they probably sold them in hong kong but what about the rest of the country.
do the math

Apparently in China, the China Unicom is the only carrier that is licensed to provide WCDMA, which most of the world's 3G phones (including the iPhone) use. China mobile only provides GSM and the Chinese-owned 3G standard TD-SCDMA. That's probably a significant reason why Apple teamed up with China Unicom.

Smartphones using China Mobile's GSM service have lack-lustre performance when it comes to data-intense apps, such as google maps on HTC android phones. At least that's the case here in Shanghai.

...go the Apple fanbois.

what what er ar ar you you talking about jernanlizm ?

why don't you just shutup

Nick, I get that you don't like Apple. No problem there. But I don't get how you would consider 900,000 unit sales to be a failure? SG&A expenses only rose 17% and Unicom's revenue increased even more. Part of it was accounting for how they pay Apple for their phones and that is consistent with any subsidized phone. Other expenses were improving the 3G network.

The iPhone, like many smartphones, costs more money than other devices. There are going to be some segments of the population that can't afford it - just like happens in the US, Europe, and Japan.

Could it be that the population decided that other phones were a better value and while 900,000 units was impressive you could still argue that it wasn't a big marketshare.

I am with many others when I say that this seemed more like a rant than an article based on fact. Those can be entertaining, but I don't mistake them for news.

Spelling mistakes, poor syntax and tired expressions do not make for good journalism.

Yeah, I don't get it. These same people are here everyday, bashing every single article that makes fun of monopolistic companies.

Suddenly all Apple/Microsoft fanboys are journalism experts themselves.

If this site is so journalistic bad, I'm yet to figure out what powerful force keeps pushing them here.

What a load of jacked up Apple idiots without arguments up there... ccc...

A poor excuse for the "best phone ever" doesn't sell and it's Inquirers' fault, is it?

Oh, and one guy goes abroad and buys something foreign (like everyone else) to bring home, and suddenly China luster for the broken gadget... aha, sure.

And in the end you sorry lot are the only ones that care, the majority of us couldn't give a toss about overpriced hyped plastic brick that doesn't work as it should anyways.

It is actually extremely funny to see how diluted and confused Apple users are when they go out of their walled surroundings and get slapped arround for owning a stupidity product, especially in person, such joy, hehe :)

@INQhaters and peddlers of broken dream fanboys

Go forth and multiply in the oldest Western Tradition!

If you dont like the wit and style of the INQ, then do not bother reading and wasting bandwidth that can be used in Africa to check an email on silly comments that accuse INQs style of journalism. Go back to your Cupertino roots and log on to something more stylish, for e.g Dailymail.

I don't see any inquiry or inquiry on this site. It's just some pseudo journalists having a rant with rather banal and tired humour. How about getting more writers that that write with intelligence and wit. The Inquirer what a joke. What about a change gents to www.thedefecator.net as the content of this web-shyte is pretty 5h1t and secondhand 5h1t at that.

I'd confirm this - recently we had Chinese associate visiting USA. guess what he was shopping for? strangely enough iphone is made out there but hard to get at reasonable ;) price.

You are full of it. The iPhone 4 has not been released in china but is selling like hotcakes in the grey market. Pseudo-journalism at it's finest. Shameless.

If I remember, iPhone 3GS in India was announced only when iPhone 4G was coming out. Yet another country with huge potential market, but where Apple Jedi mind tricks have not worked

I'm guessing that the iPhones that Jobs *did* manage to sell were bought by the "nouveau riche" of China. They're the rich bumpkins who like to cover themselves in name-brands, and visit the resort casinos in that region being rude and uncultured. You'll know one when you see one.

And hey! Maybe some clown will have the bright idea to diamond-encrust an iPhone and try to make it extra special for them too--despite still being a commodity phone anyone can buy. They can sell a diamond-encrusted rubber band too!