iPhone Launches Today in China

[ThunderSkunk]

I'm not sure what China has that we don't either, though when I was in Taipei 5 years ago, the people I was visiting could watch broadband TV on their phones & if I remember right, carry on a conversation over them at the same time. I was momentarily amazed at this, until I became embarrassed for being amazed. We're just now starting to really be able to do that here. Hell, AT&T couldn't even handle MMS til a week ago. Not sure how popular an iphone without a front-facing vid camera or wifi will be over there, but then, the Chinese have their strange taste for American brands too, so who knows which way this'll go.

 

[CQd44]

I'm not sure what China has that we don't either, though when I was in Taipei 5 years ago, the people I was visiting could watch broadband TV on their phones & if I remember right, carry on a conversation over them at the same time. I was momentarily amazed at this, until I became embarrassed for being amazed. We're just now starting to really be able to do that here. Hell, AT&T couldn't even handle MMS til a week ago. Not sure how popular an iphone without a front-facing vid camera or wifi will be over there, but then, the Chinese have their strange taste for American brands too, so who knows which way this'll go.

In the iPhone's defense, it was fully MMS capable if you jailbroke it. It was just artificially limited.

 

[BVeritas]

I'm with you.. if Apple was lobbying the Chinese gov to ease up on the WiFi restriction AND they felt it was only a matter of time, the smart move for them would've been to leave all the hardware in place and disable WiFi via a firmware change. This would be a heck of a lot cheaper (and less risky) than removing it from the design already in use globally.

IF there is a parts breakdown of the particular 3gs model being sold by unicom with pics showing no radio then all bets are off. Otherwise maybe not so dumb.

It's also cheaper for Apple to let the end users do the firmware change than incurring the expense of reworking finished goods themselves.

Only time will tell who's the bigger fool.

It's a done deal. They just can't say so now since it would embarrass the commies. Expect a firmware update shortly.

 

[BVeritas]

Actually thats not true. There are many brands / models that only available in Asia. Asia has very different mobile culture then western countries. Consumers in Asia expect different type of services as well as phone features. Also the design aesthetics are different.

Heard that crap before, wasn't it the Japanese who had to have a place to put their trinkets. BTW, SoftBank credits the iPhone with their resurgence. When will dummies like you wise up or better shut up.

 

[BVeritas]

I'm not sure what China has that we don't either, though when I was in Taipei 5 years ago, the people I was visiting could watch broadband TV on their phones & if I remember right, carry on a conversation over them at the same time. I was momentarily amazed at this, until I became embarrassed for being amazed. We're just now starting to really be able to do that here. Hell, AT&T couldn't even handle MMS til a week ago. Not sure how popular an iphone without a front-facing vid camera or wifi will be over there, but then, the Chinese have their strange taste for American brands too, so who knows which way this'll go.

What is this, Wizard of Oz. Five years ago. LOL

 

[macshill]

The cell phones in China are like light years a head of iphone... And maybe Apple will see that people don't wanna be tied down by contracts with sucky service... If I have a great working iphone without a contract then why would I want to go to on a contract being tied down and no WiFi.. AND MORE MONEY?? Yeah.. No thank you...

I can actually confirm this. I was chatting w/ a guy from outside of Beijing who came to Canada to visit me. He actually scoffed at all our "new" cell phones when too him around to the malls, that had already been around for a quite a while in China and already been replaced w/ more superior ones.

 

[Derrick Velasco]

I apologize if you're joking, if not - you're an idiot.

You can't re-enable HARDWARE that isn't there. Just like how my 2001 Toyota can't get "HD Radio" through a software update; you need a physical HD Radio for that.

What do you think the "" at the end of his sentence was for? He was OBVIOUSLY joking.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

What is this, Wizard of Oz. Five years ago. LOL

Late 2004, so yes, Wizard of Oz, I guess. ? Was working as a tech for a group who was trying to bring Macromedia Flash to cellphones, as it were...

 

[ThunderSkunk]

In the iPhone's defense, it was fully MMS capable if you jailbroke it. It was just artificially limited.

