According to China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in China, roughly 400,000 unlocked iPhones were operating on its cellular network by the end of 2007. Previously, it had been rumored that China Mobile would be the iPhone’s carrier in the country, but a January report suggested that Apple and the carrier had broken off negotiations; Apple dismissed the “negotiations” as a single, limited meeting.
Compared against Apple’s sales figures, In-Stat reports, the 400,000 iPhones represent one out of every 10 iPhones shipped globally by the company. The report goes on to state that an estimated 20% of handsets sold in China during 2007 cost more than 4,000 RMB (around $533), indicating that there are as many as 28 million potential iPhone customers in the country.
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