China Mobile: 400,000 iPhones are using our network

Amazing how this article on the iPhone in China turned into a debate on Korea vs. US. Now my location can be misleading as it says that I’m in Beijing, but I’m really an American who’s living here for a few years. Now I realize that the Prada phone might have been the 1st “touchscreen” phone (find that mis-leading as other phones had touchscreens before the Prada phone, they just had dial pads as well), but to say it is a copy is far from the truth. The iPhone has a completely different touchscreen as everyone is aware: you can’t do the pinches and whatnot on the Prada. Also the software and hardware configurations are different, and from the reviews I’ve been reading, you have less data network coverage in the US and Europe with the Prada because they don’t have 3G capability.

I’m also skeptical that they even stole the idea of the Prada phone as it seems to me they have been planning the iPhone for a while, maybe even back in 2005. Here’s a link to a article dated July 20, 2006 (the Prada phone was announced December 12, 2006) where it talks about apple filing patents for touchscreen technology back in 2005: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/07/20/inside_apples_latest_ipod_touch_screen_patent_filing.html
Now people were speculating that Apple was just going to do something like the iPod touch, but the iPhone was the 1st product to use this technology. Now of course LG was probably planning the Prada phone back in 2005 as well, and maybe Apple got wind of it some how back then and copied the idea, but they hardly copied the phone like stated before. It’s like saying that the second flip phone that emerged on the market was a copy of the first one (and in that case the flip phone design was probably based on the Star Trek communicator, but I didn’t hear Gene Roddenberry complaining about being copied). You can’t really get a patent for something that covers all flip phones or all “touchscreen” phones, it’s like Fox News trying to Copyright “Fair and balanced,” it just too vague, you need to be more specific.

People are also arguing over which one is the better phone, and this is another tough one because better, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I might also add that most of the world thinks the iPhone is better and the proof is the sales of each: the iPhone is the clear winner there, probably for a lot of the reasons I said in my 1st paragraph. Now you might start to flame me and say I only think that because I’m American, but that is not the case. I believe it was TJ (it said it was JT) who said that Korea is making the price of US cars unfairly high due to tariffs and that is why they don’t sell as well. I don’t think that’s the case, because I looked up the prices for New Cars at a Boston dealership (Herb Chambers) that sells pretty much every brand of car (and some scooters too). They list all the new vehicles in order by price starting with the lowest, and yes an American car (Chevy Aveo) was the cheapest at $10,610, but the next 13 cars were either Korean or Japanese and all under $14,000. Now if Korean and Japanese cars are pretty much the same price in the US with the Tariffs we put on them, that clearly shows that Korean cars should obviously be cheaper in Korea than US cars, even if Korea didn’t apply any tariffs. Also, the Korean cars are outselling US by a large amount, even in the US, so if I use the same logic as before, most of the world believe Korean cars are better.

Now back to the topic at hand, China and the iPhone. I’ve been living in Beijing for about a year now and I see tons of iPhones on the street, and all that I have been able to use have been on China Mobile’s network. I think that 400,000 iPhone stat could easily be plausible, as that is only .04% of their population (that using 1,000,000,000 as the population of China, and it’s bigger). I’m also not so sure that an exclusive deal with China Unicom or another company would make that much of a difference: sure they could get updates easier and faster if they use the official network, but they will always be able to take it to some little market and get it updated with little hassle, and as another person said, the chinese like cracked goods. With blocked phones in the US, I hear you can use pretty much all of the features of the iPhone except some of the new voicemail functions: here in China, pretty much no one has voice mail (don’t even know if it is offered) and I don’t know anyone here who has it (which can be annoying at times).

