IPhone prices fall sharply, but buyers prefer smuggled ones

China Unicom has cut the prices of contracts involving iPhones by almost 1,000 yuan, but pirated phones still remain many buyers' favorite choice.

A clerk, surnamed Wu, at China Unicom's Zhongguancun store, said consumers can now pick up an 8Gb version of the real thing for 4,999 yuan, down from 5,999 yuan. The 16Gb phone also dropped from 6,999 to 5,880 yuan, with the largest memory option, the 32Gb phone, down from 7,999 to 6,999 yuan. All the phones are offered on two-year contracts.

In addition, there is a new economical package that costs 96 yuan per month with 3G-capability, 30 yuan less than the previous cheapest choice, which Wu claims is extremely popular.