Apple Hurdles in Top Market Endure After China Mobile
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Apple Inc. haggled for six years to clinch a deal to sell the iPhone through China Mobile Ltd. The quest to win holdout customers in the world’s most populous country is far from over.
The deal, announced yesterday, gives Cupertino, California-based Apple access to China Mobile’s 763 million subscribers at a time when 90 percent of new mobile-phone purchases in China are smartphones. It also paves the way for Apple to battle market-share leader Samsung Electronics Co. in one of the fastest-growing markets.