On a side note, I think that if Apple does officially sell the iPhone in China, they should release the chinese version with handwriting recognition. When talking about why Chinese people get smartphones, the article left this out, which I feel is a big reason why people here like smart phones. Now why would this be so important? There are two ways to enter Chinese characters with a dial pad, pin yin and itap. The pin Yin system is essentially a transliteration (I did spell this correctly, its not a translation) of chinese words. If anybody has taken a chinese class, you are familiar with Pin Yin because this is how they start to teach you how to speak. All younger people know the Pin Yin, but a lot of middle aged and older people (40+) have no clue about it. For those people, they use the itap feature. Each number on the dial pad relates to a certain stroke (kinda like letters for the character, but they don’t represent a sound), and each character has a certain stroke order. Now a lot of people in china feel it’s much easier to use the touch screen to write the character than use pin yin or itap. If Apple was able to make it so they could have Handwriting recognition but somehow make it so the old “US” or “European” can’t get the feature (maybe something with the hardware, I’m no engineer), then they might find a lot of those 400,000 users buying brand new Chinese iPhones.

OK, I don’t understand the discussion thread here. It’s about iPhone in China, regarding a potential business deal between China Mobile and Apple. An issue related to US and China, why are the Koreans jumping around here offering poorly written, narrow minded comments? What gives?!
iPhone is not that cool, and China Mobile can still benefit from a deal with Apple just because the huge Chinese market. All of that still doesn’t mean I will buy an iPhone, in the US or China. But still why do the Koreans have their undies in a bunch about this?

Yo ~ TJ From NY.

Korea does not steal America’s technology. You are an idiot. You just talked about America history but those stories are not related to this kind of issue. I think that you are just red hat Yankee from NYC.

There are rules. If Korea Company use America’s technology, they need to pay money for their patent or license. Thus, it is impossible to steal America’s tech.

These are my list for your statement.

1. I-Pod
First MP3 Player was invented by Korea’s company, JME. I am not talking about MP3 File but Mp3 Portable Player. Unfortunately, This Company was merged by i-River because they broken down due to high development cost. I-River also sold the patent to American due to lack of budget. If you check “How stuff Work” or some other similar web, you can find out what is top 10 MP3 in the world.

2. I-Phone
Touch Screen was used in Prada Phone before Apple use it.

3. I-Phone’s Mobile Phone Camera
- Using Camera in Mobile Phone, It was also invented in Korea.

4. MP3P for Mobile Phone: Invented by Korean.

So, I-phone copied Korea’s Prada Phone. It is not that excellent as you think

So ~ TJ From NY.

1. I-Pod
First MP3 Player was invented by Korea’s company, JME. I am not talking about MP3 File but Mp3 Portable Player. Unfortunately, This Company was merged by i-River and they sold the patent to American due to lack of budget.

