Apple rumored to produce gold-colored iPhone for Chinese market - San Jose Mercury News

CUPERTINO -- The Apple (AAPL) iPhone rumor mill churned out a tantalizing new tidbit Monday with speculation that Apple will announce a gold-colored iPhone next month that would appeal to the Chinese smartphone market. Analysts and tech bloggers have been speculating for weeks that Apple will announce an updated iPhone 5, possibly to be called an iPhone 5S or maybe even an iPhone 6, on Sept. 10, along with a lower-cost iPhone to appeal to developing markets. But the possibility of a gold-colored iPhone also makes sense and would represent a shrewd move by (FILES)The Apple logo is seen in this September 11, 2012 file photo at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco. (KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images) (KIMIHIRO HOSHINO) Apple to make further gains in China, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook paid a high-profile visit to Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest cellphone carrier. Xi has been making positive comments since about a potential Apple-China Mobile deal, which gives even more credence to the possibility of a gold iPhone, Bajarin said. Apple did not respond to a request for comment. In China, and throughout much of Asia, gold represents the color of prosperity and influence. American cities with large Asian communities are filled with businesses that make use of the word "gold" in their names to appeal to customers of Asian descent. But Bajarin thinks the real target of a possible gold iPhone would be Chinese consumers in China. "If Apple did produce a gold phone, while it may not be a big hit in the U.S., it would be a very big hit in China," Bajarin said. "A gold phone in China is, pardon the pun, golden in that market. It would send a huge message to the Chinese people. I've been relatively surprised that no one has targeted the China market with a gold phone yet." Roger L. Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates, said the possibility of a gold iPhone and an Apple-China Mobile partnership would "make sense." "In terms of rumors, it's more credible than most," Kay said. "Apple's in China but there's a lot more depth potentially for them in China," he said. "Where can we get the next $5 billion of incremental revenue? China makes sense for them." Whatever Apple does next month, it has to announce some new type of hardware, Kay said. "It would probably crash the stock if there were no hardware announcement," he said. "The expectations are so high that they have to announce something." To back up the idea of separate lower-cost and high-end iPhones, The Wall Street Journal on Monday cited unnamed sources who said that Apple's Asian supplier in June began mass-producing components for both a standard iPhone with metal casing and a lower-cost version. The Journal said Apple asked its assembler, Hon Hai Precision Industry, to ship a new high-end and low-end iPhone in early September. Then AllThingsD and TechCrunch weighed in Monday with reports that Apple will unveil a gold iPhone next month. As an analyst concerned about Apple's bottom line, Bajarin worries that Apple literally will put gold in a gold-colored iPhone. "In China it would be a huge hit," Bajarin said. "The bigger question is whether it's a gold-colored back or does it have real gold in it? I vote for not real gold. But until we actually see what Apple does, it's all wild speculation." Contact Dan Nakaso at 408-271-3648. Follow him at Twitter.com/dannakaso. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFyos_mtEjLFHtE2X-t6KJ66dcetQ&url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_23894844/apple-rumored-produce-gold-colored-iphone-chinese-market

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