iPhone 4 demand outstrips supply in China

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Early demand for the iPhone 4 in China has outpaced initial supply as China Unicom struggles to fulfill the over 200,000 preorders it received last week.



China Unicom announced Sunday that it was having trouble meeting demand, according to a MarketWatch report. This year's iPhone 4 launch in China is an impressive turnaround from last year's muted launch. The official launch of the iPhone in October 2009 saw just 5,000 buyers in the first week after launch.



Apple promised more shipments in the near future. "More iPhones will be available soon and customers should check back with their local store or online for updates on availability," Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said, according to MarketWatch.



In a statement Sunday, China Unicom said it had sold 60,000 (Google Translation) units on the first day of availability after receiving over 200,000 preorders.



Over 40,000 of the sales went to individual customers, and an additional 10,000 went to direct distribution bulk orders. China Unicom began taking preorders for the smartphone on September 17 at 10 a.m, the same day the iPad went on sale in China.



Outside Apple's new Xidan Joy City retail store in Beijing, over a thousand fans lined up Saturday to purchase the iPhone 4.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 85
    Wonder if we'll hear about antenna issues there...no wait my guess is they actually have a solid cell build out unlike the US....
  • Reply 2 of 85
    I hope China Unicom takes a lot of China Mobile's users.



    Time will tell.
  • Reply 3 of 85
    Consumer Reports must be furious.
  • Reply 4 of 85
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elian Gonzalez View Post


    Consumer Reports must be furious.



    the trolls on this site, too (newtron).
  • Reply 5 of 85
    Apple's OEM partner factory is 3 blocks from the store. So no supply issues there.



    Made by China, for China.
  • Reply 6 of 85
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elian Gonzalez View Post


    Consumer Reports must be furious.



    If Oprah had told people not to buy the iPhone 4 it may have been a different story.
  • Reply 7 of 85
    China has 1.3 billion people and they can't fill 200,000 orders, buawahaha. Can you say black market? Funny part is the Chinese have had iphones that blow the door off of Apple/AT&T's phones. China is a disgrace about how they allow for the stealing of proprietary property of ... well ... mainly US/European innovative products.



    I would go further, but I'm afraid I might start getting too mad.
  • Reply 8 of 85
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pennywse View Post


    China has 1.3 billion people and they can't fill 200,000 orders, buawahaha. Can you say black market? Funny part is the Chinese have had iphones that blow the door off of Apple/AT&T's phones. China is a disgrace about how they allow for the stealing of proprietary property of ... well ... mainly US/European innovative products.



    I would go further, but I'm afraid I might start getting too mad.



    Based on the comment I bolded I think madness already set in, so don't stop now.
  • Reply 9 of 85
    Anyway... this looks to be Apple's year in China. After a slow start customers are really warming up to Apple's sense of aesthetics and world-class tech. I'd love to hear more from Apple/iPhone fans in China (besides Hong Kong).
  • Reply 10 of 85
    Reason No. 378 that the CDMA iPhone will not be coming to Verizon....
  • Reply 11 of 85
    Apple is doomed!
  • Reply 12 of 85
    "Outside Apple's new Xidan Joy City retail store in Beijing, over a thousand fans lined up Saturday to purchase the iPhone 4."



    The joy in Xidan right now is nothing compared to the joy in Cupertino.
  • Reply 13 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post


    "Outside Apple's new Xidan Joy City retail store in Beijing, over a thousand fans lined up Saturday to purchase the iPhone 4."



    The joy in Xidan right now is nothing compared to the joy in Cupertino.



  • Reply 14 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pennywse View Post


    ... Funny part is the Chinese have had iphones that blow the door off of Apple/AT&T's phones. ...



    And which phones might those be? I didn't realize that there were counterfeit iPhones out there. I'd be interested in links so that I can check them out. (Not to buy, just to see if they do exist and really compare to the REAL iPhone)
  • Reply 15 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NCMacUser View Post


    Wonder if we'll hear about antenna issues there...no wait my guess is they actually have a solid cell build out unlike the US....