2. IPhone
Touch Screen was used in Prada Phone before Apple use it.

3. I-Phone’s Mobile Phone Camera
- It was also invented in Korea.

4. MP3P for Mobile Phone: Invented by Korean.

So, I-phone copied Korea’s Prada Phone. It is not that excellent as you think

~~~ So TJ from NewYork. Thank you for your America History clases that is about Novel Prizes. However, Apple does not make car, TV or Airplane. Your story is nothing to do with this.

I know that Apple’s I-Pod is pouplar in the U.S. However, MP3 Player was originally invented by Korea’s company, JME. If you tell JME brand in Europe, they recognize what JME stands for. Thier product name was MP-Man. It’s market share rate was 8,7 % while I-Pod took 9% in Europe.

This is based on the stupidity of Apple not requiring people to activate a AT&T account when purchasing an iPhone. If the activation is required, there will be LESS hacked iPhones. Now people just go into Apple store and buy a couple, then turn around to hack it and send it overseas. When will they learn?

So how many of these 400k iPhones on their network are ones Apple has sold and how many are ones sold on the black market that Apple never saw?

Anycall guy made jack-Pot by law suit against Sony Erickson Guy.

So I am using Anycall and I wanted to change it to Prada because of design.
However, LG Prada does not have phone conversation recording function. I just received confirmation e-mail from LGE’s representative. LGE has less experience than Samsung.

I had legal problem with some other people. I won lawsuit because of Anycall’s phone conversation function. I recorded phone call that was called from Sony Erickson guy. I turned the evidence to the court and I won the lawsuit. In Korea, that’s not illegal. I got indemnities for lawsuit and of course the amount of indemnities is more than my Phone’s price. My company is also has partnership with Samsung and my payment was Okay. We supplied part for the phone.

Anyway, The Anycall gives me money and I am satisfied with the result. I made lots of money because this Anycall. Now I have money and I will go with new luxurious high-end Anycall model instead of Prada. If iPhone has that kind of function, I will consider it for my next phone.

Okay, before you buy phone, you gotta check its function. Ad is not believable and you gotta buy Mobile Phone up to what you need. I wanted use Prada because of its Design. However, I decided to go with Samsung Anycall. I just received e-mail from LGE’s representative and the e-mail said that their phone does not provide phone conversation recording function. I will buy another luxurious high-end anycall model.

Honestly, I won law suit that is related because of this Anycall. Anycall can record phone conversation and I turned it to the court. By winning this case, I could receive more indemnities and its amount is more than the phone’s price. So I think that this Samsung call gives me more money by winning the laws suit and The company gives me more money for the working. So I am satisfied with their phone.

IPhone is first Mobile Phone of Apple. Apple does not have experience in Mobile Phone. So I don’t believe that fancy game body. I rather Believe MS’s Mobile Phone if Mr. Bill makes it.

Japanese does not pay much salary as Korean does. Korean’s average salary is higher than Japanese’ I have static about that. I also have no reason to buy your phone and car with your history and inventors.

Yes, TJ, thank you for mentioning that Americans have won hundreds of Nobel Prizes in science. Actually, over the past 60 years, Americans have won 50% of the Nobel Prizes in science. This is mostly due to their creative University environment. I don’t even know if the Koreans have even won any Nobel Prizes in science. From what I hear, they just memorize and copy others. Plagiarism is a big problem at their universities. This might explain why they’re afraid of foreign competition.

The automobile was invented by a Frenchmen, but the Americans were the first to engage in large-scale, production-line manufacturing.

The airplane was invented by two Americans, Orville and Wilbur Wright.

The mobile phone was invented by Nathan B Stubblefield, an American.

The first computer was invented by Herman Hollith, an American.

The internet was created by JCR Licklider, an American.

So, I guess you’re right JT: Korean companies are just copying American inventions.

The Americans are the avant-garde of modern day society. There are so many jealous people who can’t accept this fact.

You commentators never quite seem to
understand that the customers are dying to use the iPhone, even if
they have to pay a premium. However, if Apple were to strike a deal
with Unicom, China Mobile’s competitor, then those people with
unlocked iPhones would probably switch their service to a legit plan
on Unicom. Why? It’d be cheaper. Right now, their data plans are by
the Kb, and expensive. Any official distribution deal would be much
