China Unicom has set high targets for iPhone sales in its native country, according to China Daily. One senior executive tells the newspaper that within two to three years, the iPhone is expected to represent 10 percent of all 3G devices in China. The carrier's chairman, Chang Xiaobing, has meanwhile suggested that the product will eventually become the nation's most popular smartphone.

Unicom faces a considerable hill to climb, as it gained only 5,000 iPhone subcribers during launch weekend. The Chinese hardware has also been temporarily crippled, doing without Wi-Fi as a result of earlier government restrictions which have since been repealed. The biggest obstacle is likely to be pricing, as the iPhone is even more expensive in China than it is in the US. A 32GB iPhone 3GS costs the equivalent of $1,024, a third or more of many local salaries.

Over 2 million gray-market iPhones are thought to exist in the country, a number which may only increase given lower prices in surrounding countries.