Average annual per capita disposable income of household (2005): rural households Y 3,255 (U.S.$397), urban households Y 10,493 (U.S.$1,281).
Sources of income (2003): rural households ? income from household businesses 75.7%, wages 19.1%, transfers 3.7%, other 1.5%; urban households ? wages 70.7%, transfers 23.3%, business income 4.5%, other 1.5%.
Expenditure: rural (urban) households ? food 45.6% (37.1%), housing 15.9% (10.7%), education and recreation 12.1% (14.4%), transportation and communications 8.4% (11.1%), clothing 5.7% (9.8%), medicine and medical service 6.0% (7.1%), household furnishings 4.2% (6.3%).
Employment
Population economically active (2003): total 760,800,000.
Activity rate of total population 58.9% (participation rates: over age 15 [2001] 77.7%; female [2001] 37.8%; registered unemployed in urban areas [December 2004] 4.2%).
Urban employed workforce (2001): 239,400,000; by sector: state enterprises 76,400,000, collectives 28,130,000, self-employment or privately run enterprises 134,870,000.
Rural employed workforce: 490,850,000.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Note that you made no credible argument as to why 200,000 sales of the iPhone 4 is so small as to be pathetic for Apple. You used conjecture without a single shred of evidence to say the black market is the reason why the percentages per capita are so low.
LewysBlackmore, on the other hand supplied actual data to show that the bulk of China’s residence couldn’t afford any smartphone, much less an iPhone 4, if they wanted one.
You can have an opinion, but state it as such. If you want your opinion to seem credible try backing it up with a valid argument. And when another posters disagrees with your opinion and try to counter with a better argument, don’t attack them for actual backing their hypothesis with data.
I have been trolling here for a bit (ahem, 6 months), but have not started to blog until recently as my low numbers would suggest.
Annnnnd, you just blew any slim chance you had of looking knowledgeable completely out of the water by badly misusing two terms. You may be trolling now, although what you meant to write was "lurk." Google "Internet troll" to find out what trolling really means. And you are most assuredly not the author of an online weblog here.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Way to go ... how to make friends and influence people. Not!
Okay, I normally read articles here, but rarely have felt the need to comment. Yes, I created an account just to chime in on this particular thread. I'm not going to get into the whole Apple good or bad.. just going to talk about my actual use of the iPhone 4 IN China.
...
My experience in China was actually quite amazing, despite my assumption that service in China would be worse.
...
So, I'm sure the native residents will be quite happy with the quality of data services ...
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Oh, I've seen and handled their copy-cat fake iPhone 4 and iPad in person and they are total obvious knock-offs. They might fool someone from a distance, but once you hold it, totally obvious. The fake iPhone 4 is thicker, plasticky feeling and the OS is choppy and a poor substitute. The knock-off is for people who buy a fake unit to give the impression of owning an iPhone 4. It's like buying a Ferrari body kit for your Toyota MR2. The iPad fake is similar with plastic body, but oddly the frame size of the fake is smaller with a screen size closer to 7-8", which made me think at the time of its relevance to the rumors of a real iPad with a 7" screen. The fakes are poor substitutes for the real thing, but prior to the official Apple launches, I think many local residents may have been fooled into thinking those were the real things.
We travel to China quite often. And what you say about the iPhone knock-offs, like virtually every other tech copy, is very true.
However, and maybe it is the crowd we travel in, i.e., university, computer science/medicine arenas, I haven't witnessed many, if any, local residents purchasing knock-offs. If anything, it is the foreign visitors that get hooked.
I couldn't believe seeing how many people in business class out of Beijing bragging about the 100 GB USB keys they bought for $5 at the Hong Qiao Pearl Market. Of course most were first timers and they weren't Chinese.
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Astronaut: I went to the moon and can tell you that in my experience, the surface is actually rock and dust, not cheese.
Citizen: Yes, but I have done some deep thinking about the moon and it might still be cheese under the surface, or in areas that you didn't visit.
Okay, I normally read articles here, but rarely have felt the need to comment. Yes, I created an account just to chime in on this particular thread. I'm not going to get into the whole Apple good or bad.. just going to talk about my actual use of the iPhone 4 IN China.
Thank you for a post filled with actual facts and experiences, vice the speculation, opinion, and (occasionally) flat out BS that we see here daily.
