In June 2009, Apple presented theiPhone 3GS (model number: A1303) with cellular connectivity and 256MB of RAM. The mobile will be sold over a million copies in the space of a week, a record for the time. Destination countries: Canada, the United States and seven other countries in Europe. But the device has not been approved for the Chinese market…
Indeed, at the time the local government was still skeptical about the wireless capabilities of this little gem of technology. In response, Cupertino then chose to develop a version without Wi-Fi only dedicated to the Middle Kingdom. And in a video from the Apple Demo YouTube channel, we can now discover this product in pictures.
Fewer features
The Wi-Fi standards 802.11b/g not yet authorized in China, this iPhone 3GS (model number: A1325) is simply unable to connect to the web without going through a relay antenna. However, we know that thirteen years ago the price of packages with internet access was particularly high so that only professionals could subscribe to them: hello the bill!
Looking more closely, we also see that this iPhone 3GS does not have the menu Bluetooth in the settings. The associated chip, however, seems to be present under the hood, but could have been deactivated by Apple there too for compliance reasons.
A few subtle changes
On the back of this iPhone, we also notice some differences with a mention recalling the storage capacity of the device; 16 Go, which is not found on the classic iPhone 3GS. Chinese signs are also present, probably required by the authorities as is now the case with some packages from Taiwan. The phrase Assembled in Chinait is absent, as is the logo of the FCC (American regulatory body) and the CE marking for Europe.
For its part, China will eventually grant Apple the right to sell its iPhone 3GS with Wi-Fi in the country but in 2010 only. The success that we know will follow, the region now being the first vector of smartphone sales for the apple firm.
By: Keleops AG