5 million iPhones sold by Apple to China Unicom?

In what looms as a very nice windfall for Apple, the International Business Times says that the U.S. tech company has sold 5 million Wi-Fi disabled iPhone 3G units to carrier China Unicom for a total of 10 Billion Yuan. In dollars, that works out to about $293 U.S. Dollars for each handset. The 8GB model is expected to retail for 2,400 Yuan and the 16 GB model will cost 4,800 Yuan according to Yu Zaonan, general manager of the customer development department of China Unicom in Guangzhou.

Instead of taking the usual 20% to 30% dividends on distributor profits on sales of the touchscreen model, the U.S. tech company is expected to score a profit of 1,000 to 1,100 Yuan on each iPhone, a concession that Apple was willing to make to enter the Chinese market, considering the population of more than 1 billion people in the country. The 5 million iPhones sold in the deal is almost equal to the 5.2 million units Apple sold worldwide in the second quarter. And while the deal has not yet been announced by Apple or China Unicom, the device already has regulatory approval to be used in the country for the next five years. While the deal is expected to prop up the Chinese carrier's profits to the same level as rival China Mobile, the officially released phones will have to compete with smuggled, black market models that cost as low as 400 to 1,000 Yuan ($59 to $146 U.S. Dollars). Early reports of a three year deal between Apple and China Unicom have been denied by the carrier.

source: InternationalBusinessTimes via AppleInsider