Apple Seeks Chinese iPhone Expert, But Snags Remain

Apple is now advertising for an iPhone Quality Assurance Engineer in China, a market CEO Steve Jobs has said he wants to enter by the end of 2008. However, there may be several snags delaying the iPhone getting into the hands of the world’s largest cell phone market.

The new Apple employee would “focus on international releases of our iPhone and iPod touch products for Beijing,” the post reads.

Earlier this year, Jobs told CNBC he thought iPhone launches in China and Russia would “happen later this year.” Although Russia announced in October, an agreement with China has been held up by technologic and political roadblocks.

China’s government is pressuring China Mobile, the nation’s largest mobile carrier, to require use of the home-grown TD-SCDMA rather than more common transmission technologies, according to the South China Morning Post. Such a requirement might result in Apple producing an iPhone for the China market without Wi-Fi or 3G.

A similar holdup is happening in South Korea, where that government reportedly is requiring the iPhone to support that country’s unique WIPI technology.

Another snag could be the prevalent use of unlocked cell phones in China, an atmosphere that might force Apple to decide to either offer the iPhone at the higher non-subsidized price or accommodate the behavior.

Apple’s decision hinges on whether the Cupertino, Calif.-based company takes the unusual stance of modifying a product for the sole reason of obtaining access to China’s vast base of mobile consumers.

In two related news items, Thailand’s third-largest cell phone carrier, True Move, announced Thursday it has inked an iPhone distribution deal with Apple. The company said only it would introduce the handset “in the coming months,” according to Reuters. Despite the lack of details, the disputed territory could be Apple’s only good news for the iPhone in Asia, outside of Japan.

Although it’s uncertain whether to affect iPhone distribution plans, two Chinese men Tuesday sued Apple, charging the iPod infringed a patent the men were granted in 2002.

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