BEIJING — When the iPhone was released in the United States two years ago, thousands camped outside Apple stores overnight to secure one of the prized devices. The official launch of the trendy handset in China this month isn't likely to spur the same zealotry. That's because the iPhone is already here.
Over the last two years, while Apple Inc. was tied up in negotiations with a Chinese carrier to bring the iPhone to the Middle Kingdom, nimble entrepreneurs were busy importing Apple handsets manufactured for the U.S. and Hong Kong markets.
They downloaded software to make the phones compatible with local networks, switched the language settings and -- voila -- the Chinese iPhone was born. Travelers coming back from their trips abroad also smuggled the coveted devices into the country.
The result: an estimated 1.5 million so-called gray-market iPhones are in use in China.
Then there are the iPhoneys. Shoppers can walk into any electronics bazaar in Beijing and buy a counterfeit iPhone for as little as $50. These pirated devices aren't the equals of the real thing, of course. It takes thumb-wrestling strength to get some of the touch screens to respond. And that e-mail icon? It's just for show.
But for shoppers like Luo Qiang, a 32-year-old worker at the state electric company, just the appearance of rocking a genuine-looking iPhone is enough.
"If I can have one that does more or less the same thing, why buy the more expensive, official iPhone?" said Luo, who recently purchased a fake one inside a chaotic Beijing shopping plaza.
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery. But whether the iPhone's popularity in China will translate into big profits for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple remains to be seen.
Official models sold without a carrier service contract, which is typical here, will be priced at about $735 -- far beyond the reach of average consumers. Add ferocious competition, Apple's late start in China as well as its inability to control its own brand in the early going, and some analysts say the company's success is far from certain.
"Apple is entering China at a level of competition that's never been seen before," said David Wolf, president of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing tech and media advisory firm. "If they think they can come here and ride the wave they've enjoyed the last 2 1/2 years [in the West], then they're going to get a rude awakening."
