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China Unicom may sell iPhone 4 next month

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-20 13:46

A customer walks past an iPhone 4 advertisement at a store in Melbourne July 30, 2010. [Agencies]

China Unicom, a major telecommunications operator in China, may start selling Apple Inc's iPhone 4 in the mainland market as early as September, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday.

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"China Unicom has reached an agreement with Apple, and the iPhone 4 may enter the mainland market by as early as next month," according to the report, citing a company statement released to the China Internet Conference in Beijing.

The current number of mobile phone users in China is about 800 million, but sales of smart phones like Apple's iPhone3 have been worse than expected, partly because of high 3G subscription fees.

Only 4.4 percent of Chinese surveyed are willing to pay for 3G services, and 19.2 percent of them have already adopted a "wait and see" stance, according to a survey conducted by the Horizon Research Consultancy Group.