China Mobile iPhone pre-orders tipped to start Thursday

Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple and China Mobile are set to kick off a partnership. A partnership between China Mobile and Apple would allow the iPhone to have access to the largest number of mobile users on any network in the world. An ad turned up on the China Mobile website advertising pre-orders for the iPhone.

According to the ad, the wireless carrier will begin to offer pre-orders for the iPhone on Thursday. The website reportedly had a slogan that read, "4G is here!" and invited subscribers to pre-order the iPhone 5S smartphone and other 4G compatible devices. The ad showed devices from Samsung and Sony according to sources.

The WSJ reports that a call to China Mobile customer service confirmed pre-orders will kick off Thursday, December 12. However, the 4G service is tipped to launch on December 18. There are still some details about the iPhone 5S on China Mobile that are unknown.

There is no indication at this time of what the iPhone 5S will cost. There is also no indication of what plans for 4G service will cost either. All of these details are expected to be unveiled on Thursday.

SOURCE: WSJ