Today’s the day — the iPhone officially launches in China on China Unicom. We say officially because it’s been available unofficially, in gray market form, since the original iPhone 2G was launched, and with winks and nudges via Apple’s unlocked sales in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

So will international sales tumble as the world’s biggest market can buy it at home? Will Chinese sales lag in favor of sticking with the unofficial versions from overseas or future Chinese versions that, you know, include Wi-Fi? Or will iPhone numbers just continue to grow, grow, grow?

Either way, welcome China, to the iPhone world!

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iPhone Launches (Officially) in China!

According to Business Insider, the mythical iTablet is imminent due to the unnamed, unverified, unspecified travel of someone at Apple who does… something:

a source tells us a system integration engineer friend of his at Apple has been ramping up his travels back and forth between China lately, broadcasting word of his travels over the Internet.

A friend of a friend — no names! — asked TiPb what will end up being more ridiculous, iPhone rumors or iTablet rumors. We answered — yes!

Anyone have an iTablet case (with or without camera hole!) they want to leak our way?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Frequent Flying to China Means… iTablet Imminent?

Looks like China Unicom is set to launch the iPhone 3G 8GB (sans WiFi) for $300, which might sound expensive compared to the US $99 price, but here’s the no-shadow kick — the monthly plan is $20.

Granted, there’s likely no one in the world who feels their iPhone plan is cheap — and many who likely feel it ranges from expensive to exorbitant, but $20 a month compared to $70 or $100? Taken for one year that maths up to $240 vs. $840 or $1200. Two years, that’s $480 vs. $1680 or $2400. Three years… you get the idea (likely painfully and right in the wallet). Makes that $200 up front savings pretty insignificant doesn’t it.

Of course, the aforementioned lack of WiFi may make non-Chinese iPhone owners feel a little better about themselves, and there’s still no way to know how the Internet in general, never mind the App Store will survive the Great Firewall of China.

Hao bu hao?

[Xinhua via Fortune]

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iPhone Plans in China Starting at $20/month — Aiya!

As anticipated — and anticipated again and again — China Unicom has finally announced that the iPhone is coming to China:

On 28 August, the Company and Apple reached a three-year agreement for the Company to sell iPhone in China. The initial launch is expected to be in the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. This will provide users with brand new communication and information experience.

Now all that’s left is to find out if it will have, you know, WiFi, an App Store, etc…

(via Engadget)

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Apple and China Unicom Reach 3-Year Deal to Bring iPhone to China

Apple’s on-again, off-again (on again, off-again, ad infinitum) negotiations to get the iPhone into China seem to be on again — we think. Honestly, it’s impossible to tell anymore so until an Apple exec actually announces it on stage (in September?) or we see millions of Chinese ditching their gray-market, WiFi-enabled international iPhones for state sanctioned China Unicom, we’ll just keep waiting (and waiting) and seeing…

Still, with a handset as popular as the iPhone and a market as HUGE as China, it really is only a matter of time.

[Via the Wall Street Journal]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone Ready for China Launch at Last? (Again?)

That rumored deal whereby China Unicom was purchasing 5 million Wi-Fi-less iPhones for a huge introduction to the world’s biggest cellular market? Turns out not so much with the 5 million according to a China Unicom spokesperson.

“Talks between us and Apple have been going on for some time, but no agreement has been reached yet,” said Unicom spokesman Yi Difei. “There are all kinds of possibilities. There is no particular timetable for the talks.”

We get it, big deal, big complications. Still, the iPhone has to hit China sometime, right? (Other than, you know, massive amounts of gray market imports…)

[Cellular News via Engadget Mobile]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

No 5 Million iPhone Deal for China Unicom?

China Unicom, the second largest mobile carrier in the world’s largest mobile market, has reportedly bought 5 million iPhones from Apple as it makes ready to launch the device in September.

These won’t be the same iPhones sold in the rest of the world, however, as they’ll be using China-specific WCDMA radios, and will also lack Wi-Fi. Aiya. That, of course, leaves the door open for gray market iPhones — a staple in the nation since the original iPhone 2G launch in 2007 — to linger around and compete with the official, crippled version. (Insert Verizon joke here if you must).

Also changing according to the report is Apple’s share of the money. While they typically get 20-30% of profits, they’ll be making do with 1000-1100 Yuan per unit under terms of this deal (which allegedly may run as long as 3 years).

Either way, and long-in-the-making though it may be, it’s a huge deal for Apple and the iPhone in a huge market. Guess we’ll see what this does for Gartner’s numbers next year…

(International Business Times via Apple Insider)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

5 Million iPhones Heading to China Unicom?

CNN Money’s Fortune blog is rounding up news about a potential Apple deal with China Unicom to finally bring the iPhone to China.

The story is this: Shanghai Security News reported a 3-year deal for China Unicom’s 600+ million subscriber base. China Unicom’s spokesperson told Reuters:

“Discussions are still ongoing, we have not reached any formal agreement,”

The great unknowns, however, remain whether China will allow Wi-Fi, the full App Store, and other features rumored to be on China’s “no go” list.

Apple, of course, still sells officially unlocked iPhones in Hong Kong and similar markets for those who can afford a premium for standard iPhone.

[Thanks to Andrew for the tip]

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Apple and China Unicom Finally Maybe Potentially Have an iPhone Deal. Possibly.

UPDATE: Looks like and the original post is MIA, so we’re keeping the ship steady, banking left, and redirecting unboxing lovers to iTalkiPhone for the rest of the gallery. (Thanks Taylor!)

ORIGINAL: Looks like someone’s scored the first pictures of an iPhone 3G S, unboxed and in the wild. Pretty much what everyone expected — looks just like the iPhone 3G but has some nifty new software like the Compass App (complete with re-calibration instructions), voice control, etc. but still drool-worthy none the less.

A few more pics after the break, but check out their full gallery for all gadget pr0n goodness!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

UPDATED: iPhone 3G S Unboxing!

iLounge reports that they’ve been told the next generation iPhone will come in two storage capacities (we’d guess 16GB and 32GB) and three radio flavors, 3G, 3.5/3.75G, and China CDMA. Consumers won’t be able to choose which radio model they buy, each carrier in each local region will simply offer the one that best suits their network. Some choice in color — black or white? — should remain.

The design is said to be roughly the same with the exception of a new, more scratch-resistant matte finish for the back plate, which has been rumored for a while now.

And no, unfortunately, Chinese CDMA won’t run on Sprint or Verizon in the US. Different frequencies.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple to Launch Six New iPhones with Matte Finish? Sorta…