Apple's iPhone lands in China to little fanfare

After nearly two years of discussion, Apple and its Chinese partner China Unicom, China's the second largest carrier, launched the iPhone 3G and 3GS on Oct. 31 in Beijing. The launch, however, didn't draw the same mania as unveiling in Japan or the U.S..

According to the Wall Street Journal Chinese version, the lack of excitement around the Chinese launch of the iPhone and iPhone 3GS likely stems from the fact potential customers already bought iPhones from retailers who got the products smuggled in from Hong Kong or other countries. According to the Beijing-based research firm BDA China, the iPhone has more than two million Chinese users so far. Another reason, said BDA's analyst Peter Yu, is pricing; "They are too expensive for a phone without Wi-Fi," he said. The Chinese version of iPhone, priced at 4,999 yuan ($730 USD) for 8GB, has a 3G connection instead of Wi-Fi to comply with the Chinese regulation which prohibits mobile phones sold in mainland China from accessing the Internet through Wi-Fi. In Hong Kong, a Wi-Fi enabled iPhone costs $ 4,488 HKD ($579 USD). Consumers inside China can buy iPhones from the 700 selected Unicom stores and Apple retailers across the nation, as well as the country's only Apple Store in Beijing.