like in the US, and europe with unlimited data plans. Why wouldn’t an
unlocked user not gravitate to an official carrier? So, China Mobile is more likely to want to strike a deal for a hot phone, not less likely.

In the US, a user may prefer T-Mobile, if AT&T has poor coverage in
their area, or they may be locked into a previous contract with T-
Mobile. In China and many similar countries, many users have no 2-yr
contract issues, and are pay-as-you-go, so they can switch quickly if
they want to. If Apple thru a competing carrier offers a lower monthly
cost with greater features like regular updates, warranty service, and
unlimited data, why wouldn’t people flock to the official carrier. If
so, why wouldn’t Apple then be collecting those carrier revenues from
those original unlocked iPhones? Just think of it as deferred revenue.

I believe it is Japanese said that Korea has cheap labor and low level manufacture, not the Chinese.

Thank you for your opinion TJ from NY. Are you car sales person or something? Any political party for domestic car manufacturer? I respect America’s Novel Prize winners and Edison History. However, the history and Prize are not factors that can make me pay my money for your car. Many Korean companies that went to China are coming back to Korea. China’s only advantage was cheap labor cost. China even cannot make accurate product like Korea. Some Chinese people say that they want to die in Korea because of high indemnities of life. However, they had economic boom with economy of size. They are suitable for low level manufacturing but they are not suitable for more accurate and high tech industries.
In addition, their qualities are still bad. After consumer suffers Chinese products that are harm to humans, they want more safe products. They think they can pay more money for more safe and high quality products.

Chinese shipbuilding still behind of Korea. In the quality view, they are below. They always insist that they can beat Korea’s industry. However, they will be ruined because they uust have cheap labour force. Recently their cheap labour cost had increased. Thus, many companies are leave China.

We consider GMDaewoo is Korean Manufacturer but It is part of GM. So #1 foreign car maybe G.M. Their best selling car is designed in Korea and the model is popular in worldwide. If Ford or Chrysler build factory and make joint with Korean, they can sell without tarafit. There are also many supporting from government. to foreign investors.

Dude, This is Mobile Phone article and not automotive. Koreans buy Europian cars even if they are expensive. Hyundai is also sells its car with more expensive price compare to USA.

That’s the reason why I don’t like Korean manufacturer too much. Hopely, we have good transformation system.

I also know that Americans do not buy too much American cars in their country. HOw come you recommand your car that people do not buy to foreign country? If your country’s people buy American cars, I will consider.

GM has its factory and sells its car throughout old Daewoo’s channel. I think that it is only surplus devision of GM.

Curently, No#1 foreign car seller in Korea is Honda.

“The TV, computer, mobile phone, camera, airplane, automobile, and film were invented in western countries. Hence, Korean companies have been using/stealing our technology for years.” -> Is it true?
Do not bind U.S. and EU contries together. U.S. is just a huge stupid country without any originalities. Most of culture in U.S. came from EU countries. They expect to be and live like italian, french, English.. Most science stems from EU and most modern technology stems from Japan and Korea.
U.S. is just a big market, that’s all.

Koreans don’t buy American/European automobiles because they cost twice as much as domestic ones due to high import tariffs. Of course, nationalist sentment also plays a large part. In the end, this will hurt the Korean economy because it will just lead to developmental stagnation. Domestic companies will be hesitant to innovate without competition and can put whatever price they want on their products.

Eventually, China, India, and SE Asia will take a big chunk of Korea’s market share and jobs. The Korean government realizes this, as do rational-thinking Koreans. China’s already surpassed Korea in shipbuilding. This is only the beginning. You can keep telling yourself that Chinese products are inferior, but their quality will improve just as Japan’s did in the ’70s and ’80s.

Market competition, which Korea lacks, leads to invention and ingenuity. This is why America is the #1 market in the world. We let all companies, foreign or domestic, compete on equal footing, without slapping high tariffs on imports. If your product is better, we’ll buy it. The same cannot be said about Korea.

If South Korea doesn’t change it’s “Juche” mentality, it’ll be left in the dust, just like it’s brainwashed “brothren” in the North.

