Mobile World Live’s Asia editor Joseph Waring provides a weekly update on developments in the world’s largest mobile market:

Xiaomi invests in mapping firm
Xiaomi Technology, better known for its low-cost smartphones, plans to move into the GPS mapping business and tap its growing user base of mobile customers. The company reportedly will buy a CNY84 million ($13.66 million) stake in Careland, a provider of GPS maps, navigation software and car networking services.

Xiaomi, which will likely integrate Careland’s services into its devices, will face strong competition from Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, which account for the majority of China’s mobile map market.

20 million iPhone 6 models preordered
Preorders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are reported to have reached 20 million from 10-13 October, according to China-based QQ.

The online Jingdong Mall had preorders for almost 10 million units, with the 6 Plus accounting for just over 50 per cent of its orders. The country’s three major mobile operators also had about 10 million preorders. The iPhone 6 will be available in China on 17 October.

Nokia wins $970M TD-LTE deal from China Mobile
China Mobile announced it has selected Nokia Networks to supply TD-LTE equipment for its 4G network rollout this year and next. The $970 million deal includes the vendor’s evolved packet core and core application platforms as well as OSS, software and services.

China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless operator, has nearly 500,000 4G base stations deployed and aims to build the world’s largest TD-LTE network by the end of the year. With 46 TD-LTE radio references, Nokia said it is supplying almost half of all commercial TD-LTE networks globally.

Unicom continues to expand W-CDMA network
China Unicom announced it will add almost 19,000 UMTS 900MHz base stations this year. The operator has continued to develop its 3G network even after launching 4G – unlike China Mobile, which C114.net said has gradually stopped work on its TD-SCDMA 3G network.

China Unicom, which has a licence to operate a 3G network in the 900MHz band in 21 provinces, has already deployed almost 4,100 W-CDMA 900MHz base stations.