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Given China's population and the number of subscribers that the networks over there are carrying, I doubt that you could characterize their systems as "lightly loaded". Yes, I realize that they would be (and will eventually be) even more heavily loaded when the fraction of smartphone users increases, as it surely will. But under the current circumstances, my hunch is that the network over there is carrying just as many bits (if not more) as AT&T is over here. So I am impressed by the other poster's testimony. Truly, you are correct to point out that the system will eventually get even more loaded as the fraction of smart phone use increases. But the other poster addressed that concern as well: apparently, the service providers can more rapidly expand capacity over there... and they probably will if needed.
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.
Given the comments of Verizon's CEO and their entire history do you really think Verizon will be getting any iPhones? Verizon is the poster boy of the carrier as potentate over all. Both Apple and Verizon have stood firm in their respective positions for several years with all that unrealized revenue just sitting there. Apple and anyone who cares to notice can see how Verizon is in the process of eviscerating Google by using the open nature of Android against both Google and Verizon's customers.
I'm certain Jobs is at least as stubborn as Seidenberg and will insist on Apple's control of the user experience before Verizon gets a whiff of the iPhone. At this point I think everyone BUT Verizon will get the iPhone if there is a CDMA handset ready to launch. This whole process began with Apple splitting off AT&T from the other carriers and can only finish when Verizon is consigned to its proper role as a dumb pipe.
To get back on topic. 200,000 pre-orders is very good indeed. It is not sales. Sales look like they could be, at the very least, a million this Q given that level of interest.
How many people in China can afford an iPhone? I would say about 100M. Hard to get precise figures
I get this on wikipedia
Quote:
China's outbound tourists reached 20.22 million in 2003, overtaking Japan for the first time.
And thats 7 years ago, the economy is growing at more than 10% a year, so it has doubled since. Not all people who can afford to travel abroad do so, so the number must be a fraction of those who can travel for a week, or so. Which would cost about the price of an iPhone, or more. Depending on where they go, and for how long.
Most of the SMART shoppers will do what my daughter did. Go to the local dealer (Simply Computing, in our case) leave a deposit and they will notify you when your phone comes in .... or, you can do what you prefer .... go on an internet site and whine and bitch .... really!
Wow...that's an intellegent response Rogers has instructed their authorized resellers not to take waiting lists or security deposits on iPhone 4 orders. Call Rogers Customer Care to hear reps state they had an increase in customers complaining of dealers taking their so called iPhone 4 deposit only to be told later by the store Manager that they have to refund the customer since they are not allowed to take deposits on orders. Possibly due to not wanting to lose their license from the carrier to sell their services. Everywhere I've been and called in the GVA (Greater Vancouver Area) stated they don't take security deposits and don't have waiting lists. It's first come first served. Irregardless I'm not blaming Rogers here but actually my gripe is with Apple who could have learned from previous years when they sold the iPhone to several countries. As it stands Foxconn wasn't able to meet global demand so Apple shouldn't of continued to expand their iPhone client base to include China, Turkey, Philippines and Russia until they had sufficient stock. It's like a produce seller continually taking in new clients even though he's fully aware he doesn't have enough produce to ship to existing clients. It's neither the right thing to do and not good for business.
Wow...that's an intellegent response Rogers has instructed their authorized resellers not to take waiting lists or security deposits on iPhone 4 orders. Call Rogers Customer Care to hear reps state they had an increase in customers complaining of dealers taking their so called iPhone 4 deposit only to be told later by the store Manager that they have to refund the customer since they are not allowed to take deposits on orders. Possibly due to not wanting to lose their license from the carrier to sell their services. Everywhere I've been and called in the GVA (Greater Vancouver Area) stated they don't take security deposits and don't have waiting lists. It's first come first served. Irregardless I'm not blaming Rogers here but actually my gripe is with Apple who could have learned from previous years when they sold the iPhone to several countries. As it stands Foxconn wasn't able to meet global demand so Apple shouldn't of continued to expand their iPhone client base to include China, Turkey, Philippines and Russia until they had sufficient stock. It's like a produce seller continually taking in new clients even though he's fully aware he doesn't have enough produce to ship to existing clients. It's neither the right thing to do and not good for business.
Sorry but if companies used your logic we would have nothing but mediocre (at best) products available. The great products would never get released much beyond their initial market. Too slow of a product rollout would allow competitors to come in with inferior product and try to eat Apples lunch before Apple even finishes setting the table.
If Apple had used your premise,.you would be complaining that you couldn't buy one because Apple wasn't authorizing markets fast enough. Bottom line, you still wouldn't have an iPhone 4.
