Apple has outlined plans for a big push into China, the world’s largest mobile phone market, which include opening 25 more retail stores in the country in the next two years.
The company is focusing on China as its rival Google remains locked in talks with the Beijing authorities about the internet search company's threat to pull out of the country over censorship. Apple believes there is "significant potential" for growth in China.
Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, told investors at his first shareholder meeting since returning to the company after undergoing a liver transplant, the company was "investing a lot" in marketing to support the drive.
The company has 286 stores around the world and opened its first Chinese outlet in Beijing during 2008. It launched its iPhone in China late last year.
Although handset sales got off to a slow start, Apple said that China Unicom, its carrier partner, had activated 200,000 phones by early January.
China is the world's largest mobile market, with about 687 million subscribers, compared with 270 million subscribers in the United States. Apple and Google are increasingly competing against one another in areas such as smartphones and operating systems.
Google, whose Android phones would provide competition for the iPhone in China, is still in talks with Chinese officials about its operations in the country.
Google has not yet carried out its threat, issued last month, to shut down its Chinese-language search engine rather than bow to government censors.
The search giant launched the ultimatum following alleged cyber attacks aimed at its source code and at the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
The company, which has said that it wants to retain some presence in the country, has postponed the launch of two Android phones.
News Source:- http://business.timesonline.co.uk
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