News " Katy Huberty is back from China with Apple news"

刘哲

In a note to clients Wednesday, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty, just back from China, reports on "feedback" from Asian carriers and suppliers that she views as positive for Apple (AAPL).

    She makes several points: (I quote)

    • After a slow start, iPhone 5 is now on track to meet carrier volume expectations.

    • iPhone 4 price cuts could stimulate incremental demand near-term.

    • Carriers see the opportunity for Apple to expand market coverage with 5-inch and lower-priced iPhones over time.

    • TD-LTE licenses, and related phone launches, are expected by year-end.

    That last point may be particularly significant as it suggests that a contract with the last major Chinese iPhone holdout -- China Mobile (CHL), the world's largest carrier with more than 700 million subscribers -- could be signed before the end of the year.

    Separately, Taiwan's DigiTimes reported Tuesday that China Mobile was expected to start an open-bid competition process as early as mid-May to procure equipment for 200,000 TD-LTE base stations for installation in 100 Chinese cities.

在本周三致客户的报告中，刚从中国返美的摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）分析师凯蒂•休伯蒂列举了来自亚洲运营商和供应商的“反馈”，她认为这些对苹果（Apple）而言是利好消息。

    她提出了以下几点：（我引用如下）

    • 虽然起步较慢，但就目前的形势来看，iPhone 5显然有望达到运营商的销量预期。

    • iPhone 4降价能在近期刺激市场需求。

    • 运营商认为随着时间的推移，苹果有机会凭借5英寸iPhone和低价iPhone进一步拓展市场。

    • TD-LTE牌照及相关手机预计将在年底前发布。

    最后一点意义尤为重大，因为它表明苹果有望在年底前同中国几大运营商中唯一尚未发售iPhone的中国移动（China Mobile）签署合同。中国移动是全球最大的运营商，拥有7亿多用户。

    另外，台湾媒体《电子时报》（DigiTimes ）本周二报道称，中国移动预计将在5月中旬启动公开竞标程序，为中国100个城市的20万个TD-LTE基站采购设备。（财富中文网）