“China United Network Communications Group (CHTZ), China’s second-largest wireless carrier, will give users an Apple iPhone 4S if they sign multiyear service contracts costing as little as 286 yuan ($45) a month.
This promotion starts on January 13th, and it offers a 32-gigabyte model with a three-year plan, while a commitment to two years for a monthly fee of 386 yuan allows users to get the 16-gigabyte mode.
“After subsidizing the iPhone, the operator will have less money for subsidizing other smartphone users that could be more profitable,” Steven Liu, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Standard Chartered Bank, said”
Apple launched the iPhone 4S on Oct. 14. And, Apple had sold more than 4 million units of iPhone 4S just three days after the launch in October.
About 1.28 million iPhone handsets were in the Chinese mainland in the third quarter of last year, accounting for 5.8 percent of the country’s total smartphone market, according to statistics from Analysys International. South Korea’s Samsung Group held the No 1 position with a smartphone shipment of 5.44 million during the same period, while Finland’s Nokia Corp sold 4 million and was ranked No 2.
