Images of Chinese iPhone Surface, Regulatory Approval Granted

[MacRumors]

Engadget reports that a China-specific iPhone carrying model number A1324 received a five-year approval from China's State Radio Regulatory Commission on May 7th, opening the door for the company to launch the iPhone there. Separately, PC World notes that Chinese news portal Sina.com.cn posted a set of three images (included below) of the new Chinese iPhone earlier today, although it has since replaced the images with a single photo of the rear of the device with text blurred out.

The pictures were posted on Chinese portal Sina.com.cn on Friday morning and showed an iPhone with simplified Chinese characters in its display and inscribed on the back of the handset. Simplified characters are used in mainland China and Singapore, but Singaporean iPhones don't have Chinese inscription on the case. (Hong Kong and Taiwan use more complex traditional characters)

The iPhone in the pictures also carries China's "Environmental Protection Use Period" mark, which indicates the number of years of normal operation during which hazardous or toxic substances included in the product will not leak or change in a way that harms the environment or human health. In the case of the iPhone pictured that length of time is 10 years.

The pulled images depict the Simplified Chinese text on the rear of the device, as well as the device running on China Unicom's 3G network. A deal between Apple and China Unicom, the country's second largest wireless carrier, is reportedly near completion.

Article Link: Images of Chinese iPhone Surface, Regulatory Approval Granted

 

[iCantwait]

them lucky chinese, getting an iPhone before i do 😛

Massive market for Apple - Capitalism in the land of the commies - snap!

10 years of safety from the iPhone sounds good

 

[iGary]

Wonder how many subscribers Apple'd get with a Chinese iPhone.

 

[arkitect]

Is that the final product?

The finish on the rear leaves a hell of a lot to be desired… and as for the printing. *ouch*

 

[janitorC7]

I'm not sure what the second picture is of

 

[iCantwait]

I'm not sure what the second picture is of

"your sim just sent a message"
Deny Allow

 

[slfare]

The iPhone in the pictures also carries China's "Environmental Protection Use Period" mark, which indicates the number of years of normal operation during which hazardous or toxic substances included in the product will not leak or change in a way that harms the environment or human health. In the case of the iPhone pictured that length of time is 10 years.

So if the same applies to the other iPhones in the US and Europe, that means you shouldn't keep the iPhone for more than 10 years because it might possibly kill you!

Not that any sane person would keep a phone for that long, even half that, but still a little scary if you think about it.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

I'm not sure what the second picture is of

You are accessing information that is detrimental to the survival of the Glorious Nation of China. How would you like to be executed?

"Hung" "Shot"

 

[iSamurai]

I'm not sure what the second picture is of

[Dear] honourable customer, [we] welcome you to make use of China Unicom's service.

cancel or accept.

^^haha. wonderful options.


still no wifi and no "made in china". i guess that would be obvious. and why is there a battery charge % thingie?

 

[HiRez]

With so many iPhone knockoffs in China, how are people supposed to tell them apart from the real thing?

 

[Surely]

With so many iPhone knockoffs in China, how are people supposed to tell them apart from the real thing?

True.

The iPhone is only safe for 10 years...... it's a good thing that iPhone users are so anal that they swap them out every few weeks due to a dead pixel or a tiny little scratch.

I'm surprised the back doesn't say:

"Designed by Apple in California. Made by you here."

 

[gr8whtd0pe]

and why is there a battery charge % thingie?

all 3gS's have this...

 

[Miker2k]

I'm surprised the back doesn't say:

"Designed by Apple in California. Made by you here."

Classic! Lol.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

I'm surprised the back doesn't say:

"Designed by Apple in California. Made by your children here."

FIXED 🙂

 

[zw-gator]

You are accessing information that is detrimental to the survival of the Glorious Nation of China. How would you like to be executed?

"Hung" "Shot"

HAHA 😀

 

[SinfonianShrek]

I started getting excited until I realized it was WCDMA on the back and not just CDMA.

And here I was hoping for this to lead the way for a Verizon iPhone. Silly me.

 

[azshopper]

no Wifi

From the last image, the first option is AIRPLANE mode, 2nd option is network provider selection. So this is definitely the Chinese version (hence no WiFi, unless jailbroken, which will easily be done in Chinese 10 mins after the official release).

 

[Le Big Mac]

(hence no WiFi, unless jailbroken, which will easily be done in Chinese 10 mins after the official release).

Why won't it be done before the official release?

And I wonder if apple has to install Green Dam?

 

[mrtune]

I started getting excited until I realized it was WCDMA on the back and not just CDMA.

And here I was hoping for this to lead the way for a Verizon iPhone. Silly me.

But it is proof that Apple is willing to make a non-GSM version of the iPhone.

I read so many posts on here where members are just blasting others with that argument. Talking about how Apple won't make phones for dead technologies like CDMA and that GSM and LTE are the future and that's all we'll ever see.

I hope this shuts those people up.

 

[drspa44]

Why won't it be done before the official release?

And I wonder if apple has to install Green Dam?

Maybe the government will try and publish an app onto iTunes!

 

[macduke]

So what exactly is the difference between WCDMA and CDMA? Can it be modified via a hack to support standard CDMA?

 

[pika2000]

But it is proof that Apple is willing to make a non-GSM version of the iPhone.

I read so many posts on here where members are just blasting others with that argument. Talking about how Apple won't make phones for dead technologies like CDMA and that GSM and LTE are the future and that's all we'll ever see.

I hope this shuts those people up.

Errr, WCDMA = UMTS, which is the same 3G spectrum used on any iPhone. 🙄 Apple is not making a different iPhone.

 

[gr8whtd0pe]

But it is proof that Apple is willing to make a non-GSM version of the iPhone.

I read so many posts on here where members are just blasting others with that argument. Talking about how Apple won't make phones for dead technologies like CDMA and that GSM and LTE are the future and that's all we'll ever see.

I hope this shuts those people up.

Someone only sees what they want to see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-CDMA_(UMTS)

While not an evolutionary upgrade on the airside, it uses the same core network as the 2G GSM networks deployed worldwide, allowing dual-mode operation along with GSM/EDGE; a feat it shares with other members of the UMTS family.

 

[swingerofbirch]

So after 10 years it will start leaking plutonium or something? Hehe

It would be interesting if companies were forced to state under normal operating conditions how long a product would be expected to last and then if studies were done to follow up on the veracity of those claims.....like for an iPhone, I mean it could work 10 years from now, but I'm betting it's more likely a TV will work 10 years from purchase date than a phone. A desktop more likely than a laptop and so forth. It's weird we buy products today that are so technologically advanced knowing they will probably break in some way in the least 3-4 years (I would say for a laptop at least) if not sooner.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Ten years? The Legion of Doom will not be happy.