Unicom is pinning its hopes on the iPhone as it tries to win market share and more high-end users in China’s highly competitive telecoms market.

The mobile operator said it would start selling 3G iPhones for about CNY5,000 ($732) each on October 1, without specifying which model. Subscribers could choose from eight service plans, ranging from CNY126 to CNY886 per month. Users who signed two-year contracts of above CNY186 per month would receive handset subsidies of up to CNY4,253.

China Mobile, Unicom’s bigger rival, is set to launch the 3G OPhone based on Google’s Android operating system. It also plans to launch smartphones made by Dell, the US computer manufacturer, China’s Lenovo and Taiwan’s HTC.

China Telecom, the smallest operator, is in talks with Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, and Palm to offer devices. Unicom plans to sell its own Google phones made by Samsung in December for about CNY4,500 each.

Sandy Shen, an analyst at Gartner, said that investors were “worried that 3G uptake would be slow because prices have been set quite high”, adding that “subscribers would probably stick to their 2G services for a while”.

Source : Konaxis