Apple (AAPL) shares hit another record high Wednesday on reports of deal-making in China to sell more iPhones. But shares later retreated and were flat in midday trading.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has been in China this week meeting with government officials and local companies.
Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes speculates that a deal with China Mobile (CHL) to carry Apple's iPhone could be in the works.
"We wouldn't be surprised if Cook was exploring a deal to distribute the iPhone with China Mobile, Mainland China's largest mobile phone carrier," Reitzes wrote in a research note Wednesday. "We believe that China Mobile could be a major driver of upside to iPhone estimates" in 2013. His estimate for worldwide iPhone sales of 189.5 million units is "feeling conservative."
China Mobile could sell Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 by the first half of 2013, after a fall launch in the U.S., Reitzes wrote.
Apple also appears to be readying the launch of its iPad in China, Reitzes said.
Apple shares were flat in midday trading Wednesday, near 615.70, after earlier hitting a new all-time high of 621.45.
In other news, an investment in Japan's Sharp by Apple contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan is seen by some as a sign that Apple is preparing to get into the TV market, Reuters says. Hon Hai has taken around a 10% stake in Sharp, which builds LCD television displays.
But the news wasn't all positive for Apple on Wednesday. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company agreed to offer refunds to buyers of its third-generation iPad in Australia, after the nation's top consumer watchdog accused Apple of misleading advertising over the wireless capabilities of the product, Reuters reported.
Apple has been marketing its new iPad as a 4G product, even though it's not compatible with current or planned 4G mobile data networks in Australia. Apple has agreed to post warnings that its new iPad "is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMax networks" in Australia over the next week.
Source:cn-c114.net