After China Mobile sugar rush, Apple will fight for customers

Published December 16, 2013
Security staff watch over a crowd gathered for the opening of a new Apple store in Beijing's Wangfujing shopping district October 20, 2012. The store is Apple's fifth in mainland China, as is being promoted as the largest in Asia.     REUTERS/David Gray     (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS)
Security staff watch over a crowd gathered for the opening of a new Apple store in Beijing's Wangfujing shopping district October 20, 2012. The store is Apple's fifth in mainland China, as is being promoted as the largest in Asia. REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS)

BEIJING: For all the hype, Apple Inc's long-awaited iPhone agreement with China Mobile Ltd may deliver little more than a fleeting revenue jolt for the US giant.

A deal with the world's largest mobile carrier, expected as early as this week, nets Apple 759 million potential new customers that could generate $3 billion in 2014 revenue, or nearly one-quarter of Apple's projected revenue growth in its current fiscal year.

But after the initial haul, Apple will find itself in a familiar, expensive battle with its main smartphone rival, South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, to win over customers, one wallet at a time.

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