China OKs sales of iPhones

BEIJING – China’s phone regulator said Tuesday it has approved Apple Inc.’s iPhone 6 for use on Chinese networks after the company promised never to install “backdoors” to give other governments access to users’ information. Apple said sales start Oct. 17.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s announcement reflected Chinese unease about the reliability of foreign communications technology following disclosures about widespread U.S. government eavesdropping.

China is one of Apple’s biggest markets and any disruption to the availability of its latest smartphone could be a serious commercial setback.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, began delivering its new smartphone in the United States and other markets Sept. 20 but delayed its rollout in China without explanation.

Approval for use of the iPhone 6 on Chinese networks was granted after Apple “promised ‘it never constructed a so-called backdoor for any government entity of any country in any product or service,’ and moreover ‘never will,’ ” the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement.

Communist leaders are uneasy about China’s reliance on foreign technology, especially for security. Banks and major companies have been ordered to limit use of foreign information security technology. The government announced in May it would start examining foreign technology for security flaws and bar sales of products that fail.

The delay in iPhone 6 sales in China created an opening for black market traders who brought in phones from other markets. Authorities have announced the seizure of hundreds of phones from airline travelers over the past two weeks.

This year, Apple faced accusations by Chinese state TV that the location service on the iPhone could allow the company to steal secrets and threaten national security. The company denied it worked with any foreign governments to create “backdoor access” and said location data stays in the phone.

Apple said the iPhone 6 will be supported by all three major Chinese state-owned phone carriers – China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Ltd. and China Unicom Ltd.

Prices will range from $860 for a 16-gigabyte model to $991 for a 64-gigabyte model and $1,121 for a 128-gigabyte, the company said.

The iPhone 6 Plus, with a larger screen, will be priced at $991 to $1,267.

Apple faces growing competition from Chinese makers of smartphones including Lenovo Group, Huawei Technology Ltd. and low-cost suppliers Xiaomi and Oppo Electronics Corp.

An official of a government-authorized economic group said at a conference that officials in Shanghai have been ordered to stop using Apple and other foreign-brand smartphones, according to Chinese media.

“Shanghai already has asked cadres all to use Huawei smartphones. Samsung also is not OK. This is called a security issue,” said the official, Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, according to a transcript on the website of Caijing, a business magazine.

In a written statement, Huawei said it knew of no such government plans. The company said it has responded to users’ expectations for security by adding features such as a fingerprint scanner to its latest products.

HP 7 VoiceTab With Android 4.4.2 KitKat Launched in India at Rs. 10,990

HP on Saturday launched its budget voice calling tablet in India called the HP 7 VoiceTab (1351ra). Priced at Rs. 10,990, the 7-inch tablet is available on HP's online store in white colour.

The HP 7 VoiceTab supports single-SIM (Micro-SIM) and as the name suggests, it comes with voice calling support. The tablet runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat and features a 6.95-inch (1024x600 pixels) display.

The tablet is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8382 Cortex-A7 processor with 1GB of RAM. The HP 7 VoiceTab boasts of a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a secondary 0.3 megapixel front facing camera. The 8GB internal storage on the tablet device is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB).

The HP 7 VoiceTab (1351ra) can be purchased from the official online store in India.

Connectivity options on the HP 7 VoiceTab include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/ A-GPS and USB OTG. The device measures 102.23x192.05x10.15mm and weighs at 305 grams. It packs a 11.4 watt-hour Li-Po battery rated up to 10 hours of life.

Last week, the PC giant had launched four new Windows 8.1 devices in its Stream portfolio. The two new HP Stream laptops, the HP Stream 11 and HP Stream 13, start at $199.99 (approximately Rs. 12,300) and $229.99 (approximately Rs. 14,100) respectively. The two new Windows tablets, the HP Steam 7 and HP Stream 8 start at $99.99 (approximately Rs. 6,100) and $149.99 (approximately Rs. 9,200) respectively. All four devices will be available in November this year.

