The Chinese distributor of the iPhone does not want the iPhone to have fast wireless connectivity. China Mobile, according to the South China Morning Post, does not care for 3G or WiFi. The former is understandable as China has not yet rolled out its own 3G technology. Frederick Wong, BNP Pariba analyst says Apple shouldn’t comply: “Apple shouldn’t customise a model of iPhone for the mainland market, given that it only provides a standardised product to operators around the world.” It is not yet clear why the Chinese would want a WiFi-less and non-3G iPhone. There is an estimated 400,000 already illegally connected to China Mobile.
[via gizmodo]
September 25th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Brilliant pic.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
[...] Via PMP [...]
September 25th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
hehe, the china mobile iphone pic or the chinagrabber iphone pic…?
September 26th, 2008 at 12:06 am
The reason for lack of WIFI is that the Chinese government has prohibited use of WIFI in cellphones for who knows what reason. Most of the WIFI phones come from other places like Hong Kong.
September 30th, 2008 at 4:01 am
[...] the iPhone hardware-wise and comes in black and white just like the iPhone 3G, only without the 3G (China has no 3G network). China Grabber has priced this baby $249.99 unlocked and includes features like TV out, FM radio [...]
December 13th, 2008 at 10:11 am
[...] The China-only Lenovo OPhone is the best cellphone so far we’ve seen that will be running on Google Android. The specific OS is a tweak of Android dubbed the Open Mobile System. Specs haven’t been made available but the word is that this will likely replace the much-delayed and perhaps permanently aborted Chinese iPhone: [...]
June 5th, 2009 at 5:15 am
[...] It’s likely to be specialized hardware, tailored for China’s network only, and with limited connectivity options due to China Mobile’s concerns about how owners may use their iPhones. It is, most [...]