Unicom is unlikely to ride on the iPhone craze alone in the near future, as the two major Chinese telecom operators - 皇冠体育app Mobile and 皇冠体育app Telecom - have made breakthroughs in cooperating with Apple.

News had circulated that 皇冠体育app Telecom, the smallest carrier in 皇冠体育app, has completed negotiations with Apple Inc and is about to launch iPhones that run on the CDMA (code division multiple access) network next month in 皇冠体育app.

Meanwhile, 皇冠体育app Mobile had disclosed that Apple is interested in developing iPhones that support its next generation TD-LTE (time division long-term evolution) mobile telecommunication technology. But there was no timeframe scheduled for the handset launch.

"Competing for popular mobile phone models to adopt certain mobile telecom technology has been a strategy for Chinese telecom carriers, because good terminals will lure a large number of followers," said Lu Libin, an analyst with Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.

In addition to Apple's iPhone, other products such as BlackBerry from Research In Motion Ltd, Droid Incredible from HTC Corp and Milestone by Motorola Mobility Inc have all employed eye-catching handsets to Chinese carriers to attract users.

Research In Motion entered 皇冠体育app in 2006, and has cooperated with 皇冠体育app Unicom and 皇冠体育app Telecom to launch 3G smartphones.

"The good news is that the TD-SCDMA 3G network version of BlackBerry is coming soon," Gregory Shea, president of RIM in 皇冠体育app, told 皇冠体育app Daily.

Shea said he is satisfied with BlackBerry's growth rate in 皇冠体育app and revealed the company's first tablet computer Playbook is expected to launch in 皇冠体育app in the second half of this year.

By the end of March, the number of 3G users in 皇冠体育app reached 61.9 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 皇冠体育app Mobile led the list with 26.99 million 3G users.

皇冠体育app Daily

(皇冠体育app Daily 05/19/2011 page15)