Three major mobile phone companies will start selling iPhone 5 in mid-October

Three major mobile phone companies will start selling iPhone 5 in mid-October (Alberta Times) Starting from mid-October, the US operator Sprint Nex…

(Alberta Times)

Starting in mid-October, US operator Sprint Nextel will start selling iPhone 5. Sprint is the third largest carrier in the United States and will become Apple's new partner. Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the United States, and AT&T, the second largest carrier, will also sell iPhone 5 in mid-October, two sources said. By the end of the second quarter, Sprint had more than 52 million customers, while Verizon had 106 million and AT&T had 99 million. The new iPhone is expected to be similar to the existing iPhone 4, but will be thinner and lighter, with improved cameras and more complex systems. Apple said in June that a new version of its operating system would be launched this fall; many analysts believe Apple will upgrade the iPhone at the same time. The mobile phone business, already driven by popular smartphones, has become more complex and expensive. The average selling price of Apple's iPhone exceeds $650. The retail price of the operator's mobile phone is US$199 or US$299, and subsidies are provided. For Sprint, getting the iPhone is a big win. In the second quarter, Sprint attributed the decline in contract users to fierce competition, mainly because all major competitors offer iPhones. A person familiar with the matter revealed that Sprint will launch iPhone 4 at the same time. When the iPhone was launched in 2007, Apple signed exclusive sales agreements with operators; in recent years, Apple has changed its strategy and signed agreements with multiple operators in many countries around the world. In February this year, Verizon began selling iPhone 4, and AT&T has been selling iPhones since 2007. In the first half of 2011, AT&T sold 7.2 million Apple iPhones; Verizon Communications sold 4.5 million.