China Unicom, Apple in talks to extend 3-year partnership

Back in June of 2009, Apple and Chinese telecommunications company China Unicom inked a three year partnership that has been very successful for both parties. The Next Web reports that China Unicom president Lu Yimin has revealed that the two companies are now in talks to renew their partnership.

Apple first waded into the welcoming waters of the Chinese mobile phone market in 2009 with China Unicom, and has since signed an agreement with China Telecom as well. There's still one Chinese cellular carrier that Apple is not working with, China Mobile. The biggest issue preventing China Mobile -- the world's largest cellular operator with a subscriber base of over 650 million people -- from signing with Apple is that the China Mobile 3G network is incompatible with the radios used in the iPhone.

It's widely expected that Apple and China Mobile will join forces in the future when the carrier's planned 4G LTE network goes live.