iPhone 4S expected in China by late January, report says
updated 11:50 am EST, Tue December 27, 2011
Phone fully certified for Chinese launch
The iPhone 4S should ship to mainland China no later than the Chinese New Year on January 23rd, according to state-run newspaper the People's Daily. The phone is said to have won China Compulsory Certification on December 21st, clearing the last hurdle for sales by Apple and carrier China Unicom. The Daily specifically suggests that the 4S will ship "at the beginning of January 2012," and be on the market in time for the New Year holiday.
The Daily notes that while certification documents don't identify the 4S by name, they do mention a WCDMA phone, and that the applicant is the "Apple Computer Trading (Shanghai) Company." The device's model number is also listed as A1431, which the Daily says is identical to the one used by the 4S for network access approval. Some vendors in Shenyang and Shenzhen are reportedly already taking bookings for the phone.
The 4S is technically already on sale in China via Hong Kong. Many sales in the city are in fact thought to be linked to scalpers buying the phone for resale in the mainland. Hong Kong iPhones are cheaper than their mainland counterparts, and unlocked by default, making it easy to subscribe to carriers other than Unicom.