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iPhone 6/6Plus Carrier, Store & Coverage: T-Mobile Offers Unlimited Data; No Contract Needed

Typically T-Mobile is regarded is the fourth place carrier after Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, the "Big Three." They have made some pushes and improvements to try and catch up to the Big Three, and thanks to the new iPhones, they might lure some customers over to their service plans.

What T-Mobile is doing is getting rid of contracts and subsidies. Instead, you will have to pay for the full price of the phone. However, you can do that in monthly installments.

On T-Mobile's website, the process is pretty simple to get yourself setup with a new iPhone 6. First you select the model you want. For experiment's sake we will choose the 16 GB iPhone 6. Another important choice you must select is your credit rating (we chose "excellent/good credit"). Keep in mind the iPhone 6 entry level model is priced at $649.92 when purchased through T-Mobile.

After you have picked out your model, you see that for well qualified buyers that there is $0 down up front for this model and that it can be paid for over 24 months for $27.08 per month. That amount is added to the wireless plan you choose, so your monthly bills will be over $100 per month.

The next choice you are faced with is probably the most important. It's the plan you are about to pick. There are four different choices -- a $50, $60, $70 and $80 plan. Here's the best part though: All the plans come with unlimited data, minutes and texts, but there is a catch.

If you choose the cheapest plan, the $50 plan, you will receive unlimited minutes, data and texts. However, after you exceed 1 GB of data, your data will be throttled (slowed down/restricted). If you choose the $80 plan, there is no throttling, and you can use as much data as you wish. Regardless, T-Mobile does not charge overcharge fees like most carriers do.

The final step is to add your plan to your cart and checkout. Phones will ship as soon as they can. It looks like there is a slight delay of at least a week for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

This T-Mobile strategy looks like a real winner. Customers are not locked into contracts and do not have to worry about counting minutes or monitoring how much data they use. However, the fact that you must spend the entire retail price of an iPhone 6 may cause customers to shy away from it.

What do you think? Would you join T-Mobile to get the iPhone 6 with unlimited data, minutes and texts? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

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iPhone 6 reservations in China reach 2 million in 6 hours -- report

The reservations are reportedly spread across China's three major mobile carriers and various retailers, with the 64GB iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models proving the most popular.

The iPhone 6 is already a hot commodity in China, based on initial reservations through mobile carriers and retailers.

A report posted Thursday by Chinese website Sina cites "incomplete statistics" indicating that Chinese carriers and retail outlets took in 2 million reservations for the new iPhone 6 handsets in just the first six hours, according to AppleInsider. And Chinese consumers aren't going the cheapest route. Most of the reservations are for the 64GBiPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, which sell for 6,088 yuan ($991) and 6,888 yuan ($1,121), respectively.

Following regulatory approval of the phones by the Chinese government, Apple announced Tuesday that the iPhone 6 will go on sale there on October 17. Available in gold, silver, or gray, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus will come with 16GB, 64GB and 128GB of built-in storage. Both models will be sold via Apple's online store and by reservation from Apple retail outlets. The phones will also be sold by China's three major carriers -- China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom -- as well as through Apple authorized resellers.

The new iPhones launched in the US and other countries on September 19, but China was late to the launch party due to regulatory delays. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology needed to approve the new iPhones for network access before retailers could start offering them. The MIIT granted the necessary regulatory approval earlier this week, as confirmed by Apple on Tuesday.

As the world's largest smartphone market, China has become a significant source of sales for Apple. The company sold arecord number of iPhone 5S handsets in China during 2013's fourth quarter. China also accounted for around 16 percent of Apple's $37.4 billion in sales in the second quarter.

The regulatory delay spurred sales of the iPhone 6 via China's black market, though initial demand did taper off.

The reservations in China reportedly hit the 2 million mark even through preorders have not yet actually kicked off. According to Apple, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will officially be available for preorder through its online store starting tomorrow. On Tuesday, customers can reserve the iPhones for in-store pick on October 17.