My prediction: In 2050 Korea will be a Chinese colony. Good luck!

The TV, computer, mobile phone, camera, airplane, automobile, and film were invented in western countries. Hence, Korean companies have been using/stealing our technology for years. They steal our technology and don’t give us equal access to their market.

America has won more Nobel Prizes in science than Korea, China, and Japan combined. :)

Yo T.J
No matter nationalities you have, I don’t like sellers who are rude and do not have brain. It is also same in domestic sellers. I just kick their ass if they ignore me, when I shop in their stores. Please remember that I have right to spend my money.

All the Americans just force Korean customers to buy. Before you try to export your goods, Please improve your quality, service. Korean Customers are not idiots. I think that most American sellers do not know about Korean customers. That’s their problem. It is not the problem of customers in Korea.
You can export anything you want to Korea except tools of crimes, drugs, and some other military weapons. I knew that there are several unfair polices against Korea. Why don’t you try to sell in Japan? Japanese only buy products that made in Japan. Compare to Japanese customers, Koreans are merciful customers.

TJ, NY, NY

I am living in Korea but I don’t shop with nationalism. I am also customer and do not force me to buy your country’s products. I have right to spend my money to any product or service that I want to use. If you go to Japan, they only their country products and Korea’s situation is better than Japan. If you have any superior products from your country, welcome to introduce to Korea. We charge 15-5% tariff to import goods.

As far as I know, American cars do not fit well in Korea in price and function. I have no idea about your Kia or Hyundai. If you have any problem, please contact to their representatives. I heard that they are trying to be global makers that are not limited in Korea. However, their efforts are not enough I think. Anyway, I want to buy Benz, Lexus, Prada Bag, and some other superior stuff.

I

Dear TJ,

Your statement just makes Korean consumers feel bad about America’s policy. As a customer in Korea, I am ready to try any country’s product as well as America good. I am ready to read any country’s newspaper. However, your atmosphere does not sound good to Koreans.

I am also not nationalist as you guys do in your country.
If you have any problem with your Kia or Hyundai, please contact their representatives. If you have any complain about Korean trade police, please talk to Korean government. I also do not work for them and I have several complains about Korean manufacturers. I guess they are trying to be global makers that are not limited only in Korea. They should make more effort for that.

So Let me talk about your i-phone. I’ve never tried use i-Phone but one newspaper said that iPhone is clone of Prada. I don’t know but I want to keep newspaper’ and journalist’s free of speaking.

I know that Chinese makes tons of crack and similar products. They can make same phone with yours and they even can make serial number, logos, and bar code. Thus, customers do not distinguish it with original one. That’s not the only problem of IPhone. That amount is not a big number though. We’ve suffred similar problems from China too. You can find out many Korean clone products such as mobile Phone, car, and food.

Well, that’s it.

There are a few reasons why Apple remains in a good position to win a deal in China. FWIW here is an Apple and China Mobile negotiation scenario >
http://idannyb.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/400k-unlocked-iphones-heres-the-pitch-apple-might-make-to-china-mobile/

“Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he’s saying.”

?

Of course, without carrier support those customer don’t get all the features of iPhone owners in the USA or Europe.

Hey JC,

I don’t care about the Prada or any other inferior Korean product. Try to keep your jingoism/nationalism at bay. Your inferiority complex is quite evident in your posts. You don’t have much to be proud of at the expense of China or any other country. Apple is a superior product and it’s international sales prove this. Most Americans believe that Hyundais and Kias are crap. We only buy the cheap ones. Korean companies receive the vast majority of their revenue in Korea, where protectionist policies and tariffs on imports make it almost impossible for foreign companies to compete. I think it’s about time that there’s some recipricocy in our policies towards them. Who invented the TV, computer, telephone, airplane, internet, and automobile? It certainly wasn’t a Korean. So, technically, Korean companies are “stealing” western technology and have been doing so for years. How many Nobel Prizes in science have the Koreans won? Exactly. So, who’s stealing from who?

