400,000 unlocked iPhones being used in China

According to In-Stat, 400,000 unblocked iPhones have been sold illegally in China.

There are 400,000 unlocked Apple iPhones being used on China Mobile’s network, more than all the authorised iPhones in Europe, according to research from In-Stat.

Apple is already shifting away from its previous strategy of exclusive single network deals per territory and it is unlikely an exclusive deal would occur after China’s largest mobile operator admitted hundreds of thousands of the handsets are already on its network, despite the phone never being officially released in China.

Earlier this year Apple and China Mobile called off negotiations to launch the handset amid speculation they disagreed on a revenue sharing deal. Apple’s worldwide expansion plans are developing quickly with the announcement of Vodafone signing a deal that will see the iPhone devices become available on Vodafone’s network in ten countries: Australia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

While a specific release date for this later this year has not been announced, there is a possibility a launch in the Gulf region could be forthcoming as UK-based Vodafone is a shareholder in the consortium that won Qatar’s second mobile licence late last year.

Deals have also been struck with America Movil to sell the iPhone in 15 Latin American markets, as well as individual agreements with India’s Bharti Airtel, Australia’s Optus, the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, Singapore’s SingTel and Swisscom in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, online stores in the UK and US have sold out of the handset and with price cuts in France and Germany clearing stock, speculation is rife that the release of a new 3G iPhone is imminent, most likely in June at Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco.