iPhones and 3G in China

[radioman]

In concert with the upcoming iPhone launch, China Unicom has in the past few weeks turned on their 3G network here in Kaifaqu (very near Dalian), and apparently many other locations http://bit.ly/4d5inT.

I just signed up for the service yesterday, and am paying 156 RMB per month. That gives me 500Mb of overall 3G data throughput per month. My unscientific testing puts the performance at "manyfold" faster than EDGE. I do not believe there is an unlimited plan, but they have a variety of price plans depending on your data consumption needs. I will need to operate with the network for few weeks to see if that is the right plan, but with EDGE I required about 150Mb per month. The 3G coverage also (at least where I am), appears to be ubiquitous, but I cannot speak for other locations within China.

As for the official iPhones sold in China, they will note be cheap and they will not have Wifi - http://bit.ly/4vKydw

 

[mikelove]

Interesting. Pity about the lack of WiFi, but we can work around that with the all-databases-embedded version I've discussed elsewhere.

 

[radioman]

Update - I have given up on Unicom's 3G service. Random Comments here.

Unicom's voice service (where I am at least) currently does not compare to China Mobile's. Throw in that I can get WiFi at my school, apartment, Starbucks, and a whole bunch of coffee shops, and I have plenty of high speed access. And, in most cases the iPhone on China Mobile's Edge is reliable if not a bit slow, but usually if I want to do a lookup or hit a website, its fine. I can even tether.

I pay 20RMB a month for 150MB compared to the 120 or more I was paying for the 3G service. SMS was not included on the 3G plan as well so everything goes sideways if you pay for 2 months (minimum amount to start) and then you send 2 or 3 text messages and you cannot cover the cost for the next month. Just annoying stuff that maybe over time will shake out, but for now I cannot be bothered. No way to have a "suck the money out of my bank account and just leave me alone" recurring payment plan either unless you have a corporate account set up (China Mobile on this point is no different).

Also, China Mobile customer support is great. You can set up your account so that English Operators automatically answer when calling in - stores and payment centers all over the place, etc.

Throw in the cost of the crippled Unicom phone and the decision is easy.

EDIT - OK - well jumped the gun a bit. Apparently they need my 3G connection for tethering to a computer for a Christmas/Karaoke party... but they will have to foot the monthly 3G charge...