Apple shouldn’t care much. Since 400,000 iPhones whether activited by a carrier or not, Apple still makes the $. Obviously these 400,000 iPhones had to be purchased in the gray market… But who were they purchased from? Does Apple care? Yeah, apple cares a bit just to be poltically correct. But in reality, it still means $ in apples pocket… That’s something the investors do not realize.

C’mon apple stock is at ~ $125 now… that’s practically free! It’s worth at least $170 now in this bad market… and definitely more when the market recovers.

Koreans do not invent all of thing and sometimes their creativities are no good. In addition, they sometimes act stupid. However, Korea is one of major Mobile tech spot now. I already knew about I-Pong which is iPhone’s clone. That’s the reason why you should talk with Koreans for your mobile biz.

According to Korean News Article that was released on yr07, Feb, there were many -clone phone in China. They made it from Twain. Local Chinese manufacture make Chinese crack version of I-Phone without permission of Apple.

The highly suspect claim is a clear indication of China Mobile’s weak hand and desperation. If there are 400K phones bearing the iPhone label in China, X95% would be cheap fake throw-aways.

So now the Chinese have 400,000 of the missing iPhone’s? My head is buzzng. I think if we add up all the missing iPhone articles posted here the number would suggest that I am the only guy on the planet that doesn’t have a cracked iPhone.

LOL

Koreans think they invented everything first.

LG Prada, I think that Samsung is better. I just wanna use the phone because of Prada Brand with leather-made. cases. Those make me luxurious and looks rich. I don’t like too much plastic, electronic interface. I like leather and the brand, Prada.

There is no cheap labor in Korea but I can supply better quality’s technologies. If you want to use cheap labor, please ask to Chinese.
As far as I know, only Korean manufacturer can make that part and the manufacturer also makes mobile phone.
I think that Mr. Bill may this i-phone situation with China-Mobile.

based on the evaluation of profit from service and hardware on the iPhone, Apple shares would be fairly evaluated at $334 / share within 12 months.

What is the big deal about iPhone using “Korea manufacture”. It’s called Globalization. If there is cheap labor in Korea, they’ll use it.

Yeah. The iPhone is way better than the LG Prada. The Prada feels like crap afer you tried iPhone.

While the LG Prada phone may have been first with a touchscreen, the LG phone does not hold a candle to the iPhone’s multi-touch interface and overall build quality. I guarantee that anyone that has used an LG touchscreen side by side with an iPhone will take the iPhone 100 times out of 100. I’ve personally used both and it’s not even close.

Actually, that’s one copy of Korea’s mobile phone, Prada. Mr. Bill copied iPhone from Korea’s LG Prada Phone. Chinese love fake, bogus, and crack products. They also make lots of fake mobile phone such as sour-Milk Phone, Autorolla, and Kokia. In addition, Chinese express their feeling of hate about Korea by making fake products. IPhone is fake of Prada Phone. That’s the reason why Chinese people like it. So Chinese people like it and the communist government allowed selling it in China. IPhone has touch screen, bar type and multi functions. It’s almost same with Prada.

* IPhone also use Korea manufacture, Samsung’s memory, chip and curcuit.

400,000 is nothing compared to the population of any of China’s major city. No one will probably even notice much of anything if 400,000 people disappeared in China tomorrow. Basically, 400,000 is a tiny number, but the potential in that market? I am drooling! Apple will have deal in place by the summer time before the Summer Olympics to take advantage of that big event…. As for the share price, well…those with the $$ is driving it down so they can make even more $$ when it rebounds….

Actually, that’s one copy of Korea’s mobile phone, Prada. Mr Bill copied iPhone from Korea’s LG Prada Phone. Chinese love fake, bogus, and crack products. They also make lots of fake mobile phone such as sour-Milk Phone, Autorolla, and Kokia. In addition, Chinese express their feeling of hate about Korea by making fake products. IPhone is fake of Prada Phone. That’s the reason why Chinese people like it. So Chinese people like it and the communist government allowed selling it in China. IPhone has touch screen, bar type and multi functions. It’s almost same with Prada.

. That’s just general situation of Chinese mobile phone biz and it is not a news issues. I think that China Mobile biz is completely bogus. There are many crack versions of hottest mobile phones in Chinese Mobile Phone Design center. Do not surprise if you find sour Milk Chocolate Phone, Army call and Nogia in exhibit case when you visit them. They may ask you some help for their fake phone manufacturing biz with unreasonable price. They also do not pay money sometimes, so you gotta sue them in Chinese communist government. Of course the communist government will make ridiculous decision for their people.

