China Unicom to announce the iPhone today and launch it in October
By Ilinca Nita on 28 Aug 09It looks like China Unicom and Apple have finally reached an agreement regarding the release of iPhone 3G in the world’s largest mobile market.
The Chinese website Sina reports that China Unicom, the country’s second largest mobile carrier, will announce Apple’s smartphone today, August 28.
China Unicom will offer the iPhone 3G in both its versions: 8GB and 16GB. The smartphone is already available in China, but only on the grey market, where it’s sold for prices between 3,600 and 4,000 CNY ($526 – $585).
Obviously, China Unicom will sell the iPhone subsidized. According to 163.com, the iPhone 3G 8GB will cost 2,500 CNY ($365) when bought with a monthly plan of at least 186 CNY (about $27) and a contract agreement for 2 years. Pretty expensive.
The iPhone 3G should be available for purchase from China Unicom starting October. For the beginning, the smartphone will not feature Wi-Fi. iTunes and the App Store might also be excluded from its feature set.
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