BEIJING—Apple Inc.’s iPhone got a lukewarm welcome in its official Chinese debut, with a boisterous crowd turning out for a launch party in the capital but no sign of the sort of sellout reception that greeted the smart phone at its introduction in other countries.
Hundreds of people braved cold and rain to attend a Friday night party thrown by China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the state-owned carrier selling the iPhone, at a Beijing shopping center. Still, the crowd seemed subdued compared with the thousands who turned up at stores when the iPhone was introduced in markets such as the U.S. and Japan, where it quickly sold out in many locations. As of Sunday night, stores around Beijing still had the iPhone in stock.
Customers inspect Apple Inc iPhone
Consumers can get cheaper, cracked, gray-market iPhone models at local electronics stores or bring them in from other markets. But price isn’t the only potential obstacle here. In accordance with Chinese government regulations, the handsets also lack a key feature–Wi-Fi capability, though reports say China Unicom hopes to offer Wi-Fi-enabled iPhones within a few months. Read more… »
![[Google]]( http://www.3giphone.net/wp-content/plugins/easy-adsenser/google-light.gif)