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Images courtesy of Ray Ally, Landor Associates.

Apple’s long awaited official iPhone finally launched last Friday in China. The phone is only available to work with China Unicom’s network, which is compatible with Apple’s 3G and 3GS phones.

The iPhone handsets start at RMB 4,999 (U.S. $730) with the top of the range 3GS 32 GB costing RMB 6,999 (US $1,025), which is U.S. $300 more than it costs in the U.S. China Unicom’s version also has no wi-fi as this was banned in China at the time of production. This ban has now been lifted, but too late for the first shipment of iPhones.

The launch in China is not such a big deal as unofficial iPhones with wi-fi have been available in China for some time. In fact many of my friends have been using their iPhones for several years, which they bought in the U.S., Hong Kong, or on the Chinese gray market. It is estimated there are already up to two million unofficial iPhones being used on the Mainland.

China Unicom is hoping that it will get a boost from its partnership with Apple to compete against its bigger rival China Mobile. They are bringing out their own version of a 3G handset, called an OPhone later this year. Despite the fact China Unicom has 138 million subscribers, it is way behind the leader China Mobile, with over 508 million customers.

It was Halloween last weekend and the Apple Store in Beijing was busy as usual, with lots of interest around the new iPhone. However, I suspect the high price and lack of wi-fi will scare off many customers. Making it a treat for die-hard Apple fans, but a trick for most consumers who will hold out for the wi-fi version and, hopefully, cheaper prices next year.

From X-RAY China