James Delahunty
1 Oct 2009 0:48
China Unicom will sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in the country to promote the launch of its new 3G service. The phone will sell for a hefty fee of 5,000 yuan (about $732.50), which will undoubtedly force even high-end buyers in the country to seek subsidized packages that will reduce the handset price but lock the owner into a longer-term contract commitment with China Unicom.
The company will sell the phone in an attempt to attract buyers at the highest end of the market, an area that is currently dominated by China Mobile. "They look at this as a high end product, not mass market. All these plans offer subsidized phones," CLSA analyst Francis Cheung said.
"Most people will not buy a phone separate from a plan. It's very expensive. I do get the sense there are going to be affordability issues." The phones will be available for service October 1. The move comes at a time when competition between Unicom and China Mobile is heating up following the recent reform in China's telecoms sector.