China Unicom to Support Black Market iPhones?

[Paul Daniel Ash]

This week China Unicom starts selling the Apple iPhone legitimately in China. The new phones - reportedly priced at an astronomical ¥5,000 (about USD $700) each - will join an estimated 2 million black market iPhones in the People's Republic. According to reports, a China Unicom subsidiary has agreed to give service to all the black-market iPhone users, too.

China Unicom is the smaller competitor to dominant China Mobile, which developed the Ophone mobile phone operating system that can support its homegrown TD-SCDMA 3G standard. China Mobile still claims Ophone devices will come out this year, but no release dates have yet been set. So China Unicom has a potentially narrow window to gain market share on China Mobile, which recently surpassed 500 million users.

The black-market price of unlocked iPhones in China is generally around ¥3,000 (about $400), with Chinese copycats available for as little as ¥1,000. Since urban workers in China make about ¥30,000 a year on average, with workers in the big eastern cities being closer to ¥35,000, the price will keep the legit China Unicom iPhone out of reach for most, even with subsidies of about $100 each.

China Unicom may sell as many as 3 million iPhones in China in the coming year, according to market research firm Piper Jaffray.

image via Sina.com

[CaptainChaos]

Are the blackmarket phones knockoffs? What kind of quality are we talking here?

[Michelebabe1234]

Aren't these the same knock off iPhones we see on Craigslist & Ebay? If so these things are garbage.

[mattylee]

umm china doesn't use yen.

[Paul Daniel Ash]

The ¥ symbol is also used for the Chinese currency yuan or renminbi. It's also abbreviated RMB which I find reads poorly, so I generally stick with the ¥.

You can get unlocked genuine iPhones - usually from Hong Kong - or copycats that are generally of poor quality, in all of the major cities.

[tudtran]

I rather pay $400 for the black market iphone. $700 is a rip off price for an iPhone. I would like to get one myself.

[chupacabra314]

In Bulgaria you have to pay ~$600 for the phone and sign a 1-year contract with the exclusive provider
The black market ones cost from $500 to $700....
Strange thing is - most people prefer the first option....

[eremeya]

Are the blackmarket phones knockoffs? What kind of quality are we talking here?

The ¥ symbol is also used for the Chinese currency yuan or renminbi. It's also abbreviated RMB which I find reads poorly, so I generally stick with the ¥.

You can get unlocked genuine iPhones - usually from Hong Kong - or copycats that are generally of poor quality, in all of the major cities.

Many of the unlocked iPhones are indeed from Hong Kong but there are also a large number from the US that have been jailbroken and unlocked or use a SIM proxy. The copycat "iPhones" are really only a copycat on the outside. The hardware and software are not clones of Apple's and are not even compatible with iTunes.

I'll have to look into a cell plan from China Unicom next week although I don't think they'll be able to do any better then what I have now except for the 3G connectivity. I pay around $7.50 per month pre-paid with a 200mb data plan on an officially unlocked 3GS from Hong Kong. :P

[rwin84]

Makin money wherever they can ;-)

[M4tt Dam0n]

What's an Ophone?

[jOnGarrett]

wow, with prices that high for unlocked iphones I just might sell my 3G 8gig and use the funds to buy a 3GS 32gig.

[ecd5000]

pppffftt.. commies

[hollow0]

Many of the unlocked iPhones are indeed from Hong Kong but there are also a large number from the US that have been jailbroken and unlocked or use a SIM proxy. The copycat "iPhones" are really only a copycat on the outside. The hardware and software are not clones of Apple's and are not even compatible with iTunes.

I'll have to look into a cell plan from China Unicom next week although I don't think they'll be able to do any better then what I have now except for the 3G connectivity. I pay around $7.50 per month pre-paid with a 200mb data plan on an officially unlocked 3GS from Hong Kong. :P

Damn that's dirt cheap! i envy you

[ummmwoah]

That really is dirt cheap. Would you mind telling me your service details and where you get it? I'm moving to China in December and would love a setup like that.