Carrier, China Unicom, has reportedly contracted to buy five million iPhones at a cost of $1.5 billion. The ban on WiFi was enforced by central government in Beijing, but lifted in May – when manufacturing of the device had begun. Lack of the standard may give some Chinese consumers the perception that they are being sold a sub-par version of the product, impacting sales. A Unicom spokesman, Yi Difei, said the company hopes to have WiFi in the next batch of phones: “We are talking with Apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year,” he said. Unicom’s prices range from 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. This poses a second challenge for Apple in China – unlocked grey import iPhones (with WiFi) cost around 5,700 yuan ($835) in China’s street markets. The availability of unlocked iPhones and the lack of WiFi could impact Apple’s success in this new territory.
