Whether we like it or not: China is a huge market. Handset vendors can live off the Japanese market alone – and China is significantly bigger. However, getting in is not easy – the handset tastes are peculiar, and the Chinese market is known for its price sensitivity.
RIM is now rumored to try and break into the market. A Reuters report goes as following:
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HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) – China Telecom (0728.HK) aims to sell BlackBerry handsets and Palm (PALM.O) smartphones in China by early next year, as it tries to gain share from its two larger mobile telecom rivals, a source familiar with the situation said on Monday.
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“China Telecom hopes to have released BlackBerry handsets by the end of the year or early next year,” said the source, adding that the firm is also in talks with Palm to release Palm smartphones in the same time period.
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As of this writing, no particular handsets have been named. However, given the traditional affinituy of Asian customers to touchscreens (and their price sensitivity), I would bet that we will see some kind of Storm, possibly accompanied by some kind of cheap-ass QWERTY box.
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