The Associated Press is reporting on today’s iPhone launch in China, and not all of it is good, because Apple faces some serious challenges while trying to carve out a section of market share in the largest market in the world.
Some of the challenges Apple is faces are things like the Chinese iPhone lacks Wi-Fi. The reason? China had imposed this restriction until recently, and only relaxed this policy after Apple has sent the Chinese version of the iPhone into production.
Unicom’s iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, according to BDA. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
A Unicom spokesman, Yi Difei, said the company hopes to have WiFi in the next batch of phones.
“We are talking with Apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year,” Yi said.
In addition to lacking Wi-Fi capabilities, the Chinese iPhone’s price point is relatively high, which may make the “official” iPhone compete with other unlocked iPhone 3GS models that have seeped into China from other countries. In fact, it is estimated that 1.5 – 2 million iPhones had already found there way into China, and are operating on China Unicom’s network prior to today’s official launch. Additionally, these “unofficial” unlocked iPhones have been selling on the streets for 20% less than than the official models purchases without a contract.
Apple Inc. and Unicom also could face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones in China using China Mobile 3G service that allows Internet access and other features.
Unicom’s prices range from 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20 percent above the 5,700 yuan ($835) charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
In short, it looks like Apple’s biggest enemy in China, is Apple. They are competing with their own devices that have been acquired by other means other than Apple or China Unicom.
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