Yep, our carriers are just inept, or worse.

 

[BlueRevolution]

I apologize if you're joking, if not - you're an idiot.

You can't re-enable HARDWARE that isn't there. Just like how my 2001 Toyota can't get "HD Radio" through a software update; you need a physical HD Radio for that.

Don't be an ass. The article never says that the hardware was removed.

i think that was the point. Chinese like to promote Chinese products and do what they can to give themselves competitive advantage. It's no cooincidence that the rule was changed after a gimped iPhone was already made.

Think about what you're saying here. Do you really think China banned IEEE 802.11 nation-wide just to delay the launch of one model of cellular telephone?

Besides, the iPhone is already made in China.

 

[MD5Hash]

But why on earth would they want the iPhone when they could use marvelous technology like this that's been imported to Jordan?!?

Hey seriously, China...good luck with that whole "buy less for more money" thing. Because that's worked so well on your war again pirated DVDs. *golf clap*

 

[eastercat]

Don't be an ass. The article never says that the hardware was removed.

If you read the article, it implies that it was removed.

A Unicom spokesman, Yi Difei, said the company hopes to have WiFi in the next batch of phones.

That to me sounds as though wifi can't be enabled via a firmware patch. Also, it wouldn't surprise me if China had inspectors to make sure that Apple complied with the no wifi hardware rule.

 

[Eraserhead]

AMERICA **** YEAH

+1

I can actually confirm this. I was chatting w/ a guy from outside of Beijing who came to Canada to visit me. He actually scoffed at all our "new" cell phones when too him around to the malls, that had already been around for a quite a while in China and already been replaced w/ more superior ones.

That may well be true in general for cheaper models of mobile - and the choice seems to be pretty limited in Canada. But that doesn't include advanced phones like the iPhone. Even in Japan the iPhone is seen as a great phone.

What is this, Wizard of Oz. Five years ago. LOL

They were probably just 3G phones - which probably were available 5 years ago over there like they were in Europe.

Hey seriously, China...good luck with that whole "buy less for more money" thing. Because that's worked so well on your war again pirated DVDs. *golf clap*

Actually the real problem is lack of legal availability of content - as only a tiny number of western media is licensed for the Chinese market - which to be honest is pretty backward of the government.

 

[holmesf]

I can actually confirm this. I was chatting w/ a guy from outside of Beijing who came to Canada to visit me. He actually scoffed at all our "new" cell phones when too him around to the malls, that had already been around for a quite a while in China and already been replaced w/ more superior ones.

That's weird, I'm over here in China where I was visited from a westerner who scoffed at my "new" cell phone and told me that my model had already been replaced by superior ones.

Since there is absolutely no way to check what cell phones are available in what countries, the question becomes, who do we believe???

 

[Eraserhead]

That's weird, I'm over here in China where I was visited from a westerner who scoffed at my "new" cell phone and told me that my model had already been replaced by superior ones.

Were they a European?

 

[pilotError]

An Article from Wired! claims the hardware was removed too.

The official iPhone heading to China isn’t exactly the same as the ones we see here: Apple removed Wi-Fi hardware from its iPhones for China Unicom to comply with Chinese government standards. Why? The history behind China’s Wi-Fi regulation on smartphones is controversial and complicated. For years, the country has been trying to push tech companies to adopt its own wireless encryption standard called Wireless Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI), which competes with the Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) standard.

 

[jaw04005]

So this is the reason I just sold my 2G iPhone on eBay for $230 and shipped it to a Chinese restaurant?

I was wondering. And I thought I was getting a good deal.

 

[sudo rm -rf /]

Please, do confirm!

I can actually confirm this.

Then please, do! Please tell us exactly HOW they are superior. I'm honestly asking because I, too, have heard this with no way to confirm it. What makes them "scoff"? What specs make their phones better? Do they have a better wireless infrastructure? Better battery life? More base are belong to them?

Seriously though, I'm curious. I'm not looking to flame anyone, just hoping to finally get some solid information.