China Mobile buying Nokia and Samsung 3G handsets: Carrier also talking to Motorola, Sony Ericsson on TD-SCDMA

China Mobile, the world’s largest network operator, will offer 3G handsets from Nokia Corp. on its homegrown, TD-SCDMA 3G network. It already offers such handsets from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
The Nokia handsets will be dual mode, GSM/TD-SCDMA.
And the operator said it was in talks with Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications to create similar 3G handsets, according to the state-run China Daily. Separately, China Mobile said that talks continued with Apple Inc. to bring the iPhone to China.
With negative growth projections for mobile handsets in 2009, China Mobile’s 3G network buildout offers leading handset brands an opportunity for new sales – particularly important to Motorola and Sony Ericsson, which have lost considerable ground to rivals Nokia and Samsung in recent quarters.