    You'd think. I was checking out the Amazon.com int'l coverage map for the Kindle 3G, which you can see here. Their map is very telling. The only Chinese provider that works with the 3G UMTS service is China Unicom, which apparently has a very unique business practice of putting up a single mast in the middle of a city, and then radiating a signal as far as they can outward. There seem to be no supplemental masts across the city. The result is that 3G service is unavailable at Beijing's airport, appx. 15 miles northeast from downtown.



    Sometimes, two masts will located in major cities that are close enough to each other, that coverage overlaps exist between the two cities (for example, Guangzhou and Foshan). But most of the time it looks like there's a single mast per region.



    I assume that Unicom's customers can roam on China Mobile's GSM network (both companies are owned by the Chinese government), but the Kindle doesn't have access to China Mobile's 2G.
  • Reply 16 of 85
    onhkaonhka Posts: 1,025member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pennywse View Post


    China has 1.3 billion people and they can't fill 200,000 orders, buawahaha. Can you say black market? Funny part is the Chinese have had iphones that blow the door off of Apple/AT&T's phones. China is a disgrace about how they allow for the stealing of proprietary property of ... well ... mainly US/European innovative products.



    I would go further, but I'm afraid I might start getting too mad.



    Maybe you should start getting some intelligence.



    Where does it say that "they [didn't] fill 200,00 orders? How do you know how many iPhones were sold? Nobody knows but Apple and I am sure they are not telling you.



    As for the Chinese having had iPhones that blow the door off of Apples/AT&T phones; what phone is that?
  • Reply 17 of 85
    I wonder if shortages generated by Chinese demand will impact the December build for a Verizon iPhone.



    Apple may have to put that on a back burner if they want to keep the Chinese happy.



    The iPad is already tearing up global net book and laptop manufacturing as parts are being diverted to what the consumer really wants and is willing to pay for.



    If nothing else Apple has created significant turmoil among electronic manufacturers this year.
  • Reply 18 of 85
    Quote:

    The founder of Chinese IT giant Lenovo said in an interview that Apple is missing huge opportunities in the world's most populous nation because it does not understand mainland consumers.



    "We are lucky that Steve Jobs has such a bad temper and doesn?t care about China," Lenovo chairman Liu Chuanzhi told the Financial Times.



    "If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, we would be in trouble."



    Liu I think Jobs heard what you said. The iPhone 4 launch and Apple Stores are his response. If the iPhone 4 launch is an indication of demands of Apple products in China, yes I think you maybe in trouble now. Careful what you wish for...



    I think Apple should really be serious about China. China's growth over the past few years is phenomenal. China is still up for grabs now. The most serious and aggressive company will win.
  • Reply 19 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 4phun View Post


    I wonder if shortages generated by Chinese demand will impact the December build for a Verizon iPhone.



    Apple may have to put that on a back burner if they want to keep the Chinese happy.



    That's not going to hold up a Verizon/CDMA iPhone. Verizon will hold up a Verizon iPhone, if anyone. Besides, the reported 3-4 million CDMA iPhones available in early 2011 won't be enough for Verizon, anyway. Fortunately, plenty of other CDMA carriers exist that could get those iPhones, including China Telecom, which is owned by the Chinese government.
  • Reply 20 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mikemikeb View Post


    That's not going to hold up a Verizon/CDMA iPhone. Verizon will hold up a Verizon iPhone, if anyone. Besides, the reported 3-4 million CDMA iPhones available in early 2011 won't be enough for Verizon, anyway. Fortunately, plenty of other CDMA carriers exist that could get those iPhones, including China Telecom, which is owned by the Chinese government.



    How can you be so certain of this? I am sure a CDMA based iPhone could easily have and probably will have many components in common (screen, case etc...) (mfg volume economy) with the GSM version. Any constrained common component could easily delay things until the next mfg ramp up is complete. That being said, I don't see a Verizon iPhone until at least June 2011 and more likely June 2013 and even then it being more LTE based not CDMA.
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