Apple getting its teeth into China with low cost iPhone?

Details: James Barton; Category: Devices & Platforms; 31 August 2011; 11664 views

Technology giant Apple could be looking to make headway into emerging markets, with reports indicating that the firm could be prepping a low-cost iPhone 4 for launch in Asia...

Technology giant Apple could be looking to make headway into emerging markets, with reports indicating that the firm could be prepping a low-cost iPhone 4 for launch in Asia. The new model is reportedly being manufactured by Asian vendors, and features an 8-GB flash drive.

Two major Chinese operators – market leader China Mobile and number three China Telecom – are believed to have expressed interest in the cut-price iPhone, which is likely to be unveiled alongside the much-anticipated iPhone 5.

Bonnie Chang, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, stated: "Apple may want to push into the emerging market segment, where customers want to switch to low- to mid-end smartphones from high-end feature phones, which usually cost US$150 to US$200."

Apple has not thus far confirmed whether it is indeed manufacturing a cut-price iPhone, nor has it identified the suppliers that it would use if it were. Currently, the flash drives used by Apple are manufactured by Samsung and Toshiba.