This is an interesting turn of events in the play back and forth between iPhone lovers (consumers), Apple and the carriers.

The carriers insist on locked-in contracts binding the consumer desire for the iPhone to their network, whereas Apple simply wants to ship as many units as possible....

In the end, Apple wins, since it's been pretty much proven by consumer demand that if the consumer wants an iPhone - even if their preferred carriers are not part of the premade deal - they can unlock it, buy it unlocked, and then link it to their preferred carrier.

The telco / carrier proposition has failed, the consumers have proven this and ultimately AAPL doesn't really care as the unit ship count of iphons just increases :)

Given the market in China..., in terms of headcount, I think we can all agree that it's the largest... and ironically China is the largest supplier of unlocked iphones to the ROW clientele... so if we're going to sell THEM iPhones; they'd better not be locked down!

Unlocked iPhones Guru

Gez,
Iphones are already unlocked in Hong Kong.
If you want one for China you have two sources.

1. Hong Kong.
2. Shenzen clone market Behind SEC in Fu Tian

P.S any moron who is stupid enough to buy a 'knock off' , just check the Antenna emissions, you will be shocked, Sometimes 3 times the legal maximum

I would think in the current economic climate, who in the west needs the iphone? I think the chinese attitude is better, use the new toy, then bin it in 6 months...
http://www.lightinthebox.com/T3-Dual-Card-Quad-Band-JAVA-Ultra-Thin-Flat-Touch-Screen-Cell-Phone-Black--2GB-TF-Card--SZ0512002-_p62970.html?currency=GBP

Outside the US and particularly in Asia, who really cares that much about the iPhone? Cheap knock offs get the job done because no one outside of the US cares about the expensive Apple tax based hardware that is itself made in China (and therefore over-priced to customers) nor the iTunes Music Store. Price and features are all that matters to those who aren't rich. Rich fanboys will by the original iJunk.

"How about the thousands of apps developers have made for that matter?"

Erm...how many of those apps are written in Chinese?

The OS on Chinese knock-off phones is generally pretty shonky. On the other hand, they often add extra features which aren't in the original. For example, you can buy a 'mini-iphone' for about 30-40 pounds, which has a built in TV receiver. It looks like a shrunken iphone, and the software looks a bit like the iphone's (with slide to unlock, and the grid of icons), but they apps themselves are quite basic and you can't load your own or anything like that.

The number of phone users in China is really high, particularly in the cities　(I feel the age range of mobile users there is wider than in the west...you see huge numbers of older people using their phones all the time), but the vast majority of these users aren't interested in loading software etc. They just want a phone that is cheap and looks nice.

Apple brand phones, like most foreign phone brands, mean almost nothing here in Thailand, although Nokia is a strong seller here. I would assume China is similar as well, since so many cheap Chinese knockoffs are also sold here. Families here are lucky to take home $100~200 U.S. dollars/week. They just don't have the income to buy something like the iPhone or any of the top brands top models, but they will buy an el cheapo knockoff in a second if the price is right. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Apple software including iTunes with Apps mean nothing to the people here; it's really the hardware features, as long as the phone is cheap.

@China + iPhone = 0

Has ANY of the iphone clones in china been able to clone Apple's software platform? How about the thousands of apps developers have made for that matter?

Gentlemen,

Anyone who is familiar with the shopping malls and side street stalls in Hong Kong and Shenzhen (and all other cities in China) will know that there have been iPhone knock-offs available at a fraction of the price of the real thing for ages. So who cares if it breaks down after a few months? Buy another one!

Allow me to explain : There are hundreds maybe thousands of telecomm design shops in Shenzhen alone where the latest Nokia bell or whistle is analysed and cloned within days or hours and incorporated in a consumer phone within weeks or days. Cheap and nasty? Sure - see above sentence starting "So...".

Does the China market want the real thing? No. Do the Chinese want the status symbol of an iPhone : maybe - I saw a Vertu shop in China before I saw one anywhere else. But that rarified 0.0001 per cent who really really want the real thing will not justify Apple's foray into the country.

In a place where a phone and all its latest features are a commodity, there's no such thing as a niche.

Cheers