July 6 - 11:05am EDT   In spite of a recent Merrill Lynch report, no deal has been finalized for a Chinese iPhone, claims Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. While China Unicom is still considered the frontrunner for a distribution agreement with Apple, the only alternative carrier in the region -- China Mobile -- is said by industry sources to be persisting in negotiations. The company has the distinct advantage of a larger subscriber base, at 488 million. [full story]

June 19 - 10:35am EDT   A pact between Apple and cellular carrier China Unicom may already be sealed, according to Merrill Lynch analyst Cynthia Meng. "Our industry checks reveal that Unicom and Apple have most likely reached a deal for an exclusive 2-plus year agreement," reads a Meng note obtained by Reuters. "We expect iPhone products to be available in conjunction with the Unicom commercial scale 3G launch in Q4, starting on Oct 1." A Unicom spokeswoman insists that the two companies are still in talks, and has refused to comment further on Meng's claims. [full story]

June 11 - 9:55am EDT   After more than a year of efforts, a deal for a Chinese iPhone may finally be nearing completion, writes IDG. An unidentified Apple phone has appeared in the approved product list of the State Wireless Inspection Center, having last month been granted clearance for an assigned frequency range for up to five years. Apple is also said to have posted an ad for a Beijing-based worker, who would oversee creating training material for Asian iPhone carriers. [full story]

May 26 - 3:50pm EDT   Taiwan's handset manufacturer HTC is due to release an Android-powered smartphone in China in June, its chief executive Peter Chou told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The phone will be a version of the Magic, the second Android-powered handset from HTC that went on sale in Europe recently, although with custom software from China Mobile, the world's biggest wireless provider, at about 500 million subscribers. With the Magic, HTC hopes to double its China sales to 1.6 million. [full story]

May 26 - 11:20am EDT   Apple's upcoming revision to the iPhone could be the first to split the line into multiple versions based on the network, a supposed leak said on Tuesday. Rather than stick to a one-size-fits-all approach, the company is claimed by iLounge to be offering iPhones with different network speeds depending on the region. Those in the best-equipped countries will get iPhones with 7.2Mbps 3G; other countries would still have 3.6Mbps 3G, while a third phone would be specific to China. [full story]

April 21 - 12:10pm EDT   China Mobile on Tuesday confirmed rumors and said it will launch a cellphone app store of its own before the end of 2009. The simply-titled Mobile Market will let third parties publish apps regardless of operating system through a single store on the carrier. Most details aren't known, though the store is being timed to launch with the government-backed TD-SCDMA standard for 3G, which should produce speeds fast enough to encourage downloading more apps. [full story]

March 30 - 2:55pm EDT   A deal between Apple and China Unicom is unlikely to take place in the near future, says Wedge Partners. The research firm notes that while Unicom is now often seen as close to becoming the official Chinese iPhone carrier, a variety of factors suggest that a deal could be delayed for months more. Central among these is a new list of phones to be authorized for the company's 3G network, which include a number of other major manufacturers, but not Apple. [full story]

March 24 - 1:30pm EDT   Cellphone carrier China Unicom is now hosting images and specifications for the iPhone 3G -- as well as the Android-based G1 -- on one of its websites, reports observe. The content is only associated with the Shanghai branch at the moment, and does not suggest any sales information, such as release dates. Animations also inaccurately depict the iPhone as supporting payments through near-field communication. [full story]

March 4 - 11:05am EST   The chairman of China Unicom, Chang Xiaobing, has admitted to talks with Apple in regards to selling the iPhone in China, Reuters reports. Although a manager is said to have confirmed the information early last month, Xiaobing himself has not spoken about negotiations until today. "We are in talks with many handset suppliers, including Apple," the executive told gathered reporters at an event. [full story]

February 12 - 4:10pm EST   China Unicom is in talks to carry the iPhone, say Chinese publications. China Business News says it has received confirmation from a manager, and also learned that negotiations are being led by board chairman Chang Xiaobing. A source within the company claims that talks have actually been off and on with Apple since October, but are being held up by several obstacles, including business and legal issues. [full story]

July 8 - 4:55pm EDT   Nokia has inadvertently confirmed the existence of a future device today through an openly accessible product page. The 8208 will be the first non-Nseries phone from Nokia to sport a two-way slider that helps the new device's music-heavy focus: sliding the display downwards reveals controls for navigating tracks and will presumably switch the phone to its music interface from other menus. The phone also promises a native 3.5mm headphone jack, a three-megapixel camera, and either assisted GPS in China or stand-alone GPS elsewhere. [full story]

February 18 - 11:05am EST   As many as 400,000 or more iPhones are already operating in China, according to a report issued by In-Stat. The research firm cites figures from China Mobile, the country's largest cellular carrier, which claims that the 400,000 figure was reached by the end of 2007, representing a full tenth of all iPhone shipments confirmed by Apple. In-Stat notes that this is four times what it had expected to find. [full story]