Chinese users welcomed a long-awaited tie-up between Apple and China Mobile, the world's biggest wireless operator, but analysts warned Monday that the deal's impact depends on the quality of the carrier's 4G network. The US technology giant and China Mobile on Sunday unveiled the agreement to bring the iPhone to customers on a network with an estimated 760 million subscribers and until now dominated by low-cost Android smartphones. The US company's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c phones will be available at China Mobile and Apple retail stores across mainland China starting January 17, they said in a joint statement. Apple iPhones can currently be used on China Mobile's 2G network but not on its higher-speed 3G network due to a home-grown standard the carrier has adopted.

More...