Word from the land of Yao is that Foxconn has begun mass production of a 3G-enabled iPhone 3GS-looking device that lacks WiFi functionality, though it's being suggested that these may actually lack a WiFi module altogether as opposed to the software lock we'd
heard about earlier. The phone (read: iPhone) in question is said to be the same as the one Apple recently sent to the China Telecommunication Technology Labs for testing, which points to the handset making its long-awaited Chinese debut in the near future. Of course,
rumors of this happening have been
surging and
receding for years
now, and even these "undisclosed sources" provide no insight as to which carrier will scoop the prized contract. The great
will they or won't they discussions continue, though if these things
are actually being produced, it means one of two things: the world's most populated nation is about to get its iPhone fix, or the world at large is about to receive
another stash of iPhone KIRFs.
[Via
9to5 Mac]
posted July 15th 2009 5:24PM
I'm glad I don't live in China.
你真幸运
Have you ever been to China?
I have, and you dont know what you are talking about.
Obvious troll is obvious, moving along folks, nothing to see here.
I'm also glad I dont live in China..
I like freedom just the way it is thank you very much..
Gee, if the government is so paranoid about security leaks, maybe they should have spent another hundred years rebuilding the Great Wall of China instead of building 3G infrastructure. It's their country and they should do whatever they see fit. If they want to water down and filter out the internet, that's their loss. I'm not exactly sure what they're trying to hide from users, but it's like ripping out pages from encyclopedia and handing out incomplete information. I guess they have their reasons for censorship, but I'm fortunate to be able to see all the filth and degradation with my unfiltered internet pipe.
I give China a few more years and they'll be swimming in porn. The Chinese are probably real horndogs when it comes to doing the nasty. I suppose that's why they have an ever increasing population problem.
Indeed. I'm Chinese but too British to live there. I mean no BBC, Wikipedia, Youtube and recently facebook is blocked too.
Or the Iphone will reach a market that will not even care to purchase.. I cant imagine the Iphone will stand up against the more advanced powerhouse phones. Esp with no wifi avail. its not even the most advanced phone in the US and our standard are pretty low compared to everyone else.
Who knows? Although I'm certain the no Wifi thing is something Apple was not happy to give over.
I wonder if it'll have the same level of interest the iPhone had in Russia and Japan?
That is, not very much at all.
why no wifi
Apparently the carrier didn't want it or something. Or was it the government? I can't remember. Either one.
probably so they can force people get get data plan??
I just lost a lot of respect for Apple right there.
I believe it was the government, not the carrier.
Of course, it is still all a rumour anyway, so it could very well not be true.
>> "probably so they can force people get get data plan?? I just lost a lot of respect for Apple right there."
You already have to get a data plan when you get an iPhone that has WIFI.
Apple did what they needed to do to be allowed to sell their product to 1,300,000,000 Chinese people. If you were a smart business person... you would too.
No WiFi forces people to run all their data and voice (no skype) through their carrier. That makes it easier for the government to tap phone calls and maintain their censorship.
I didn't have to get a data plan -- I did, but I wasn't forced to.
Then again, Rogers in Canada seems to have very different policies from AT&T.
I just wish Apple would see that AT&T isn't exactly the only carrier selling the iPhone, and stop forcing needless restrictions on apps based on AT&T's absurd policies.
The whole government rumor sounds like nonsense if you ask me since there's millions of laptops in China that all have wifi on them.
I don't see how a much more limited phone would be any more of a security problem than the bazillions of netbooks people carry around everywhere.
whats the point when they can buy iphone clones for 1/3 of the price.
There are a lot of Verizon phones that are stripped of their WiFi... is this a CDMA iPhone?
that's a pretty illogical jump right there....
"Well, a lot of muffins don't have candles, so this cake with no candles must be a muffin"
I'm going to assume Jake intended that to be a joke. I did not LOL but I did let out a chuckle.
A, COL.
Why is it always 9:42 AM?!?
It's just a picture. I'm afraid the time wont change on there. ;)
believe its a govt thing.
**serious mode off**
in other news maybe verizon is getting the iphone
bahahahahahahaha
So, seriously....Why no Wifi? Does anyone actually have more to offer other than - 'it's a government thing'! I mean it's China FGS - everything is a government 'thing'...
