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iPhones in China
Have you been sitting around wondering why Apple's launch of the iPhone in China has gone so miserably? Me neither. But here's the answer anyway: it hasn't. Chinese consumers are buying plenty of iPhones, but because the official China Unicom version has WiFi disabled, they're mostly buying them on the gray market instead:
They are for sale at stalls in every cybermall and market in every Chinese city, and come in two varieties: The most expensive ones (at around 6000 RMB in Shanghai for a 16GB 3GS, or 880 USD, depending on your haggling skills) come directly from Hong Kong, where the factory-unlocked model is available from the Apple store for around 4800 RMB....The distribution model is extensive and robust, and in fact most Chinese buy their mobile phones from stalls like this. There are no iPhone shortages, as prices fluctuate to meet demand. The received wisdom is that around 2 million iPhones are in the Chinese wild; I’ve personally seen a good many of them here in Shanghai, where they are much in evidence among the eliterati.
....China Unicom stores all have iPhone banners up; I’ve passed several China Unicom road shows stopping by Shanghai extolling the iPhone. The iPhone is being talked about widely. But so is the fact that the China Unicom iPhone is crippled — the Chinese are sophisticated consumers; forget this at your own peril.
The upshot: anecdotal reports tell of aftermarket prices increasing for Hong Kong iPhones these past few weeks, as demand increased. Clearly, the advertising is working, even if China Unicom’s sales of wifiless iPhones are anaemic.
So: Apple has done an official deal with China Unicom, which isn't producing much in way of official sales but is producing increased marketing and awareness. Apple's hope, apparently, it that eventually the whole situation will get a little too ridiculous and the Chinese government will cave in to public pressure. Then they'll start selling unlocked versions through official channels and make a ton of money. Now you know.
The reason that the "legit"
The reason that the "legit" iPhones on sale do not have WiFi is due to a Chinese gov't mandate issued when Apple manufactured phones for the Chinese market. After producing a ton of phones, the gov't reversed itself. Apple is now stuck trying to unload a bunch of crippled phones before they introduce a new model that DOES include WiFi.
Not Apple's fault, really. Deal with the Chinese gov't at your own peril.
"Then they'll start selling
"Then they'll start selling unlocked versions through official channels".
"Unlocked" and "with WiFi enabled" are two different things. It seems that the unofficial units have three advantages: WiFi enabled, unlocked, and cheaper. Of these, I would guess that the last two are the most important.
You are confusing "unlocked"
You are confusing "unlocked" with "has Wifi." Actually, Apple opposes "unlocked" phones, even though they do get paid. (If you think that opposition is just a front, then there is lacking an ability to comment intellegently on the Apple corporation.) Chinese phones don't have wifi because of a (widely-ignored) regulation that bans wifi-enabled phones.
I just investigated this, living in China, recently being in the market for a new phone, and having my heart set on an iPhone. But ultimately it wasn't doable. Aside from not having wifi, China unicom has a poor reputation, deserved or not; Chinese cell service is dominated by China Mobile, a market-monopoly because it provides excellent coverage at dirt-cheap prices. However, the unlocked phones are Hong Kong phones that have been purchased there, their contracts paid off, hacked, and then sold on the mainland with the entire cost of the two-year Hong Kong contract built into the purchase price. In hacking, however, they can run version 3.0 with the App store, but when I checked last month, hacked iPhones could not upgrade to 3.1 because that version hadn't been hacked to work with the App store, which means no apps. Which is missing the point of having an iPhone, really, though most probably just want it as the status symbol.
Ultimately, this is about Apple. Chinese people will pay for the iPhone at ridiculous prices. However, Apple thought they could, a la AT&T, get a Chinese carrier to give them money for using the iPhone to convert people to their network among other issues. China Mobile said no thanks, so now Apple has signed with a second-string provider. Of course, if they wanted to sell "unlocked" iPhones, China Mobile would let them do that, but Apple wants to control control control.
What?
900 bucks for an iPhone? Seriously?
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