BEIJING, Nov. 12, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- China Telecom (0728.HK; CHA.NYSE) and China Wireless Technologies (OOTC:CHWTY) (2369.HK) have jointly launched the first high-end mobile phone based on the evolution-data optimised (EVDO) standard.
The new model, Coolpad N900+, is equipped with four network-connecting channels, supports CDMA 2000 EVDO, WAPI, and CDMA+GSM dual sim card standby.
China Telecom earlier started to sell mid- to low-end mobile phone models priced around 1,000 yuan, to lower the threshold for consumers to choose its 3G telecom services. It is expected to enter the high-end market to compete with iPhone, which China Unicom (OOTC:CHUFF) (0762.HK; 600050.SH; CHU.NYSE) started selling at the end of October.
Wang Xiaochu, chairman and CEO of China Telecom, has revealed that the Chinese telecom carrier is in talk with Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) (RIM), hoping to introduce Blackberry mobile phones.
However, cooperation with RIM may take time to achieve, as there may be regulatory as well as technical obstacles to overcome.
A quicker option could be forming an alliance with a domestic mobile phone manufacturer that better knows the Chinese market and meets the carrier's immediate need to enter the high-end market before yearend.
