Chinese Online Retailer Sells Five iPhones in First Two Weeks
One would think that if the iPhone went on sale in the Chinese market it would sell like mad. So far, this is simply not the case as one of the largest Chinese online retailers, Taobao.com, has sold a total of five iPhones within the first two weeks of the device being available. China Unicom is also a seller of the phone but as of today, no official numbers have even been released.
With these poor sales aside, the iPhone is indeed very popular in China because of the unlocked devices that have been sold on the black market since the first generation iPhone was released back in 2007. If you take that into consideration and throw in the facts that the official version now being sold has been stripped of WiFi along with the ability to use pre-paid SIMs, both of which are very popular in China, you can see why people flock to the black market.
As it stands now, the iPhone is a flop in China. At least through official channels…
[Via Cult of Mac]
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Well being that we in the US any news on a software upgrade?
Desmond, this is probably the worst place to ask your question.
I hope the next update is a big one, considering how long it’s taking.
You mean “grey market”, not “black market”. Black markets are where illegal goods are sold. Grey markets are where products are legally sold, but without the authorization of the manufacturer.
Well China is full of these rip-off iPhone “look-alike” devices. Dual SIM, Java, WiFi, 3G, touchscreen. They sell around $80. But everything is crap: touchscreen, the software (stolen Windows mobile with Java), the interface. But hey that’s what the Chinese buy !
Stripped of wifi – classic!
The Chinese are smart, like Lithium said, there are tons of iPhone clones, plus they aren’t ass will to bend over, I mean sign 3 year contracts to get a simple device just to make calls.