According to sources from China Unicom, business negotiations have basically ended, and the final round of negotiations will finalize the sale price. China Unicom's introduction of the 3G version of the iPad is only a shortfall. Recently, China Unicom’s senior executives negotiated with Apple’s executives. The content of the negotiations was mainly China Unicom’s introduction of the 3G version of the iPad’s price and sales policies.
According to sources from China Unicom, the previous business negotiations have basically ended. This round of negotiations is mainly to finalize the sales price, which basically belongs to the last round of negotiations. "The introduction of the 3G version of the iPad is an ironclad thing, but the fastest time to market is also early next year." iPad fans who want to "go through" in Hong Kong also need to wait patiently for a month or two, and they can buy Unicom's 3G version of the iPad.
CICC's latest research report said that the 3G version of the iPad will be sold in China in January next year, which is expected to increase China Unicom's 3 million to 5 million data card users each year.
The final round of negotiations focused on pricing Earlier this year, Unicom executives expressed their desire to introduce the iPad on multiple occasions. Li Gang, the deputy general manager of China Unicom, stated at the 4th APEC e-commerce forum that as a strategic partner of Apple, China Unicom is negotiating with Apple to introduce the iPad, but the specific time is uncertain.
However, the deployment around the iPad has been in close progress: starting in May, China Unicom began to use an iPhone user-dedicated website to test iPad live TV video in order to observe the effect; in June, China Unicom began to test the mini-SIM card for the introduction of 3G version iPad ready. On September 1, China Unicom's iPad U-listed, the national unified retail price of 598 yuan, including 580 yuan pre-deposit, support package automatic upgrade.
"From a foreign point of view, the 3G version of the iPad is much more popular than the WiFi version. At present, China Unicom has made various preparations for the 3G version of the iPad, and hopes that the 3G version of the iPad can enter China as soon as possible." Li Gang said, iPad There are currently two versions of the product: one is a WiFi version and the other is a 3G plus WiFi version. The 3G version of the iPad uses the WCDMA standard, so it will definitely enter the Chinese market in cooperation with China Unicom.
According to insiders from Unicom, basic business negotiations have already ended earlier this year. This round of negotiations starting this month is mainly about finalizing prices and sales strategies, which basically belong to the last round of negotiations.
According to sources, like the iPhone 4, the 3G version of the iPad will be sold in mainland China in two modes: One is China Unicom's subsidy sales iPad contract plan; In addition, Apple China will also sell bare metal at the same time, is expected to sell 16GB bare metal price 4,988 yuan.
Three operators favorite iPad
The 3G version of the iPad is required to be listed on the domestic market. It requires 3C certification and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's equipment access certification “complete with two certificatesâ€.
Just last month, the 3G version of the iPad just passed China's 3C certification, model A1219, certificate number 2010010902426500. An insider of China Unicom stated that China Unicom is actively promoting the progress of iPad's certification in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the certification progress of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will also determine the final time-to-market for the Unicom version of the iPad.
At present, domestic users want to buy a 3G version of the iPad, only through the parallel market, foreign purchasing and other methods. In the parallel market, Hong Kong Bank’s 3G iPad16G currently sells for about 4,600 yuan and the 32G version is 5,999-6,100 yuan.
Some people had earlier speculated that the 3G version of the iPad was sold by China Unicom, and the WiFi version of the iPad was introduced by China Mobile. However, in the end, the WiFi version of the iPad was sold by Apple itself in China—Sept. 17, the WiFi version of the iPad was In the Mainland, the price of the 16G version is 3,988 yuan, that of the 32G version is 4,788 yuan, and that of the 64G B version is 5,588 yuan.
Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile Communications Group, said, "This is regrettable. We did not reach an agreement with Apple."
In fact, the three major operators are extremely concerned about the iPad. Wang Xiaochu, chairman of China Telecom, revealed earlier that the company is evaluating the market's response to the iPad.
Analysys International Senior Consultant Zhang Lijun believes that the introduction of the iPad will drive mobile reading, mobile video and mobile game businesses. These services are valued by operators.
In addition, iPad is also conducive to inciting group customers. Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, said that 65% of Fortune 500 companies are testing or deploying the iPad. According to Apple, Medtronic purchased 4,500 iPads for sales and marketing teams, Boston Scientific purchased 2,000, and SAP purchased 1,000.
According to the latest research report released by China International Capital, China Unicom's 3G version of the iPad will start selling in the mainland in January next year, which is expected to add 3 million to 5 million data card users each year. "At present Unicom's 3G network can accommodate 20 million iPhone users or 90 million ordinary 3G users. Capital expenditures of 25 billion yuan can double current network capacity."
Link to the new iPad next year, the amount of news in the industry, Apple's component suppliers are stepping up and down, looking forward to the new version of the iPad Tablet PC in the first quarter of next year to enter production. According to reports, the new iPad is smaller in size, lighter in weight, and the screen resolution will increase, and cameras will be installed both before and after.
Research firm iSuppli predicts that Apple is expected to ship 12.9 million iPads this year, and that next year shipments will increase to 36.5 million units, accounting for 84% of the tablet PC market.