iPhones Roll into the Shops… and Stay There

Dan Edwards | Nov 3, 2009 5:00 pm | 5 comments | 2294 reads



Tech-heads will be aware that the iPhone was finally launched in China last Friday, October 30. It seems the Beijing events at The Place and the Apple Store in Sanlitun were a little underwhelming however. This may have something to do with the fact that the expensive handsets are being sold without Wi-Fi capability.

As we noted back in August, in one of those decisions that can only make you scratch your head, Apple has been forced to sell its iPhones on China’s mainland without Wi-Fi in order to “comply with government rules.” In other words, the Wi-Fi function has been banned.

To add insult to injury, The Wall Street Journal noted that the price of the handsets and associated services are grossly inflated compared to what people are paying overseas, where the Wi-Fi function is, of course, switched on.

According to the WSJ report, the basic handsets are selling in China for RMB 4,999 (for the 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G), RMB 5,880 (for the 16-gigabyte 3GS), and RMB 6,999 (for the 32-gigabyte 3GS). The article continues: “For the 32-gigabyte model on Unicom’s most expensive data plan, that translates to paying over 21,000 yuan (US$3,076) over two years for phone and service. In contrast, U.S. users buying the same model with AT&T’s most expensive plan will pay US$2,600 over two years (plus tax).”

Given the crippled nature of the mainland handsets and the number of cheap knock-offs already available in China (not to mention the availability of Wi-Fi enabled iphones in Hong Kong), local Apple partners Unicom must be concerned.

The Wall Street Journal reported several hundred people turned up at The Place on Friday, and a small crowd at the Apple Store. According to this site sales over the weekend were lackluster, and Apple have yet to release any figures.

Hope is possibly on the horizon. According to Mashable.com, “the next batch of iPhones that come to the market might actually have [Wi-Fi] functionality enabled. A Unicom spokesman, Yi Difei, is an optimist. ‘We are talking with Apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year,’ he said.”

So if you’re prepared to wait long enough, you might actually be able to get the product you’re paying for at your local Beijing phone shop. In the meantime, go to Hong Kong.

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Aier2's picture Aier2 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 20:14

It's essentially so they can spy on you.
Anyone know what the IEEE is?

Basically they determine international standards for things like WIFI.

As in, a standard that the international community agrees on and adheres to.

China submitted it's shitty, hackable wifi to the IEEE and was naturally not accepted.
Meaning they want the WHOLE WORLD to use their wifi as an international standard.

Try going to the IEEE website.
You can't.
The little bitches blocked it. Biggrin

It's like a teen blocking an older brother or something on MSN cause they told them their idea to give their teacher diarrhea was retarded.

Except that giving your teacher diarrhea is awesome, obviously.

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