NEW YORK (AP) — Apple says it has reached a deal to bring the iPhone to China Mobile, the world’s
biggest phone carrier.Thedeal ends a lengthy courtship and could boost sales of the iPhone inChina. The
iPhone, once hugely popular in China, has been eclipsed bythe rise of lower-priced rival smartphones from
Samsung and Chinesecompanies.The iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale in Apple storesand China Mobile stores
beginning Friday, Jan. 17. China Mobilecustomers can register for phones starting Wednesday.The companies
didn’t announce pricing or the terms of the agreement.TheiPhone, while popular around the world, has faced
tough competition inrecent years from cheaper smartphones running Google’s Android software.Collectively,
Android phones far outsell Apple’s iPhone.Analysts speculate that Apple could sell another 10 million to 40
million more phones if it reached a deal with China Mobile.AppleCEO Tim Cook told the official Xinhua News
Agency in January that heexpects China to surpass the United States as its biggest market. Some50 million
iPhones have been sold in China in the past 2 1/2 years,according to analyst estimates.China Mobile, which
is owned bythe Chinese government, has more than 750 million mobile accounts.However, a survey by Bernstein
Research said some China Mobile consumersuse smaller carriers for data service. Apple already has
agreementswith China Telecom Ltd. and China Unicom Ltd., which have about 455million mobile accounts.China
Mobile wants to have the world’slargest 4G network, and the new iPhones might help it win overcustomers. The
company received approval to start operating the fasternetwork earlier this month and plans to have 4G
services available in 16cities by the end of 2013. It aims to provide coverage for 340 citiesby the end of
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rewritten orredistributed.