China Mobile kicks off OPhone sales in Shanghai
Beijing. September 28. INTERFAX-CHINA - China Mobile Communications Corp.'s (China Mobile) commenced OPhone sales in Shanghai on Sept. 27, following the company's product launch on Aug. 31, according to a China Mobile announcement on the same day.
China Mobile's first OPhone, the Dopod A6188, is priced at RMB 4,980 ($729.29), and can now be purchased through China Mobile service centers, and major retailers like Gome, Yongle and D-phone in Shanghai. The Dopod OPhone will be available in other major cities in China by Oct. 1. Other OPhone models made by various manufacturers, including Lenovo Mobile, LG and Dell, will be available around the same time for purchase throughout the country, according to the same announcement.
China Mobile will provide credit of RMB 1,500 ($219.66) that new subscribers can use towards service fees, and up to RMB 300 ($43.93) in free data services.
According to the announcement, China Mobile hopes to take advantage of the marketing opportunity provided by the National Day public holiday period that begins on Oct. 1. China United Network Communications Co. Ltd. (China Unicom), will launch its customized iPhone on Oct. 15.
China Mobile launched eight handset models on Aug. 31 under the OPhone umbrella, which run on its rebranded, self-developed operating system, the OPhone OS, formerly known as OMS (Open Mobile System), after several months of delays.
-CG