Is Apple’s strategy of exclusive carrier deals for the iPhone unraveling? Events in China and Germany this week suggest that CEO Steve Jobs might have to rethink the strategy, at least in parts of the world.
A Chinese newspaper reported Thursday that talks between Apple and China Mobile, China’s largest wireless carrier, have stalled over the issue of revenue-sharing.
And in France and Germany, laws prevent the kind of monopolistic deal Apple has carved out with AT&T in the U.S. Apple and the carriers have responded by selling unlocked iPhones for roughly three times the cost of locked phones.
On Tuesday, virtual mobile operator Debitel, which resells minutes it buys from Apple partner T-Mobile, said it would refund the difference between a locked and unlocked German iPhone.
Cracking China
“China is an important market for cell phones and overall has to be figured into Apple’s worldwide strategy for the iPhone,” Tim Bajarin, principal analyst for Creative Strategies, said in an e-mail. “But it is a difficult market to penetrate and Apple would need China Mobile if they want to gain any serious traction in this emerging market.”
China Mobile president Wang Jianzhou revealed several weeks ago that the company was negotiating with Apple for the iPhone. But Wang signaled he wasn’t particularly interested in sharing subscriber revenues. “We still think we can maintain the operator-centric model because we have the customers,” Wang said at an Asian wireless conference.
Apparently that was the message Wang delivered to Jobs this week, as a Chinese newspaper reported that the talks had stalled, although China Mobile denied the reports. Apple is reportedly planning on selling the iPhone directly through Apple stores while it works on other carrier deals.
“It will probably take serious compromises on the part of Apple and China Mobile or even a second-tier vendor if a…