China Unicom reaches 300,000 iPhones
updated 09:35 am EST, Tue December 29, 2009
Sales show great leap forward
China Unicom has now sold over 300,000 iPhones to date, a general manager is quoted as telling the press this week. The number marks a substantial leap over figures from December 9th, when the carrier reported that 100,000 phones had been sold since an October 30th product launch. During the launch weekend, the company managed to sell just 5,000 units.
The jump is thought to be linked to a major Unicom advertising push. Efforts accelerated last week with the debut of a roadshow marketing campaign, which will attempt to sell the Chinese on the usefulness of the iPhone, and ultimately visit 46 cities. The iPhone is a difficult proposition for many people in the country, primarily due to cost; an official 32GB model can cost as much as 6,999 yuan, or $1,025. It is generally cheaper to buy an unlocked gray-market device from a neighboring region.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
It's good that sales are increasing
but those tiny amounts won't move Apple's stock up to any degree. It would have to hit at least a million to show that the iPhone has any chance of success in China. Major sales of iPhones in China isn't likely at the current price.