I agree that it may be a pain trying to buy one but you already said what it would take to get one. Either suck it up and get it done somehow or move on. No one cares much and no one wants to hear you complain. No matter how loud you scream or how much you complain, it won't make an iPhone come to you, you still have to go buy it or something else. Welcome to the world as it is.
Everywhere I've been and called in the GVA (Greater Vancouver Area) stated they don't take security deposits and don't have waiting lists. It's first come first served.
I'm in the GVA as well and I did mentioned that "Simply Computing" was the retailer offering the "deposit waiting list" scenario. They have at least 3 outlets and afaik all stores offer the same. I know it's a problem but that sometimes come with success. I read somewhere that production is being ramped up as fast as they can do it, so maybe it won't be a problem much longer. Good Luck.
So let's get this straight, Apple presently sells over 100,000 phones a day, they know they are having the introduction of the Iphone in the biggest mobile phone market in the world, most of the phones sold the first day were pre-orders so they knew about them in advance, yet they couldn't come up with 200,000 phones? This stinks like a setup to me. This was an obviously created situation to make it seem as though there is a huge demand that is outstripping supply. Consider that in the first week of sales in the US Apple sold millions of Iphones, so how could it be that months later Apple can't produce a couple of hundred thousand phones?
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
So let's get this straight, Apple presently sells over 100,000 phones a day, they know they are having the introduction of the Iphone in the biggest mobile phone market in the world, most of the phones sold the first day were pre-orders so they knew about them in advance, yet they couldn't come up with 200,000 phones? This stinks like a setup to me. This was an obviously created situation to make it seem as though there is a huge demand that is outstripping supply. Consider that in the first week of sales in the US Apple sold millions of Iphones, so how could it be that months later Apple can't produce a couple of hundred thousand phones?
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
Maybe. But at the end if the day Apple wants to sell as many phones as they can make. So either the phones being made are stockpiled somewhere for a few weeks or months, or their *stock allocation and supply* to or in preparation for 80 countries was not that great.
Keep in mind one thing though, launch days are extremely chaotic. They launched in at least 3 other countries besides China on the 24th. Throw the phone carriers into the mix, and it's madness.
Consider that in the first week of sales in the US Apple sold millions of Iphones, so how could it be that months later Apple can't produce a couple of hundred thousand phones?
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
1. Worldwide demand has been outstripping supply for months, now. It's not just in China.
2. At launch, Apple had months to produce a bumper crop of millions of iPhones. Actually, Apple could have sold more iPhones in the first days than they did. AT&T sold 1.7 million in the first day, but some estimates say that 2.5 million could have been sold if there were enough in the US. So even in the beginning, there were supply issues. This supply was exhausted quickly, and after that, you have to produce as many as you can in real time. Usually, a company can't ramp up production to a few million devices per week, from a few million in a month or two. Apple's no exception. They are not withholding phones in some secret warehouse.
Comments
in reference to knowledge of the actual China population, not, you know, smarts, or the ability to reason. For example:
Household income and expenditure
Average household size (2005) 3.1; rural households 3.3; urban households 3.0.
Average annual per capita disposable income of household (2005): rural households Y 3,255 (U.S.$397), urban households Y 10,493 (U.S.$1,281).
Sources of income (2003): rural households ? income from household businesses 75.7%, wages 19.1%, transfers 3.7%, other 1.5%; urban households ? wages 70.7%, transfers 23.3%, business income 4.5%, other 1.5%.
Expenditure: rural (urban) households ? food 45.6% (37.1%), housing 15.9% (10.7%), education and recreation 12.1% (14.4%), transportation and communications 8.4% (11.1%), clothing 5.7% (9.8%), medicine and medical service 6.0% (7.1%), household furnishings 4.2% (6.3%).
Employment
Population economically active (2003): total 760,800,000.
Activity rate of total population 58.9% (participation rates: over age 15 [2001] 77.7%; female [2001] 37.8%; registered unemployed in urban areas [December 2004] 4.2%).
Urban employed workforce (2001): 239,400,000; by sector: state enterprises 76,400,000, collectives 28,130,000, self-employment or privately run enterprises 134,870,000.
Rural employed workforce: 490,850,000.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Note that you made no credible argument as to why 200,000 sales of the iPhone 4 is so small as to be pathetic for Apple. You used conjecture without a single shred of evidence to say the black market is the reason why the percentages per capita are so low.
