It is less than a week before the iPhone 5 is set to be released in China, but preorders have already made the smartphone a hot demand.
According to AOL Tech's The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Chinese carrier China Unicom has received over 200,000 preorders. The new preorder numbers are doubled from the 100,000 first reported last Tuesday.
The prices for the iPhone 5, according to Sina Tech, starts at 5,899 yuan for the 16GB model, which equates up to $947 when converted to the US dollar, 32GB model for 6,899 yuan, or $1,107, and the 64GB model will cost 7,899 yuan, or $1,268.
The preorders numbers come as China Mobile, China's largest mobile carrier with 703 million subscribers according to Mac Rumors, reported that negotiations in carrying the iPhone 5 has not been finalized. China Mobile President Li Yue stated "technology" is not the reason for his company for not selling the iPhone 5 but rather about business and benefit sharing issues.
China's iPhone 5 launch will be among other countries worldwide that will debut the phone, such as:
Dec. 14: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Dec. 21: Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam.
Also preparing to invade China is Nokia with the Lumia 920T, and the deal is with China Mobile.
We are delighted to partner with China Mobile, the world's largest operator, to introduce China's first Lumia based on Windows Phone 8," said Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop. "People around the world are responding positively to the new Lumia devices, and we're confident that the enthusiasm will extend to China with the Lumia 920T."
"We are excited about this important next step in our partnership, and we look forward to creating an even more vibrant TD industry together," said Yue about the Lumia 920T deal.
According to Nokia, the Lumia 920T will be available for orders "by the end of the year" and will retail at RMB 4,599 without a contract, which equals roughly $738.42 when converted to the US dollar.
For the comparison of the Lumia 920 vs. iPhone 5, click here.
For the reviews round up of the Lumia 920, click here.
For the drop test results of the Lumia 920, click here.
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