First The Olympics and now the iPhone...good to see capitalism still has as many morals as it had to begin with!
It's not so much morality as much as it is about maintaining the West's sense of political-ideological superiority. The fact that China is actually surviving rather well without adopting the West's value systems wholesale is simply unacceptable by certain people's standards.
Well, it's either that or a generic fear of everything from the East side of the planet. China, Russia, the Middle East, and until recently Japan, ... the list goes on.
Wifi's "disabled" because it does not support for the WAPI standard, which is used in the Chinese infrastructure. Although I do wonder why they refuse to implement the WAPI standard.
that's because China has it's own WAPI standard,a safer wirless internet standard, ofcourse U.S is not happy about that and Apple doesnt agree to install WAPI in iPhone!
you got it! i'm on the ground working for a TMT consultancy in China right now and that's exactly the reason. China doesn't support WiFi, they want to use their own version, WAPI and so they're forcing Apple to disable the WiFi function. At first we thought it might be just a software disable but we actually did some research and it turns out it is indeed a hardware disable :/ yay china.
Long live censorship and oppression. Freedom of the press and expression is the first thing to go when oppression takes over. But, we need those cheap quality Chinese goods. I know, I'm out of line.
I don't know if you know this, but it's kinda common knowledge that wiretapping happens in the US too, with the full blessing of AT&T, VZW, etc...you know, proud American companies that would never infringe on your precious freedoms of expression.
No wifi in an iPhone? With OS 3.0 who could tell anyway!
(iPhone 2G + 3G owner who's waiting for 3.1 to fix the broken wifi)
true just another apple screwover
Why didn't they just use a BlackBerry Storm?
cause Verizon sucks to holy high hell.
@ gabe
Thanks Gabe, good information, I had not heard of WAPI standard before. It's curious as to why they don't just put a compliant module in. Then again it's strange that they are not only insisting on WAPI but also insisting that Apple remove a module that is standardised and acceptable throughout the rest of The World. I can't imagine I'd want to own my iPhone if it didn't have WiFi access.
"It's not so much morality as much as it is about maintaining the West's sense of political-ideological superiority"
Oh, I doubt it got much to do with political-ideological superiority, after all politics is more a vehicle of facilitation for the prominent, economic and social idealisms that currently dominate any country, in a democratic bubble anyway.
What I meant was that it disgusts me that our democracies with our "political-ideological superiority", are always prepared, in spite of all the bullshit political rhetoric to the contrary, to sidestep (ignore) any moral considerations (which arise from our alleged political-ideological, social and cultural superiority) in favour of chasing the Dollar. China's a big market, and that's an awfully big carrot!
The carrier could make more money if iphone has no wifi function coz wifi is everywhere in China. - This is what I heard directly from a Chinese friend.
The "China Gov" ON|OFF toggle is located just below the Airplane Mode ON|OFF toggle.
On second thought - its not a toggle that can be set to OFF...
Lame thing of China to do. I hope they don't block my visa for saying that...
I kind of hate to say this because I do like WiFi for downloading Podcasts/Apps/iTunes on the phone over 10 megs but with 3G on AT&T I reliably pull a 2+ Mbps connection over 3G, I just tried it and had a 2.19Mbps connection on my 3GS so I can't say I would be totally heartbroken over losing WiFi. I have it disabled almost all the time to save battery life.
The arbitrary cap on podcast etc size, as well as not being able to use things like skype, are reasons why WiFi removal IS a disadvantage, plus the obvious one of not being able to use the internet abroad/outwith a signal area.
Plus, I doubt China's 3G network is up to the same standard as even AT&T's, never mind the UK networks.
A quick look into Apple Store China shows that Apple does sell ipod touch with wifi in China. Puzzling indeed. Any insight? Anyone?
Came for the Verizon jokes, was not disappointed.
No WiFi???? Ohhhh good jeebus, are you sure it's not for Verizon!?!?!?!
Is there a Verizon in China?
Hahahaha.....
The Nation's most crippled WiFi carrier....Welcome to VERCHINA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Posted from my Iphone 3GS (using......WiFI!!!!!)
Anyone looking at importing an iPhone is gonna have to be damn careful from now on.
Hey, there's no 3g in china... and then they gonna to ship iphones without WiFi? lame