China Telecom cuts prices of iPhone4S models

China Telecom Corp Ltd, the nation's smallest mobile operator, announced it would slash price of Apple Inc's iPhone4S devices by up to 2,000 yuan ($300) a unit starting on Wednesday.

China Telecom said the price of each 16 gigabyte iPhone4S would be adjusted to 4,488 yuan. The price of the 32 gigabyte version will be 4,688 yuan and that of the 64 gigabyte version will be 4,888 yuan.

People who buy iPhone4S on a China Telecom service contract will be able to get it for 4,880 yuan.

China Telecom is the second Chinese telecom carrier to introduce Apple's iPhone series on contract, following China Unicom. The company said it had made many preparations for the release of the iPhone 5. "China Telecom will be among the first batch of vendors to introduce iPhone 5 to the Chinese mainland," it said.

In addition, China Telecom said it will provide customers with Nano-UIM, a SIM card meant for iPhone 5 devices.

Last week, China Unicom announced price cuts for iPhone products it offers. Its new price for a 8 gigabyte iPhone4 is 3,088 yuan and that for a 16 gigabyte iPhone4S is 4,488 yuan, the latter being the same as that offered by China Telecom. But the 32 gigabyte iPhone4S will go for 5,288 yuan and the 64 gigabyte version of that phone for 5,988 yuan.