You unfortunately lost me with the very first sentence:

“Remember Apple’s (AAPL) on-again off-again negotiations with China Mobile, the No. 1 wireless carrier in China?”

Anyone who chooses to believe this does so over the words of Steve Jobs himself who said very clearly that there was just one discussion where China Mobile came to Apple HQ. He was amused by this back-and-forth discussion…

That said, if true (400K), or even partially so, this speaks volumes about the demand for the iPhone, Apple’s first entry into this market. The appeal of an unauthorized iPhone is amazing. One under contract, with all of the added perks and benefits is even more so! Once a carrier is secured in China (and other countries), many folks who have them now will sign-up with that carrier also. Nothing at all to worry about for Apple…

400,000… My Ass. Completely bogus. A couple of 10s of thousands tops.

China Mobile may want a deal more than they’re letting on …While China Mobile is a true behemoth, they’ve gone out of their way to spin the iPhone negotiations story in the press…unilaterally releasing “talks over” (what talks?) statements to the press the day of MacWorld. The iPhone is just another “fashionable handset” and “no revenue sharing” (that’s how China Mobile has positioned this in the press). Spin or no … I believe China Mobile sees how iPhone fits nicely into their growth strategy. The rich want to get richer … and they don’t want to lose share to a competitor (e.g. a combined China Telecom/Unicom). China Mobile has grown subscribers at a clip of 5 to 8 million per month … but their percentage of revenue per subscriber has actually slipped. China Mobile is heavily promoting use of their Monternet platform (data services) and key to this strategy are handsets that deliver a compelling audio/visual experience (iPhone). Mobile TV and mobile video are also very important growth components for China Mobile, and to most carriers throughout of Asia. Again, you need a compelling A/V handset to maximize usage.
If true competition for mobile business comes to fore in China (i.e. a rumored China Telecom acquisition of China Unicom + rights to W-CDMA 3G), then China Mobile will have new motivation to wrap-up an exclusive deal for Apple iPhone as they will not want to give a combined Telecom/Unicom an “exclusive” (iPhone) opportunity to steal away the most valued customers (those on contract w data-plan).
If the competitive dynamics take too long to develop in China (Unicom sans China Telecom merger and w/o 3G IMO will not be serious competitor to China Mobile) then it becomes more probable that Apple will launch iPhone in China without a carrier deal. And this might just be the best strategy for Apple in China …That being to sell a fully sanctioned “unlocked” iPhone. This distribution could easily be done via deals with D-Phone, Shenzhen Aisidi, Apple.com (China) online and via new Apple stores in China.
There is no question in my mind that a legal (officially sanctioned/sold) unlocked iPhone can command a premium price.
China black-market buyers today are willing to:
• Pay a premium (USD$250 to $500 above retail to own a hacked iPhone)
• Own a non-warrantied iPhone
• Forego visual voicemail
• Forego regular software upgrades that would otherwise ‘brick’ an unlocked iPhone.
What this massive unlocking in China shows is that there is a very strong demand in China (Captain Obvious award). And IMO this demand will only accelerate once the new 3G iPhone is officially launched in China (carrier or no)

People are so naive sometimes. Just go visit the markets of Shenzen (near where they make the iPhones), you’ll find the iPhone for sale all over for 1/10 of the price in the US.

I was in Shanghai about a month ago. My friend saw my iPhone, loved it, so he went to a local store, paid >$600, got an iPhone with Chinese character in it. It’s widely available in most of the electronic stores.

I see it differently, if China Mobile sees such a usage on it’s network.. it will be more inclined to have some kind of exclusive deal with Apple
If those numbers are true and I don’t see why not,
they are staggering.
Imagine what Apple could do if the iphone was sold legally with or without revenue sharing.
Young chinese are hip and ready to plunge the cash for the latest tool

so just to be clear….are they in a WAREHOUSE in China or are people actually using the darn things? while all the sky is falling manhattanites are selling off like crazy and anal-ysts are gnashing their teeth, maybe there is something to this global market concept…at least for one of the ultimate U.S. brands — Apple. c’mon, Steve, tell us you’ve got something going on here!

how this stock is at 125 I’ll never know… should be 160 minimum

Steve J. can be a tech-savvy guy, but can he be a business-wise guy ??? Sometimes I wondered.