iPhone Launch in China: Little Buzz, No WiFi
11:08 am, October 30th, 2009, Nicole Martinelli
The official iPhone launch in China was greeted with shorter lines than expected due to lousy weather and because about a million early adopters have already bought them on the gray market.
People did stand in line, just not super long ones — check out the empty red ropes — and a persistent drizzle certainly didn’t entice buyers to be the first to get their hands on an official iPhone.
Also contributing to a less than hysterical welcome were the fact that the official market 8G iPhone has no wi-fi (a bow to the country’s regulatory demands) and costs about $730 dollars without a service contract.
From there, prices levitate to a heady $1,024 for the iPhone 3GS.
Gray market versions, found in many electronic marts, cost about 20% less, with wi-fi.
China Unicom has said any handset that supports its 3G mobile standard will be able to use its network, so gray-market iPhone users can buy service contracts just like users of the official handset. The carrier refused to provide info on how many customers had reserved iPhones.
Via MacWorld
Posted by Nicole Martinelli in iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S | Comment on this article
Kinda sad when you consider the fact that this is the country that MAKES most of Apple’s hardware.
Jake, on October 31st, 2009 at 2:54 am
thanks for posting this Nicole. the lines were not as long as expected but it’s a good beginning
saman Jebeli-Javan, on October 31st, 2009 at 6:42 am
Why buy it at the store if you can get one stolen from the factory for half price, or less.
Alex, on October 31st, 2009 at 11:14 am
isn’t that expensive??.
haniph, on October 31st, 2009 at 1:07 pm