Slow But Steady, China Unicom Reports 100,000 iPhone Sales
12/11/2009 12:48:00 AM
kenmouse
, Posted in
Sales of Apple's iPhone in China looked to be slow out of the gate, but maybe they were just a stutter step. China Unicom, Apple's Chinese partner for the iPhone, on Thursday reported that there have been 100,000 units sold since the iPhone's Oct. 30 debut in China -- enough to allay fears that the iPhone's much-anticipated launch in one of the world's most explosive markets for mobile devices would be a bust.The numbers are still disappointing compared to other launches around the world. In the U.S., Apple iPhone's 2007 launch moved 270,000 iPhones in less than two days.
A Samsung Securities analyst, Paul Wuh, told The Wall Street Journal's Asia edition Thursday that despite a pickup in sales, "100,000 iPhone users aren't going to do anything for their revenue," meaning that with China Unicom having 144 million subscribers, iPhone sales were a relative drop in the bucket.
Most analysts point to the iPhone's wallet-buster price in China -- $730 to $1,020 -- as a reason for the slower-than-expected uptake. Wuh suggested to the Journal that it's much cheaper for iPhone consumers in China to acquire iPhones through the gray market. Per Chinese government regulations, China Unicom's iPhones are also not Wi-Fi-enabled.
China Unicom, currently the country's No. 2 carrier, is banking on a hit with the iPhone to compete more effectively with rival China Telecom, the No. 1 carrier. Earlier this year, the Chinese government awarded 3G operating licenses to both carriers, as well as China Mobile, effectively opening the floodgates for 3G mobile devices in the country.
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