Apple has its eyes on the billion-plus people in China as the latest way to add to the tally of iPhone 4 and iPad sales, but it will have to overcome the lawlessness and poverty stricken throughout the giant country.
According to MarketWatch, Apple has struck a deal with China Unicom, a mobile service provider in the nation that has a mammoth 315 million subscribers.
Once considered a veritable dead zone in the global market, electronics companies are starting to warm up to China. The local government has actually been trying to revamp its policies to attract more foreign business, and companies are willing to take risks in international markets to offset soft sales in places like the US where the economy has led to softer sales.
Chinese consumers have been able to buy the iPhone 3GS since last month, but it acts more like an iPod Touch because it hasn’t been authorized to receive mobile service in China.
The iPhone 4 will begin going on sale in China in the first part of next month, followed by the iPad which does not have a specified Chinese release date yet. There’s also no word on how much Chinese consumers can expect to pay for their official Apple gadgets.
