China Telecom Starts Selling iPhone 4S, Receives Over 200,000 Pre-orders

By Chris Chang, posted Mar 8, 2012 at 7:21 PM, 5,345 views,

China Telecom Starts Selling iPhone 4S, Receives Over 200,000 Pre-orders

Major Chinese carrier China Telecom starts selling Apple’s iPhone 4S in China today, and the phone is available for sale at 2,850 retail outlets of China Telecom, and from local electronics retailers. Guess what, the carrier has taken more than 200,000 pre-orders, and still counting.

Gallery: China Telecom iPhone 4S Launch

The Launch

China Telecom held a launching ceremony of the telecom version of the iPhone 4S in Shanghai

The CDMA version of iPhone 4S is finally available for sale through China Telecom, after the carrier announced an agreement with Apple last month where they will sell the iPhone 4S in China, and this will double the potential sales for the iPhone.

China Telecom subscriber will now have the opportunity to purchase iPhone 4S

Sales of the iPhone 4S by China Telecom begins on March 9, and pre-order offerings have been started on March 2. During the iPhone 4S launching ceremony that was held in Shanghai on March 8, China Telecom has announced that over 200,000 customers pre-ordered the smartphone in the week leading up to the launch, with orders in Beijing and Shanghai exceeded 10,000 units and 20,000 units respectively. The Chinese demand for the iPhone 4S has been greater than expected, according to China Telecom.

Customers pre-ordering the iPhone 4S at China Telecom’s store

People are excited about China Telecom’s iPhone 4S launch on March 9

China Telecom staff introducing iPhone 4S data plans to customer

First China Telecom subscriber to get an iPhone 4S

The Chinese are happy to get their iPhone 4S from China Telecom

China Telecom offers the iPhone 4S for free under various contracts. Users can get a 16 GB iPhone 4S free under a 389 yuan monthly (US$ 62) plan with a two-year contract. Extending the lock-in period to three years reduces the plan to 289 yuan (US$ 45) monthly. More details below:

Features of China Telecom’s iPhone 4S

Close-up look at the back of China Telecom’s iPhone 4S

On an iPhone, you will see some text (model, serial number, country of origin, etc) printed on the back of the rear panel. Interestingly, we see an extra line of text saying “American Company Apple Inc. cdma2000 Digital Mobile Phone” on the rear panel of China Telecom’s iPhone 4S. For more photos of the phone, see the unboxing and hands-on gallery below.

China Telecom iPhone 4S unboxing and hands-on

Next, it is worth noting that the China Telecom iPhone 4S comes with new version of iOS, iOS 5.1. Users do not need to perform an update when they got the phone.

You may ask, what is the difference between China Telecom iPhone 4S and China Unicom iPhone 4S? Three things.

Slower 3G Data

iPhone 4S reaches an upload speed of 686Kb/s and download speed of 209Kb/s on China Telecom’s 3G network in Beijing

First, the data speed. iPhone 4S on China Unicom network supports 14.4 Mbps HSPA+ download speeds. Depending on where you live, you may never get anywhere near that speed in the real world, but the potential is there. For China Telecom, their EV-DO Rev. A 3G data speeds are theoretically limited to about 3.1 Mbps. So, China Telecom subscriber get slower 3G data on their iPhone 4S.

No Simultaneous Voice and Data

Next, China Telecom’s EV-DO Rev. A network does not support simultaneous voice and data the way HSPA and HSPA+ does for China Unicom.

That means if a call comes in while you’re using 3G data — surfing the web, sharing your connection via personal hotspot — you can either ignore the call and continue using 3G data, or answer the call and effectively put your 3G data connection on “pause”. If you’re on a call you won’t receive email or push notifications and if you try to surf the web or download an app you’ll be informed you’re not connected to the 3G network. Once the call ends, 3G data reconnects and you can start using the internet again.

If you’re on Wi-Fi as opposed to 3G data you can make calls and use data without a problem. It’s only 3G data that cuts out during calls.

China Telecom iPhone 4S Is A World Phone, But Needs UIM Card For Activation

China Telecom provides micro UIM Card for iPhone 4S

In China, we have to insert UIM Card to a CDMA mobile phone. The UIM Card is a card developed for cdmaOne/CDMA2000 (“CDMA”) handsets that extends the GSM SIM card to CDMA phones and networks. Since China Telecom’s iPhone 4S is a CDMA2000 handset, users are required to insert an UIM Card to get the iPhone activated. Inserting a GSM micro SIM will not work at all. And here’s one thing to take note, China Telecom’s iPhone 4S is a world phone. It supports both CDMA and GSM wireless standards, and it can roam on all global networks.

The Verdict

China Telecom is actually playing Verizon’s iPhone role in China. As far as we know, China Telecom now has close to 130 million subscribers, and the carrier also boasts about having the largest CDMA network in the world by installed base. With over 200,000 pre-orders placed for the iPhone 4S, China Telecom is likely to emerge the victor in a looming iPhone war with China Unicom by offering both better prices and service.

One More Thing