When the iPhone launched in China, it was with crippled hardware—due to governmental regulations the phones did not have Wi-Fi. Partly because of this, the iPhone performed mediocrely at launch, selling only 5,000 units over the first week. Reports are now surfacing that Unicom—the phone’s distributor in China—wants to try and bring Wi-Fi functionality to the country.
The trouble arises from a Government restriction banning Wi-Fi enabled phones from being sold in China unless they conform to the Chinese WAPI standard, rather than the international Wi-Fi. Because of this the iPhone shipped without either, and sold poorly, which was worsened by grey market Wi-Fi enabled ones being available. Recent changes in legislation allow for phones to be sold if they have both Wi-Fi and WAPI, which Unicom and Apple are now said to be working on.
