Fight for the first bite (2)

Small but shrewd

In comparison to China Unicom, which first began its partnership with Apple to introduce the iPhone to the mainland market in 2009 and has seen rising user popularity in the era of mobile Internet over the past few years - largely owing to its permission to sell iPhone products - China Telecom, the smallest telco of the three, appears to be even more excited to introduce the iPhone 5.

China Telecom's version of the iPhone 5 is slated to hit the shelves in the middle of December, with contract prices set to at least 5,780 yuan ($928.54), Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed source from the Guangdong branch of the carrier.

"We want to move first this time and get things to warm up more actively," according to the source, who pointed out that the carrier is aiming to launch the latest-gen iPhone earlier than China Unicom.

Customer service staff at China Telecom's 10000 hotline also confirmed that the carrier has started iPhone 5 pre-ordering for all mobile handset users, whether they have previously subscribed to China Telecom's network or not.

A PR staffer of China Telecom said confirmed dates for the launch are yet to be announced, when contacted by the Global Times.

Analysts also expect the smaller telco to be the first to sell the iPhone 5, given its eagerness to ramp up competition with bigger hitters in the industry.

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