China Unicom To Sell Wi-Fi iPhones
CUPERTINO, Calif. (
) - Chinese telecom giant
China Unicom
will start selling
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
with Wi-Fi capabilities next week, according to the
Associated Press
.
Starting Monday, China Unicom will sell an 8-Gbyte iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi, a move which is expected to shake up the Chinese smartphone market.
As the world's most populous nation, China presents a
great opportunity for smartphone makers such as Apple and HTC
, particularly at a time when the country is undergoing rapid economic growth.
China Unicom has been
selling iPhones since late last year
. The telco's early versions of the iPhone, however, lacked Wi-Fi connections as a result of Chinese government regulations, which have since been eased.
AP
reports that China Unicom also sells 16-Gbyte and 32-Gbyte iPhones without Wi-Fi.
-- Reported by James Rogers in New York
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