Wi-Fi enabled iPhone 3GS coming to China Unicom on Monday

China Unicom said Friday it would begin selling Apple's iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi on Monday.

Wen Baoqiu, a spokesman for China Unicom, announced that starting Monday the Beijing-based telecom operator will offer an 8-gigabyte model of the iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi capability. 16- and 32-gigabyte versions without Wi-Fi will continue to be available as well.

Prior to the initial launch of the iPhone in October 2009, China temporarily banned the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard in an effort to promote its alternative WAPI standard. The ban was relaxed in May 2009, but not before manufacturing of the China-specific iPhone had already begun.

China Unicom's iPhone launch sold just

">5,000 handsets

in its first 4 days. Lacking what was seen as a key feature, the official iPhone struggled to gain momentum against a well-developed Chinese 'gray market,' which offered full-featured imported iPhones. Sales of the China Unicom iPhone eventually picked up, reaching 100,000 units in December.

In July, Chinese regulators posted an approval notice of a Wi-Fi iPhone, although the approval appeared to be for the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS, not the iPhone 4. Chinese consumers seeking to obtain an iPhone 4 will have to look to Hong Kong, where it was released on July 30, while they wait for a Mainland release date.

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8 Comments

thomas gilling

said about 13 years ago

Why do China have a non wifi version? Surely China's internet is fire walled up against socialist and conservative views, don't want to corrupt the people do we?

mobileme

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas Gilling

Why do China have a non wifi version? Surely China's internet is fire walled up against socialist and conservative views, don't want to corrupt the people do we?

The government had opposed phones equipped with the feature out of fear that state-owned telecoms firms would lose revenue due to the large number of free wireless hotspots in the country.

The iPhone with WiFi capability only got a network access licence in China in July.

ajitmd

said about 13 years ago

Yuan late, Yuan short! I wonder how long Apple will continue making the 3GS? Till supply chain constraints on the iPhone 4 are resolved?

delete

said about 13 years ago

Users will update the devices to iOS4 which will consequently make them crap out like the US models and lead to an international WTO incident.
Apple will announce they have never heard of this happening and say they'll look into the issue.

nvidia2008

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by delete

Huh? The iPhone 3G may have issues with iOS4, but this is the 3GS, which by many accounts is running fine with iOS4.

The sad thing is that who knows when China mainland will get the iPhone 4, which ironically is where it is all made.

Ah, the Chinese government, how we hate to love ya. Or is it love to hate ya.