China Unicom launches iPhone rival later this month

China Unicom to launch its own smartphone line later this month. The new line of mobile devices are meant to rival Apple’s iPhone as well as Android handsets, as reported by the company spokeswoman.

A new smartphone called Wophone runs a proprietary operating system, announced by the company in March. Being the second largest mobile carrier in China, China Unicom has 180 million users. It faces strict competition in an app store business from Apple and Android vendors.

Software run by Wophone is based on Linux and developed by China Unicom and its partners, including some Chinese government agencies. Among the vendors which build Wophone devices for China Unicom there are Motorola, Taiwan's HTC, and Chinese telecommunication equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE.

The carrier plans to make an announcement about the Wophone during a company sponsored summit next week, said the China Unicom spokesman on Friday. The pricing of the handset, which will be available across China, is not yet disclosed.