Apple and China Mobile seal deal on Apple iPhone 5S and 5C - Prepare for the Arrival of The Hobbit and The Desolation of Smaug in Samsung's own backyard

To say that the Chinese and the Japanese are ecstatic over the official arrival of the Apple iPhone on China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo, the largest Telecom Provider in China is an understatement. And according to the Wall Street Journal, China Mobile has closed the deal, with a few more details to iron out as stated in “Apple, China Mobile said to have finally struck iPhone deal”, published December 4, 2013 6:11 PM PST by Steven Musil, CNET News.

This time around, Apple, in its bit to enter these lucrative markets, is tailoring the Apple iPhone to the Gilded and colour centric tastes of the Orient as reported in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple’s Golden Dragon iPhone 5S and C for Caring iPhone 5C may be coming on Tuesday September 10th 2013”.

These Telecom Providers, that being China Mobile in China, KDDI, SoftBank and NTT DoCoMo in Japan mainly carry Korean or Japanese brands such as Samsung, Hitachi and Sony. So they too, in the Far East, were also looking towards the Tuesday September 10^th 2013 Launch of the Apple iPhone 5S to be held at Infinite Loop Drive in Cupertino, California with much anticipation.

Akin to the typical “Yardie” Jamaican whose foreign minded Chinese also desire a bite of the Apple. Hence the reason why the Apple iPhone 5C has a Champagne coloured portion and Apple’s pimping a lower-cost, possibly no-contract coloured iPhone 5C version for this largest of Developing Markets as stated in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple’s Golden Dragon iPhone 5S and C for Caring iPhone 5C may be coming on Tuesday September 10th 2013”.

But I didn’t know about the Japanese angle. Tokyo winning the Olympics 2020 isn’t enough for the Japanese as stated in the article “Tokyo wins bid to host 2020 Olympic Games”, published 08 Sep 2013 12:01AM BST By Ben Rumsby, The UK Telegraph. Long known as the country of Samurai, Gundam Wing and Robots, such as the Honda Miimo Lawnmower robot as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “Honda debuts their first practical robot, the Miimo – Where AI meets the Real World”.

And if I’m reading the Tea Leaves right, it’s not want….more like need for China Mobile’s and NTT DoCoMo’s long term survival.

NTT DoCoMo on the Rocks – Apple iPhone 5S stands for “Savior”

Apparently in Japan, NTT DoCoMo isn’t all that hip anymore. Younger bloods in the form of SoftBank and KDDI which also sports a WiMaX Network, have been gaining marketshare since 2003 as explained in my blog article entitled “NTT DoCoMo to carry the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C in 2013 - Japan and China will both get their bite of the Apple on Friday September 20th 2013”.

Both have been sporting the Apple iPhone via exclusive deals since 2008 and 2011 respectively. Despite having Samsung and Sony mobile devices, it appears that NTT DoCoMo, the Verizon of Japan, was slow in signing the Apple iPhone.

Pre-Apple iPhone’s arrival in Japan, the stats according to the Nikkei No. 1 rated article on the topic, read as follows for Japanese Telecom Providers in 2003:

1.      56.3% of the market belonged to NTT DoCoMo

2.      21.9% of the market belonged to KDDI

3.      20.8 of the market belonged to "Others"

By March 2013, the numbers looked markedly different:

1.      42% of the market belonged to NTT DoCoMo

2.      28.6% of the market belonged to KDDI

3.      29.4% of the market belonged to Softbank

Simply put, according to the Tea Leaves in the bottom of my cup as shown above, KDDI and Softbank have 58% of the market, a Dramatic shift in the balance of power apparently the result of the Apple iPhone.

Supporting Samsung smartphones hasn't helped NTT DoCoMo, as Japanese, used to the cheaper Feature phones from Samsung for years, may have shown little faith in Samsung making a good smartphone and thus have falling in love with the Apple at first bite in 2008. As such, many NTT DoCoMo user left to roam free in Apple's pastures on the competitor’s Networks.

Even the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy series did little to dent this love affair with the American with the Fruity name, as they saw the high quality metallic craftsmanship and well designed Apple App Store in Apple that Samsung's cheaper Google Android powered smartphones lacked.

The same is also true for China Mobile; despite their size they need the Apple iPhone to prevent a mass exodus of smartphone users because of a lack of availability of a smartphone that’s known to Chinese as being of a higher build Quality than even Samsung.

Jamaica to East Asia – Lay your love for the multi-coloured Golden Boot Apple

Here in Jamaica, with our love for smartphones now on the rise as stated in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple iPhone boosts Jamaican smartphone usage as BB goes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”,

Apple now boasting an official representative in the form of ATL (Appliance Traders Limited)  as stated in my blog article entitled “ATL is now the Official Distributor of Apple Product in Jamaica as of July 2013 - Jamaica can now share in the innovation with Apple’s Future Products Despicable Me 2”.

With Telecom Provider LIME, the exclusive Telecom Provider for the Apple iPhone now on display in their recently revamped Showroom at Carlton Crescent as reviewed in my blog article entitled “LIME rolls out Redesigned Main Store at Carlton Crescent in a 2 Year Battle against Digicel - Digicel still dangerous with cheaper Data, the DL600 smartphone and Postpaid Digihome”, we’re expecting great things from Apple as well.

Developing Countries means Jamaica too. If the Apple iPhone 5C is as colourful as the invitation suggests, then it signals a device that albeit cheaper, may still have the quality build similar the Apple iPod Line, which are also similarly multi-coloured. So for Apple purists, Apple wouldn’t be too far off from the mark if they splash on a little colour, be it Champagne or whatever.

So despite a proliferation of Samsung smartphones, the Apple of Japan’s eyes was nothing the Galaxy of smartphones could satiate and of which Japanese can’t get enough of as noted in my blog article entitled “Apple iPhone 5S Shortages in Japan affecting NTT DoCoMo - Sales going to their competitors SoftBank and KDDI as Global Apple iPhone Shortages ensue”.

Apple love was still strong since the Summer of 2008! Now with the Apple iPhone now in Jamaica possibly coming to China Mobile, all the love lost could finally be coming back….so long as they could guarantee customers a bite of the Apple in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).