- China Unicom is projected to launch two BlackBerry Smartphones on May 18 in order to diversify its 3G product lines, the Sina Tech News reported on May 12. Two BlackBerry Smartphones, dubbed the BlackBerry 9300 and 9800, will be distributed by Chinese Digital China in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong first, according to the same source. Further details regarding the subsidy plans bundled with BlackBerry Smartphones, however, were not yet disclosed.
Meanwhile, on May 11 China Unicom revealed that by May 17, China Unicom will launch its HSPA+ (Advanced High Speed Packet Access) service in 56 cities across China, including Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Changchun, Ningbo, and Wuhan, the Sohu IT News reported on May 11, adding that five types of HSPA+ data cards mainly manufactured by Huawei and ZTE will be available after May 17. These HSPA+ data cards will support the maximum downlink speed of 21.6Mbps, which is three times faster than China Unicom's current 3G data cards. Two data cards are projected to hit the market on May 17, offering a downlink speed of 21.6Mbps and an uplink speed of 5.76Mbps.
- Chinese chipmaker Leadcore Technology, a subsidiary of state-woned Datang Telecom, recently revealed that the company developed China's first TD-LTE (Time Division-Long Term Evolution)/TD-SCDMA (TD-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) dual-mode single-standby chipset, which is capable of providing a downlink speed of 100 Mbps and an uplink speed of 50 Mbps, the Sohu News reported on May 10. This new chipset, dubbed the LC1760, is operated based on a unified MCU (Microcontroller) +DSP (Digital Signal Processor) architecture, according to the same source. Leadcore stated that the company will also launch a TD-LTE/TD-SCDMA data card in mid-2011 for use in several end-market devices, to be used in the TD-LTE field tests.
- Taiwanese telecom operator Chunghwa Telecom recently announced that the company entered into a cooperation agreement with China Unicom, in a bid to jointly develop their digital content market presence in China, the Sohu IT News reported on May 11. Pursuant to the agreement, Chunghwa Telecom's online store, dubbed Hami Apps, will launch its applications on China Unicom's online store WoStore and vice versa, according to the same source. There are 2,000 applications currently available for download on Hami Apps, nearly 100 of which will be also available on WoStore, primarily games and daily-use applications, and is projected to increase to 1,200 applications by the year-end 2011. Meanwhile, China Unicom will provide 300 free applications for use on Mai Apps in return. Chunghwa Telecom stated that the company will provide simplified-Chinese version of applications in mid-2011 and allow customers in China to access Aliplay, a China-based third-party electronic payments service provider, in third quarter of 2011, according again to the Sohu IT News