LewysBlackmore, on the other hand supplied actual data to show that the bulk of China’s residence couldn’t afford any smartphone, much less an iPhone 4, if they wanted one.
You can have an opinion, but state it as such. If you want your opinion to seem credible try backing it up with a valid argument. And when another posters disagrees with your opinion and try to counter with a better argument, don’t attack them for actual backing their hypothesis with data.
I have been trolling here for a bit (ahem, 6 months), but have not started to blog until recently as my low numbers would suggest.
Annnnnd, you just blew any slim chance you had of looking knowledgeable completely out of the water by badly misusing two terms. You may be trolling now, although what you meant to write was "lurk." Google "Internet troll" to find out what trolling really means. And you are most assuredly not the author of an online weblog here.
Thank goodness for actual sales.
Okay, I normally read articles here, but rarely have felt the need to comment. ....
Thank you for the excellent post and 'real' information.
Ok so you cut and pasted some Wikipedia information into your post about China ... ok, now what? Does this change my OPINION that the black market has eroded legit sales of the iPhone, well, no.
Maybe you should spend some time on Wikipedia or maybe even Webster and look up the information of an opinion (I'll give you a hint and say emotion is part of the equation).
This is definitely my last post on the issue. Since I'm new to posting on AI, hopefully I won't have you trolling on me every time I post.
Way to go ... how to make friends and influence people. Not!
Okay, I normally read articles here, but rarely have felt the need to comment. Yes, I created an account just to chime in on this particular thread. I'm not going to get into the whole Apple good or bad.. just going to talk about my actual use of the iPhone 4 IN China.
...
My experience in China was actually quite amazing, despite my assumption that service in China would be worse.
...
So, I'm sure the native residents will be quite happy with the quality of data services ...
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Oh, I've seen and handled their copy-cat fake iPhone 4 and iPad in person and they are total obvious knock-offs. They might fool someone from a distance, but once you hold it, totally obvious. The fake iPhone 4 is thicker, plasticky feeling and the OS is choppy and a poor substitute. The knock-off is for people who buy a fake unit to give the impression of owning an iPhone 4. It's like buying a Ferrari body kit for your Toyota MR2. The iPad fake is similar with plastic body, but oddly the frame size of the fake is smaller with a screen size closer to 7-8", which made me think at the time of its relevance to the rumors of a real iPad with a 7" screen. The fakes are poor substitutes for the real thing, but prior to the official Apple launches, I think many local residents may have been fooled into thinking those were the real things.
We travel to China quite often. And what you say about the iPhone knock-offs, like virtually every other tech copy, is very true.
However, and maybe it is the crowd we travel in, i.e., university, computer science/medicine arenas, I haven't witnessed many, if any, local residents purchasing knock-offs. If anything, it is the foreign visitors that get hooked.
I couldn't believe seeing how many people in business class out of Beijing bragging about the 100 GB USB keys they bought for $5 at the Hong Qiao Pearl Market. Of course most were first timers and they weren't Chinese.
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Astronaut: I went to the moon and can tell you that in my experience, the surface is actually rock and dust, not cheese.
Citizen: Yes, but I have done some deep thinking about the moon and it might still be cheese under the surface, or in areas that you didn't visit.
Okay, I normally read articles here, but rarely have felt the need to comment. Yes, I created an account just to chime in on this particular thread. I'm not going to get into the whole Apple good or bad.. just going to talk about my actual use of the iPhone 4 IN China.
Thank you for a post filled with actual facts and experiences, vice the speculation, opinion, and (occasionally) flat out BS that we see here daily.
Thompson
Thanks for the interesting post. It should be noted, however, that the quality of service you experienced was on a lightly loaded system. It might deteriorate if they get millions of smartphone users on it.
Given China's population and the number of subscribers that the networks over there are carrying, I doubt that you could characterize their systems as "lightly loaded". Yes, I realize that they would be (and will eventually be) even more heavily loaded when the fraction of smartphone users increases, as it surely will. But under the current circumstances, my hunch is that the network over there is carrying just as many bits (if not more) as AT&T is over here. So I am impressed by the other poster's testimony. Truly, you are correct to point out that the system will eventually get even more loaded as the fraction of smart phone use increases. But the other poster addressed that concern as well: apparently, the service providers can more rapidly expand capacity over there... and they probably will if needed.
Thompson
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.
