Apple deal opens door to 763m China customers

[NEW YORK] Just about any way you slice it, 763 million customers is a huge potential pie.

On Sunday, Apple and China Mobile announced a deal to bring the iPhone to the Chinese carrier, the largest wireless network in the world, on Jan 17.

An agreement with China Mobile could, at least initially, give Apple a big lift into the vast Chinese market, analysts say, increasing its worldwide sales. "China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network," Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said in a statement.

But t…