Apple and China Mobile announced their partnership a few days after China Mobile introduced an upgrade to a newer, faster system — 4G — for parts of its network. The existing 3G subscribers, not the overall customer base, will provide the main target audience for the new phones and services.
The deal with China Mobile has been rumored for a while, and potential customers for the iPhone are already lining up. Among them is Wang Xiaocong, who works in the marketing department of a law firm in Beijing. Ms. Wang, 31, said she had a BlackBerry for work and a Samsung smartphone for personal use, but was looking for something different.
“I am not a big fan of high-tech products,” Ms. Wang said. “But I would love to have an iPhone next time, with the 4G network, maybe next year. It looks very fashionable.”
