Those of us in the west that have been blasted by iPhone mania forever, may have forgotten that, until today (well, yesterday), the device was only available in China via the gray-market.  There used to be anecdotes floating around regarding profitable side businesses based on buying iPhones in the US, then carrying a dozen, or so, over on each visit.  As with all such things, there was a shadow industry of small shops and mini-distributors that would pay couriers a healthy premium for the devices, then turn around and resell the much in demand iPhones.

The iPhone is now officially available in China, but it’s pretty expensive (6,999 yuan / US$1,024 for the 32GB 3Gs).  Perhaps there will still be a market for “unofficially imported” devices, but that’s not the main point of interest for me.  My big issue is, will the availability of the fully sanctioned iPhone and China App Store result in a positive bump for app sales?

For more on what my other company is doing in the mobile software world, please visit our Mobile Perspectives blog.

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Technorati Tags:  iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple, mobile, China, China Outsourcing