Given the comments of Verizon's CEO and their entire history do you really think Verizon will be getting any iPhones? Verizon is the poster boy of the carrier as potentate over all. Both Apple and Verizon have stood firm in their respective positions for several years with all that unrealized revenue just sitting there. Apple and anyone who cares to notice can see how Verizon is in the process of eviscerating Google by using the open nature of Android against both Google and Verizon's customers.
I'm certain Jobs is at least as stubborn as Seidenberg and will insist on Apple's control of the user experience before Verizon gets a whiff of the iPhone. At this point I think everyone BUT Verizon will get the iPhone if there is a CDMA handset ready to launch. This whole process began with Apple splitting off AT&T from the other carriers and can only finish when Verizon is consigned to its proper role as a dumb pipe.
How many people in China can afford an iPhone? I would say about 100M. Hard to get precise figures
I get this on wikipedia
China's outbound tourists reached 20.22 million in 2003, overtaking Japan for the first time.
And thats 7 years ago, the economy is growing at more than 10% a year, so it has doubled since. Not all people who can afford to travel abroad do so, so the number must be a fraction of those who can travel for a week, or so. Which would cost about the price of an iPhone, or more. Depending on where they go, and for how long.
Most of the SMART shoppers will do what my daughter did. Go to the local dealer (Simply Computing, in our case) leave a deposit and they will notify you when your phone comes in .... or, you can do what you prefer .... go on an internet site and whine and bitch .... really!
Wow...that's an intellegent response
Wow...that's an intellegent response
Sorry but if companies used your logic we would have nothing but mediocre (at best) products available. The great products would never get released much beyond their initial market. Too slow of a product rollout would allow competitors to come in with inferior product and try to eat Apples lunch before Apple even finishes setting the table.
If Apple had used your premise,.you would be complaining that you couldn't buy one because Apple wasn't authorizing markets fast enough. Bottom line, you still wouldn't have an iPhone 4.
I agree that it may be a pain trying to buy one but you already said what it would take to get one. Either suck it up and get it done somehow or move on. No one cares much and no one wants to hear you complain. No matter how loud you scream or how much you complain, it won't make an iPhone come to you, you still have to go buy it or something else. Welcome to the world as it is.
Everywhere I've been and called in the GVA (Greater Vancouver Area) stated they don't take security deposits and don't have waiting lists. It's first come first served.
I'm in the GVA as well and I did mentioned that "Simply Computing" was the retailer offering the "deposit waiting list" scenario. They have at least 3 outlets and afaik all stores offer the same. I know it's a problem but that sometimes come with success. I read somewhere that production is being ramped up as fast as they can do it, so maybe it won't be a problem much longer. Good Luck.
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
So let's get this straight, Apple presently sells over 100,000 phones a day, they know they are having the introduction of the Iphone in the biggest mobile phone market in the world, most of the phones sold the first day were pre-orders so they knew about them in advance, yet they couldn't come up with 200,000 phones? This stinks like a setup to me. This was an obviously created situation to make it seem as though there is a huge demand that is outstripping supply. Consider that in the first week of sales in the US Apple sold millions of Iphones, so how could it be that months later Apple can't produce a couple of hundred thousand phones?
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
Maybe. But at the end if the day Apple wants to sell as many phones as they can make. So either the phones being made are stockpiled somewhere for a few weeks or months, or their *stock allocation and supply* to or in preparation for 80 countries was not that great.
Keep in mind one thing though, launch days are extremely chaotic. They launched in at least 3 other countries besides China on the 24th. Throw the phone carriers into the mix, and it's madness.
But it can be certainly extremely frustrating.
Consider that in the first week of sales in the US Apple sold millions of Iphones, so how could it be that months later Apple can't produce a couple of hundred thousand phones?
To those who aren't fallowing me: Apple consciously withheld phones to create the illusion of demand outstripping supply, and hopefully make the Iphone seem more desirable.
1. Worldwide demand has been outstripping supply for months, now. It's not just in China.
2. At launch, Apple had months to produce a bumper crop of millions of iPhones. Actually, Apple could have sold more iPhones in the first days than they did. AT&T sold 1.7 million in the first day, but some estimates say that 2.5 million could have been sold if there were enough in the US. So even in the beginning, there were supply issues. This supply was exhausted quickly, and after that, you have to produce as many as you can in real time. Usually, a company can't ramp up production to a few million devices per week, from a few million in a month or two. Apple's no exception. They are not withholding phones in some secret warehouse.