Echoing earlier reports , folks in China can now officially get an iPhone 5 as China Telecom, the smallest of the countryâs three telecom carriers, started taking pre-orders for the device yesterday. According to a local report, a member of the customer service staff at the carrierâs Beijing branch confirmed iPhone 5 pre-orders in mainland China.
The countryâs largest home appliance retailer, Suning, started taking pre-orders for the device earlier in the month. No word on availability of CDMA iPhone 5 models on Appleâs long-time iPhone distributor, China Unicomâ¦
Global Times [1] Â reached out to a China Telecom rep yesterday who said:
Weâll contact you immediately if the iPhone 5 hits our shelves. China Telecomâs version of the iPhone 5 will go on sale sometime in December.
The carrierâs PR staff wouldnât divulge the exact shipping date for the device. Spokesperson for rival China Unicom told the paper they have âno information yet as to the arrival of China Unicomâs version of the iPhone 5â³.
Appleâs global iPhone 5 roll out entails making the device available in a hundred countries and through 240 carriers by the end of 2012 (itâs coming to Taiwan mid-December ).
Both CDMA and GSM versions of the iPhone 5 have recently passed  the China Compulsory Certificate, removing regulatory hurdles ahead of the official introduction. Employees for China Unicom, the countryâs second-largest telco, recently told reporters that they are expecting the iPhone 5 before the year is over.
The Apple smartphone has long been rumored to hit China Mobile , the countryâs and worldâs largest telco, but any such landmark deal with Apple has yet to be announced.
China-based research firm Analysys International estimates  that Android is found on 90 percent of devices sold in China. Research firm Canalys has it  that local, inexpensive smartphone brands like Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific pushed Apple out of the top five rankings in China.
Analysts for Gartner think that Chinese maker Lenovo will become Chinaâs leading smartphone brand in 2013. China with its massive population of 1.33 billion people is part of the BRIC block, an acronym for the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Sales of Appleâs smartphone in BRIC territories are under pressure  from inexpensive Android devices  and Appleâs arrogance  in dealing with carriers isnât helping reverse the trend. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster thinks Apple will need to introduce a sub-$200, contract-free iPhone  in about two years time.
What do you think?
Can a cheap iPhone help Apple win some of the market share lost to Android?
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