Reports: China Mobile Already Taking iPhone 6 Preorders

Chinese carrier China Mobile already has begun taking preorders for Apple’s (AAPL) impending iPhone 6, nearly a week before the vendor is expected to introduce the new smartphone phablets in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes.

The Canadian website iPhoneincanada.ca reported Sept. 1 that the telecom giant, with its 800 million subscribers in tow, is taking advance orders through its Beijing branch for the mobile device, citing Sina Tech, a Chinese online media company, which noticed a preorder page that prominently shows an Apple logo with a “6,” suggesting the new smartphone.

The website also said there were similar instances of preorders for the device in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The 4.7-inch model will retail for 5288 Yuan ($860) in its base configuration, with a 32GB version priced at 6080 Yuan and a 64GB model set at 6888 Yuan, the report said. The larger 5.5-inch base version is expected to sell for 6288 Yuan ($1,023), with a 32GB unit selling for 7088 Yuan and a 64GB model for 7688 Yuan, according to the report.

China Daily reported that China Mobile’s preorder campaign kicked off Sept. 2 and by the end of the day some 30,000 reservations for the iPhone 6 already had been taken. AppleInsider subsequently said that China Mobile was asking its customers which model they preferred, the 4.7-inch or the 5.5-inch unit.

China Daily said the preorder program was available only in Beijing, and cited a source that said the iPhone 6 could be released in China by mid-September. At this point, it’s not clear if China Mobile will extend its preorder program to other parts of China or to its physical locations.

The news outlet also reported that the Chinese online shopping platform Taobao was accepting down payments of 5,000 Yuan ($810) to reserve the smartphone.

China Mobile first rolled out its 4G LTE network in February, signing on some 1.3 million customers, some of whom transitioned from existing 3G plans. By July, China Mobile claimed about 20 million 4G subscribers.