iPhones Are not in Request in China

The iPhone that was in requisition on other markets did not receive worthy of special attention in China.

According to China Unicom, the exclusive carrier for the device in the country admitted that only 5,000 iPhone subscribers were signed up within first four days which meant that iPhones were not much in demand but, nevertheless, the results were positive.

It was also added by Chang Xiaobing, China Unicom Chairman, that the company was pleased with iPhone sales, moreover, it was planned to get additional 1 million new 3G subscribers every months in future. There was no sense to compare the first weekend sales in Chaina with the 146,000 AT&T signed up in the U.S. in June 2007. Furthermore China had to sell the gadget without Wi-Fi and at the same time had to struggle against U.S. carriers as they provided China with iPhone counterfeits.

There are such markets know as gray-markets that provide customers with Chinese mobile phones that are not licensed by the government. Manufacturers of such phones do not pay taxes on them and as a result they are cheaper and very popular among buyers.

It was estimated that nearly 145 million units would be received by China’s gray-market phone shipments this year.

According to Apple analysts, the phone’s debut was considered to be “a disappointment,” as it was expected that China would sell 1 million to 2 million iPhones. It meant that China would be able to sell only 550,000 iPhones next year.

Category: Technology News